It is possible that Psalm 80 is a prayer of Asaph pleading with the LORD to save
and restore Israel during the time of Isaiah and King Hezekiah and the Assyrian
invasion. Some believe it could have been written even later when the
Babylonian army had surrounded Jerusalem and was about to destroy it. There are
some others who think it is possible that it was written after the Babylonian
captivity of 70 years and Asaph is praying for the restoration and
reunification of Israel as they return to the land.
But whenever it was written, it is recorded in God’s Holy History Book to be a reminder
to Israel, and even to all of us today, that in the midst of our trials and
troubles we can pray and ask for God’s mercy and help, and to save us! The
refrain "Restore us" (vv. 3, 7, 19) marks out the three requests
Asaph made to the Lord for both kingdoms.
In verses 1-3, Asaph prays for the “Shepherd of Israel to stir up His strength
and come and save us”. Both in the Old Testament and the New, the flock is
a familiar image of the people of God (Psalm23:1; 28:9, John 10; 1 Peter 5:1-4;
Heb. 13:20-21). The request here is that the Lord might lead His people through
this crisis as He led them safely through the wilderness. He led the way by the
ark (the throne of God; Num. 10:33; 99:1; 1 Sam. 4:4 and 6:2) and the cloud
(the shining forth of the glory of God; Num. 14:14; see 50:2, 94:1, Deut.
33:2).
Asaph asked the Lord to "stir up His strength"
(7:6; 78:65) and bring salvation to His people. This reminds us of the words of
Moses whenever the camp set out, "Rise up, O Lord! May your enemies be
scattered" (Num. 10:35). The "shining of His face" of the
refrain reminds us of the priestly benediction in Numbers 6:22-27, “And the
LORD spoke to Moses, saying: "Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, 'This
is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them: "The LORD
bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious
to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace." '
"So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless
them."
When God hides His face, there is trouble (Psalms
13:1; 27:9; 30:7; 44:24; 69:17; 88:14). "Restore us" means
"help us return to our former state of blessing and fellowship with the
Lord." (Ps. 85:4; 126:1, 4; Lam. 5:21.)
In verses 4-7, Asaph asks the Lord to have pity on His people. The shepherd image
blends in with the image of Israel as God's people: "We are his people
and the sheep of his pasture" (Psalm 100:3). But the Lord was now
angry with His people, and His anger smoldered like a fire about to erupt and
consume them. (Psalms 74:1, 79:5; Deut. 29:20; Isa. 65:5.) He was even angry at
their prayers, or "in spite of" their prayers.
During Israel's wilderness wanderings, God provided bread from heaven and water from
the rock (Ex. 16-17; Num. 20), but now His people had only tears as both their
food and drink. (Psalms 42:3; 102:9; Isa. 30:20.) To make matters worse, the
neighboring peoples were laughing at God's people (Psalms 44:13-16; 79:4).
Again we read the plaintive refrain (v. 7), but note that the "O God"
of verse 3 now becomes "O God of hosts”. Jehovah is the Lord of the armies
of heaven and earth, but His people no longer marched in victory.
Despite the terrible conditions that the nation was experiencing, Asaph still prayed
and believed that if God would shine His face on His people they would be
saved! And today, Romans 10:13 assures us, “For whoever calls on the name of
the LORD shall be saved." My friend, that includes you and me and
anyone else for that matter!
God bless!
