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| To the tune "Lilies of the Agreement. |
Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock!
You who are enthroned upon the cherubim,
shine forth before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh.
Stir up your might, and come to save us!
Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
O Lord God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?
You have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in full measure.
You make us the scorn of our neighbors; our enemies laugh among themselves.
Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it.
You cleared the ground for it; it took deep root and filled the land.
The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches;
it sent out its branches to the sea, and its shoots to the River.
Why then have you broken down its walls, so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?
The boar from the forest ravages it, and all that move in the field feed on it.
Turn again, O God of hosts; look down from heaven, and see;
have regard for this vine, the stock that your right hand planted.
They have burned it with fire, they have cut it down;
may they perish at the rebuke of your countenance.
But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand,
the one whom you made strong for yourself.
Then we will never turn back from you; give us life, and we will call on your name.
Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
Context: Psalm 80 is a communal Psalm of Lament. Where is God? A lament is a feeling or an expression of grief. A Psalm of Lament can also be called a Lamentation, which is a song or poem expressing deep grief or mourning. Psalm 80 mentions the northern tribes of “Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh” which leads many commentators to believe that it is an expression of grief that arises from people who are the Kingdom of Israel (which is the Northern Kingdom) just before or after its fall to Assyria. Israel had been stripped of everything, even its identity as God’s chosen people … as the people were carried off in exile to a foreign land, confused and lost. Psalm 80 may have been used in public prayers as a call for rescue and restoration.
Going Deeper: Who is God? There are rather compelling images of God in Psalm 80.
- The image of shepherd portrays God as the one who lovingly cares for the community. Take a few minutes to read the 23rd psalm and remember its gentle shepherd?
- Next, there is the image of God’s presence with the people in the temple, resting on the “mercy seat” of the Ark of the Covenant, enthroned upon the cherubim. Remember the call of Isaiah and his vision of God?
- Consider the image of God as the Vine-Grower, who abandons the vine to grow wild and suffer from neglect and destruction.
- Finally, the people call upon the God who blesses, the God with the shining face, the God who will save them.
What do each of these images say to you about who God is? Which image touches you? Is this God one in whom you could put your trust as the community does? Is this the God you trust today to rescue and restore you when you feel abandoned? Is this the God you can honestly pour out your troubles to? How would you describe the God whom you reach out to when you are suffering?
Psalm 80 follows a standard model* for a “Psalm of Lament.” Take a moment to examine Psalm 80 to see if you can find the basic structure for this psalm of lament:
1. Call
2. Description of trouble
3. Plea for God to respond
4. Statement of trust that God is listening
5. Vow or expression of praise
Although Psalm 80 is a communal lament, this model is a very good model for prayer in which an individual can pour out deeper, darker emotions in times of suffering and grief. Consider an issue that you might take to the God you trust in prayer … on your own behalf or perhaps on behalf of another person or a community. Your psalm of lament can be as short as 5 lines but it can be as long as it takes to say what you need to say … For an example, go to imamosaic.blogspot.com to see my psalm of lament.
Pondering: Read the verses of Psalm 80:1-3, 17-19 aloud … again and again as you engage in the art of Lectio Divina, which means divine reading. OR *Use the psalm of lament you wrote as you were “Going Deeper.”
Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock!
You who are enthroned upon the cherubim,
shine forth before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh.
Stir up your might, and come to save us!
Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
O Lord God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?
You have fed them with the bread of tears,
and given them tears to drink in full measure.
You make us the scorn of our neighbors; our enemies laugh among themselves.
Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand,
the one whom you made strong for yourself.
Then we will never turn back from you; give us life, and we will call on your name.
Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
Lectio=Listen to the words. Read the words slowly, repeating them again and again, allowing them to linger on the tongue, savoring their beauty ...
Meditatio=Prayerfully listen as you read until a small portion of the psalm (a word or a thought or a phrase) begins to draw you deep within. Turn your “portion” over and over in your mind and consider what God may be inviting you to think or feel or do or be … Write down what Spirit has given you so you can remember. Stay with your “portion” and commit it to memory as your thought for the day …
Praying:
Oratio=Spend some time in prayer responding to God’s invitation … allow prayers of confession, petition,
intercession, thanksgiving, praise, or ... to emerge in this time you are spending with God.
Contemplatio=When you runs out of words to say, simply rest in the presence of God, lingering with God in loving companionship … Amen!
*Check out this website if you are interested in a more in depth look at the structure of Psalms of Lament
Listen to The Vineyard of the Lord, which is a song based on Psalm 80 written and performed by Craig and Kristen Colson.
When I read the four extra passages to which you link, the first thing that comes to my mind is an obvious one: God is in complete control. In good and bad times (Ps 23), He's there, to comfort and lead. He's also all powerful and, lest we forget, He can prune us away if we start to bring disease to the vine of believers. However, He is a loving God/Father who will do all that He can to help us, as we help each other and our own children.
ReplyDeleteThe 23rd Psalm is, of course, a gold standard for how God is and how we interact with Him. It is an almost peerless distillation of how God interacts with people who believe in Him. It has always been a favorite of mine as it is with most everyone else. The Numbers passage, however, is one my growing-up church used as a benediction so I have fond memories of that one, too. However, the Numbers passage is more like something we Christians would say to each other, as if the Holy Spirit inside of us shines to our fellows.
Now, the God as Vine-Grower passage brings with it strict and absolute interpretation. Jesus said "Without me, you are nothing." I suspect this is one of those passages fervent Christians trot out to prove that any non-Christian isn't getting into heaven. True, some vines that are pruned do get discarded. More, however, can be used elsewhere, bringing a vineyard to areas where no vineyard exists. But I still have an issue with God the Vine-Grower (notice the word: Grower) and the God of Ps 23. God loves us. He wants the best for us. To me, God has laid out a plan that will make life fulfilling and joyous. No, it's doesn't mean that life will be easy. But in those difficult times, God also has a plan, a way through the dark valley in order to reach the mountaintop on the other side. Without valleys, you'll never know how high on the mountain you truly are with God in your life.
Thanks for your comment Scott!
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the way you highlight the images of God in a way that helps one to consider the balance between God the Shepherd, loving us through our suffering AND the God the Vine-Grower, who warns us that suffering will result from disconnection from the Source. Perhaps we all run with open arms toward the Shepherd and avoid the Vine-Grower!
When I consider God the Vine-Grower, I believe we are the ones who begin to grow away from God and die spiritually. Spiritual death makes “pruning” necessary, which sounds painful, but it is a really way of nurturing growth. We often read the first part of John 15:2, “[God] removes every branch in me that bears no fruit,” and allow it to set the context for the passage without remembering that pruning is not about what is removed from the Source, it is about what is left to grow from the Source.
As we have journeyed through the psalms we have seen deep faith accompany equally deep despair! In this prayer psalm, the psalmist cries out to God, who as Vine-Grower has abandoned the weak vines to its enemies … and suddenly we hear the confident cry, “give us life, and we will call on your name.”
And I respond … Let us call on the Name of God and we will be given life!
Nice! Thanks for help understanding. Am participating in Psalm Challenge...best wishes. mary
ReplyDeleteThanks Mary!
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