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Psalm 80

Prayer for Israel’s Restoration

To the leader: on Lilies, a Covenant. Of Asaph. A Psalm.

1

Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,

you who lead Joseph like a flock!

You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth

2

before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh.

Stir up your might,

and come to save us!

 

3

Restore us, O God;

let your face shine, that we may be saved.

 

4

O L ord God of hosts,

how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?

5

You have fed them with the bread of tears,

and given them tears to drink in full measure.

6

You make us the scorn of our neighbors;

our enemies laugh among themselves.

 

7

Restore us, O God of hosts;

let your face shine, that we may be saved.

 

8

You brought a vine out of Egypt;

you drove out the nations and planted it.

9

You cleared the ground for it;

it took deep root and filled the land.

10

The mountains were covered with its shade,

the mighty cedars with its branches;

11

it sent out its branches to the sea,

and its shoots to the River.

12

Why then have you broken down its walls,

so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?

13

The boar from the forest ravages it,

and all that move in the field feed on it.

 

14

Turn again, O God of hosts;

look down from heaven, and see;

have regard for this vine,

15

the stock that your right hand planted.

16

They have burned it with fire, they have cut it down;

may they perish at the rebuke of your countenance.

17

But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand,

the one whom you made strong for yourself.

18

Then we will never turn back from you;

give us life, and we will call on your name.

 

19

Restore us, O L ord God of hosts;

let your face shine, that we may be saved.


14. Return, I beseech thee, O God of Hosts! In these words it is intended to teach, that we ought not to yield to temptation although God should hide his face from us for a time, yea even although to the eye of sense and reason he should seem to be alienated from us. For, provided he is sought in the confident expectation of his showing mercy, he will become reconciled, and receive into his favor those whom he seemed to have cast off. It was a distinguished honor for the seed of Abraham to be accounted the vineyard of God; but while the faithful adduce this consideration as an argument for obtaining the favor of God, instead of bringing forward any claims of their own, they only beseech him not to cease to exercise his accustomed liberality towards them. The words, from heaven, have, no doubt, been introduced, that the faithful might find no difficulty in extending their faith to a distance, although God, from whom they had departed, was far from them; and, farther that if they saw no prospect of deliverance upon earth, they might lift up their eyes to heaven.

As to the word כנה, cannah, 398398     “Surely, כנה, should not be translated vineyard, but plant: and probably ו should be translated, or understood to mean, even See Noldius, Sign. 38.” — Arcbishop Secker “Michaelis and Gesenius derive it from כנן, texit, with the suffix ה. Bochart considers it an Egyptian word. ‘כנה, verto plantam ex sententia Bocharti (in Phaleg. lib. 1, cap. 15 and 16, edit. Leusd.) qui putat vocem esse Ægyptiacam. Nam, auctore Plutarcho in Iside, hederam Ægyptii χενόιριν, h. e. φυτὸν Οσιριδος, plantam Osiridis vocabant.’ Dathe. De Rossi concurs.” — Rogers Book of Psalms, etc., volume 2, 231. in the beginning of the 15th verse, I readily acquiesce in the sense given of it by some who translate it, a place prepared; but as some think that there is a change in the Hebrew word of the letter ג, gimel, into כ, caph, so that the reading should be גנה, gannah, a garden or vineyard, we leave the reader to judge for himself. It is, however, certain that this is a metaphor akin to the former, by which is denoted the singular liberality of God in advancing this people, and causing them to prosper. The vine-branch which was planted by the hand of God is also called the Man of his right hand.

16 It is burnt with fire. The calamities of the people are now more clearly expressed. 399399     Under the same allegorical imagery the Prophet Ezekiel represents the afflicted state of his country, (Ezekiel 19:10, 12, 13.) It had been said that the Lord’s vine was abandoned to the wild beasts, that they might lay it waste. But it was a greater calamity for it to be consumed with fire, rooted up and utterly destroyed. The Israelites had perfidiously apostatised from the true religion; but, as has been previously observed, they were still a part of the Church. We are accordingly warned by this melancholy example, of the severity of the punishment due to our ingratitude, especially when it is joined with obstinacy, which prevents the threatenings and rebukes of God, however sharp and severe they may be, from being of any benefit to us. Let us also learn from the same example, when the Divine anger is blazing all around, and even when we are in the midst of its burning flames, to cast all our sorrows into the bosom of God, who, in a wonderful manner, raises up his Church from the gulf of destruction. He would assuredly be ready not only to exercise without interruption his favor towards us, but also to enrich us with his blessings more and more, did not our wickedness hinder him. As it is impossible for him not to be angry at the many offenses which we have committed, it is an evidence of unparalleled mercy for him to extinguish the fire which we ourselves have kindled, and which has spread far and wide, and to save some portion or remnant of the Church, or, to speak more properly, to raise up even from the very ashes a people to call upon his name. It is again repeated that the Church perished not by the strength and arms of her enemies, but at the rebuke of God’s countenance. Never can we expect any alleviation of our punishment, unless we are fully persuaded that we are justly chastised by the hand of God. It was a good sign of the repentance of these Israelites that, as is observed in Isaiah 9:12, “they looked to the hand of him who smote them.”


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