PSALM 80
Prayer to the Shepherd of Israel verse 1- 2
Give ear – O Shepherd of Israel – YOU that lead Joseph like a flock
YOU that dwell between the cherubim – shine forth
before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh stir up
YOUR strength and come – and save us
Chorus verse 3
Turn us again – O God – and cause YOUR face to shine and we shall be saved
Question regarding timing of LORD to answer verse 4- 6
O LORD God of hosts
How long will YOU be angry
against the PRAYER of YOUR people?
YOU feed them with the bread of tears
and give them tears to drink in great measure
YOU make us a strife unto our neighbors
and our enemies laugh among themselves
Chorus verse 7
Turn us again – O God of hosts – and cause YOUR face to shine
and we shall be saved
Past blessing reviewed verse 8- 11
YOU have brought a vine out of Egypt
YOU have cast out the heathen – and planted it
YOU prepared room before it — and did cause it to take deep root
and it filled the land – the hills were covered with the shadow of it
and the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars
she sent out her boughs unto the sea
and her branches to the river
Present conditions explained verse 12- 13
WHY have YOU then broken down her hedges
so that all they which pass by the way do pluck her?
the boar out of the wood does waste it
and the wild beast of the field does devour it
Prayer for revival verse 14- 18
RETURN – we beseech YOU – O God of hosts
look down from heaven – and behold – and visit this vine
and the vineyard which YOUR right hand hath planted
and the branch that YOU made strong for YOURSELF
it is burned with fire – it is cut down
they perish at the rebuke of
YOUR countenance
Let YOUR hand be upon the man of YOUR right hand
upon the son of man whom YOU made strong for YOURSELF
So will not we go back from YOU – quicken us
and we will call upon YOUR name
Chorus verse 19
Turn us again – O LORD God of hosts – cause YOUR face to shine
and we shall be saved
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, YOU that lead Joseph like a flock, YOU that dwells between the cherubims, shine forth. (5090 “lead” [nahag] means to drive, to remove forcibly, to take or guide somewhere, conduct, to urge on in a course, proceed, or to behave itself.)
DEVOTION: The problem with a group of sheep is that they have a tendency to wander. They are looking at where they can find the best food. They are looking at what looks nice to go away from the flock because it seems like it might be good food.
The sheep are supposed to follow the shepherd. They are not sometimes willing followers. I had one occasion when I received a call from a teen in my second church who was left in charge of taking care of the family sheep.
Well they were in the road when she called and wanted my help and I knew nothing about leading real sheep. When I got there I tried to lift up one to get it across the road so the cars could go through. It was not happening.
When they say that sheep are dumb it is true from my perspective. It took a lot of time to get the where they were supposed to go. It was not a matter of getting one to follow you but to get each one to follow you. It was not a good experience.
God was trying to lead the children of Israel but they were not good followers. They wanted to do their own thing just like the sheep in the road. People want to do what they want to do when they want to do it most of the time.
People, even followers of God, have their own opinion on every detail of life. They know what God expects but then they try to do it their own way to see if it will work. It doesn’t most of the time.
God makes the rules and if we follow them then we will be walking in the right direction. We need to see what God has to say to us and then follow HIS light in that direction. HIS instructions are found in the Word of God. We have a written word of God but the children of Israel had the Ten Commandments and the priests to lead them. They even at times had God speak from heaven to guide them.
Most of the time they still didn’t follow HIM correctly. It is true of them and sad to say it is true of us at times.
CHALLENGE: We need to pray to the LORD and read HIS Word and wait for HIS direction to follow if we are going to live a life that is pleasing to HIM.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 4 O LORD God of hosts, how long will YOU be angry against the prayer of YOUR people. (6225 “angry” [‘ashan] means be wroth, to fume, to be surrounded with smoke, to be or become angry and feel aversion and antipathy for something or someone, be wrapped in smoke or smolder.
DEVOTION: Most of us know what it is to be really mad at someone for something they have done to us or to someone we love. We just don’t like anyone hurting someone we love yet there are people who will say and do things that hurt those we love. It is sad but true.
Here we find that God is angry at the children of Israel for something they have done to HIM. HE is not answering their prayers because of something they have done and not confessed their sin to HIM. It is hard to forgive if the person doing something wrong doesn’t ask for forgiveness.
Sometimes they ask for forgiveness but we know and God knows if they really mean it or not. We do things to people and expect them to forgive us when it doesn’t seem like they really want to be forgiven. They just want something from us and hope we will “just get over whatever they have done to us.”
It is hard when you are hurt to “just get over something” and yet the children of Israel expected a perfect God to just get over their sinning. They were not really confessing their sins and asking God to forgive them. They were just wanting God to move on and forget what they had just done.
Too often we find that there are believers that mistreat us and then expect us to just move on without them saying they are sorry. This is what the children of Israel wanted of God and it wasn’t working.
We need to be genuinely sorry for something we have done to someone and ask forgiveness before the relationship can go back to normal. This is true of our relationship with God as well.
CHALLENGE: Are you keeping short accounts with the LORD? Are you genuinely sorry for the wrong you have done to another person? If so, make sure you go to them and ask forgiveness. Also if it is against God alone we need to go to HIM and ask forgiveness as well.
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: 14 “Return, we beseech you, O God of hosts; Look down from heaven and see, and visit this vine!” The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982). (Return – 7725 שׁוּב [shuwb /shoob/] v. A primitive root; TWOT 2340; GK 8740; 1066 occurrences; AV translates as “return” 391 times, “… again” 248 times, “turn” 123 times, “… back” 65 times, “… away” 56 times, “restore” 39 times, “bring” 34 times, “render” 19 times, “answer” 18 times, “recompense” eight times, “recover” six times, “deliver” five times, “put” five times, “withdraw” five times, “requite” four times, and translated miscellaneously 40 times. 1 to return, turn back. 1A (Qal). 1A1 to turn back, return. 1A1A to turn back. 1A1B to return, come or go back. 1A1C to return unto, go back, come back. 1A1D of dying. 1A1E of human relations (fig). 1A1F of spiritual relations (fig). 1A1F1 to turn back (from God), apostatise. 1A1F2 to turn away (of God). 1A1F3 to turn back (to God), repent. 1A1F4 turn back (from evil). 1A1G of inanimate things. 1A1H in repetition. 1B (Polel). 1B1 to bring back. 1B2 to restore, refresh, repair (fig). 1B3 to lead away (enticingly). 1B4 to show turning, apostatise. 1C (Pual) restored (participle). 1D (Hiphil) to cause to return, bring back. 1D1 to bring back, allow to return, put back, draw back, give back, restore, relinquish, give in payment. 1D2 to bring back, refresh, restore. 1D3 to bring back, report to, answer. 1D4 to bring back, make requital, pay (as recompense). 1D5 to turn back or backward, repel, defeat, repulse, hinder, reject, refuse. 1D6 to turn away (face), turn toward. 1D7 to turn against. 1D8 to bring back to mind. 1D9 to show a turning away. 1D10 to reverse, revoke. 1E (Hophal) to be returned, be restored, be brought back. 1F (Pulal) brought back. James Strong, Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2001).
DEVOTION: When I was a young boy I would go to the vineyard and cut vines. It was a tiring job and lonely as often I was by myself doing rows of vines for hours. The job had to be done in order for the new growth to take shape and produce throughout the summer. Like the vine the psalmist is saying the people of Israel needed to have that restoring work done to them. He requested that they be restored three times in this psalm and to return twice. The words are closely related and the nation needed the Lord to return and restore them in order for them to be fruitful. There are times in our life when we are stagnant or dormant and the pruning work of the Lord is done. During those times we might, like the psalmist, cry out for warm presence of the Lord. Take heart the Lord returns and visits us in His time.
CHALLENGE: Perhaps the winter sun has been on your soul and you long for the warm rays of God’s powerful love to penetrate your soul today! Spend some quality time alone with Him in prayer and the Word! (Dr. Brian Miller – board member)
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 18 So will not we go back from thee: quicken us, and we will call upon thy name. (2421 “quicken” [chayah] means to live, to revive, keep alive, nourish up, preserve, recover, or restore.
DEVOTION: Have you ever gone in the wrong direction? I had that happen a few times in the city of Baltimore. Some roads don’t go all the way through the city. Some exits can confuse you at times. We need good directions. The Word of God gives us directions for life. If we follow them the LORD can bless us. However, if we don’t follow HIS directions there are consequences.
This whole psalm is about revival. Three times it states: “turn us again.” Have any of us ever felt death? Did any of us ever feel like we were walking zombies? The children of Israel felt like they were dead and needed reviving. We read the story of the valley of dry bones in Ezekiel and see the LORD work the miracle of bringing them back to life.
The Psalmist is asking the LORD to make them alive again. He wants the LORD’S face to shine on him. He wants to return to the way it was before they experienced captivity. He wants the LORD to deal with their enemies. He would like the LORD to end the chastening of HIS people. He desires deliverance.
We want that in our lives too. Chastening is good because it causes the true people of God to get better and not bitter. They know that HE only does what is best for us even if it means suffering for a while. Suffering can produce a revival in our spirit. It can cause us to recover from our sinful state and return to the presence of the LORD.
Do we remember this fact when we are going through hard times? Our present condition in this country could call for the LORD to send revive again. We have had them in the past. It would be good for all Christians to pray for revival. Of course, we have to start in our own lives first. Let us pray together!!!
CHALLENGE: Let the LORD work in our lives to desire the LORD’S face to shine on us. When the LORD’S face is shining on us the people around us will see something different in us and want what we have. Ask the LORD to shine on you!!!
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: 19 “Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts, cause YOUR face to shine; and we shall be saved.” (“Shine,” 215 אֹור [ʾowr] 43 occurrences; AV translates as “light” 19 times, “shine” 14 times, “enlighten” five times, “break of day” once, “fire” once, “give” once, “glorious” once, and “kindle” once. 1 to be or become light, shine.. 1c (Hiphil). 1c1 to give light, shine (of sun, moon, and stars). 1c2 to illumine, light up, cause to shine, shine. 1c3 to kindle, light (candle, wood). 1c4 lighten (of the eyes, his law, etc.). 1c5 to make shine (of the face) [Strong, J. (2001). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software]).
DEVOTION: This psalm of Asaph repeats the request for God’s face to shine down on His people three times (verses 1, 3, 7, and 19). Probably this is related to the benediction of Moses in Numbers 6:25, where God’s blessing would in part be revealed through having His face shine on them. The shining of God’s face is related to His own glory.
So God’s face is compared to a fire or the sun in terms of illuminating or shining upon us. What the New Testament says is that we are either drawn to the light or to the darkness (John 1:4-5). Those who are drawn to the light wish to expose the darkness and so draw others to the light (Ephesians 5:9-11). It only takes a little bit of light to shatter the darkness (if you don’t believe me, just take a small flashlight out on a very dark night!).
By being with God, the glory of God attached itself to Moses’ face, so that Moses’ face shined as well (Exodus 34:29-30). We too will reflect God’s shining face to those around us as we seek to get to know Him better and spend time with Him. The glow of the knowledge of Him will radiate from our faces.
CHALLENGE: How many times have you heard the benediction of Numbers 6:24-26 used in your church? Have you paused to think about the fact that God’s shining His face on you is intended to be a blessing? Spend some extra time with God in His Word and prayer today and see if anyone notices the difference in your face! (Dr. Marc Wooten – board member)
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Give ear verse 1
Prayer of YOUR people verse 4
Prayer for God to return to Israel verse 14
Want God to look down from heaven verse 14
Want God to return to them verse 14
Call on the LORD verse 18
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Chief Musician: Asaph verse 1- 19
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
Shepherd of Israel verse 1
Dwell between the cherubims verse 1
Stir up YOUR strength verse 2
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign) verse 3, 4, 7, 14, 19
Face to shine verse 3
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 4, 19
LORD God of hosts verse 4, 19
Angry verse 4
God of hosts verse 7, 14
Cause face to shine verse 714
God planted Israel in land verse 15
Israel being rebuked by God’s countenance verse 16
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Cherubim verse 1
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Neighbors verse 6
Enemies verse 6
laugh among themselves
Egypt verse 8
Heathen verse 8
Son of man verse 17
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Strife verse 6
Laugh verse 6
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Prayer verse 1, 4
Lead verse 1
Flock verse 1
Strength verse 2
Save verse 2, 3
Saved verse 3, 7, 19
Turn us verse 3, 7, 19
God’s face shine on believers verse 3, 7, 19
Feed verse 5
Visit verse 14
Rebuke verse 16
Quicken verse 18
Call on the LORD verse 18
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Psalm of Asaph verse 1- 19
Joseph verse 1
Ephraim verse 2
Benjamin verse 2
Manasseh verse 2
Feed with bread of tears verse 5
Tears to drink in great measure verse 5
Hedges plucked down verse 12
Israel likened to a vine verse 12- 19
Hedges broken down
Being plucked by those who pass by
Animals waste the land
Animals devour the land
Israel being rebuked by God’s countenance
Promises to call on name of the LORD
Wants God to turn them
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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QUOTES regarding passage
Not the fall of Jerusalem, it seems, but the last days of its northern counterpart, Samaria, about a century-and-a-half earlier, gave rise to this strong cry for help. The refrain, ‘Restore us …’ (3, 7, 19), reiterates the theme of the psalm, and the extended simile of the vine gives it a memorable form. The prayer reveals how deep was the shock felt in Jerusalem (the psalm belongs to the Asaphite temple-singers) at the sweeping away of almost the whole of Israel—ten tribes out of the twelve—between 734 and 722 bc, leaving the little realm of Judah exposed now on the north to a new Assyrian province instead of to its sister-kingdom of Israel. There is no thought here of the old rivalries of north and south, only distress at the wreck of so much promise and the break-up of the old family. There was another glimpse of this solidarity in the invitation to the passover at Jerusalem, which was sent by Hezekiah to the survivors of the northern tribes, soon after the disaster. But the rebuff which he received (2 Chr. 30:1, 10f.) revealed something of the Israelite obduracy which had helped to make inevitable the judgment which this psalm laments. ….
3. This refrain returns at verses 7 and 19, each time with the divine title a little fuller than before. The plea, restore us, can be taken in more than one way, and it is debatable whether it is simply a cry for rescue or whether it goes deeper, as in av, rv, ‘Turn us again’. The confession of disloyalty in verse 18 suggests that it has indeed a spiritual dimension as well as the material one; if so, this will apply, too, to the word saved (cf. Ezek. 37:23), although in the Old Testament the latter seldom has this richer meaning. The prayer, let thy face shine, takes up the words of the Aaronic Blessing (Num. 6:25), invoking not the blinding glory of verse 1b but the glow of kindness and friendship. The paraphrases of jb and tev, ‘let your face smile on us’, and ‘Show us your love’ (to match the latter’s paraphrase of 2b, ‘Show us your strength’), are vivid and expressive, but are comments rather than translations.
(Kidner, D. (1975). Psalms 73–150: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 16, pp. 318–319). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.)
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12–13 Though God had extended much care to Israel in fulfillment of his promises, he had permitted his vineyard to be taken over by “boars” (v. 13; cf. Lev 11:7; Deut 14:8; unclean animals, i.e., foreigners) and by wild creatures. (VanGemeren, W. A. (1991). Psalms. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (Vol. 5, p. 526). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
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80:1–2. The psalmist appealed to the Lord, the Shepherd (cf. 23:1; 28:9) of His people, the sheep, to help the tribes in their distress. The Lord is pictured sitting enthroned in the temple above the gold-covered cherubim (cf. 99:1; 1 Kings 6:23–28) over the ark of the covenant. Joseph, representing the Northern Kingdom, and Benjamin, representing the Southern Kingdom, were Rachel’s two sons; Ephraim and Manasseh, Joseph’s sons, were her grandsons. (Ross, A. P. (1985). Psalms. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 852). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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Psalm 80, a lament of the community, has especially powerful imagery. The psalm is marked by two metaphors for Israel in its relation to God: (1) the flock of the Good Shepherd; (2) the vine of the True Vinedresser. Both of these metaphors are used by Jesus of His people in the NT (John 10; 15). This is one of Asaph’s psalms (Pss. 50; 73—83) and is set to the tune “The Lilies” (Pss. 45; 69). The structure of the poem is as follows: (1) a call for the Shepherd of Israel to restore the distressed (vv. 1–3); (2) a complaint concerning the Lord’s anger against His people (vv. 4–7); (3) the metaphor of a vine (vv. 8–13); (4) an appeal for God to return, revive, and restore Israel (vv. 14–19).
80:4, 5 Since their request for deliverance has seemed to go unanswered, the people ask whether God’s anger is directed even against their prayer. The phrases bread of tears and tears to drink refer to the manna and water that God provided for Israel in the wilderness. The idea is that God had given the people of past generations nourishing food; but the people of this generation have only their tearful despair.
(Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1999). Nelson’s new illustrated Bible commentary (Ps 80). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.)
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FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
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ON BEING A PASTOR by Derek J. Prime & Alistair Begg
We must plan our holidays within our means, and as a rule of thumb I have felt it right to spend a twelfth of my yearly salary on our month’s family holiday, when circumstances have not dictated otherwise. It is foolish to skimp on our annual holiday if skimping means it is not going to accomplish its purposes. (p. 269)
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“ What time should I give to prayer, to my family, and to relaxation?” Having established these fixed times, we should give the remainder to work. That may be a better way around, for most undershepherds tend to be workaholics. (p. 271)
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We may exhaust ourselves counseling people whom really we should have handed on to others, with the consequence that we neglect our primary task. (p. 273)
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We must not fall into the snare of feeling ourselves to be experts in every area of life. (p. 274)
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We are not suggesting we should be wishy-washy or hide our convictions, but we should be outstanding for conveying our convictions without heat or animosity. (p. 275)
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People may consider that the whole success of the church’s endeavors is tied up with his performance, and they look to him rather like football supporters look to a football coach – if the team does not win, then he ought to be replaced. (p. 276)
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Big and Small Sacrifices from TURNING POINTS WITH GOD DEVOTIONAL BY DAVID JEREMIAH;
If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere (I Corinthians 13: 3, The Message)
For more than a decade, North Korea has been the most restrictive nation for Christians to live in. The accounts of persecution from those who have fled the nation are sobering. For instance, when authorities destroyed a home near Pyongyang, they discovered a Bible hidden among the rubble. Insideit was a list of Christians, including a pastor, two assistant pastors, two elders, and twenty other members of the church. All of them were called in for questioning, and the five leaders were told they must deny Christ and pledge their loyalty to Kim Jong II and his father, Kim II Sung, or die. Refusing to renounce their faith, they became martyrs. They were forced onto the ground, and a steamroller ws driven over them. The report continues, “Fellow parishioners who had been assembled to watch the execution cried, screamed out, or fainted when the men were crushed beneath the steamroller.
This account is a good reminder to us that martyrdom still happens today. While you may never be asked to deny God or be killed, each day you have opportunities to show you are dedicated to HIM. (p. 123)
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We Will Not be Silenced by Erwin W. Lutzer
This book examines every cultural issue we are facing. Nothing is left out. It address diversity issues, racial issues, gender issues, social ustice issues, media issues, issues of free speech, and issues related to the church and how it is responding to all of this.
What has been most troubling has been the attempt of these organize rioters to tear down moral and spiritual valuse as well.
Erwin Lutzer explains that behind all this destructive behavior is the determination of the Marxists to destroy America’s history so that it can be replaced by a new Marxist “history: that is being inculcated into our children’s minds from kindergarten through graduate school. They’re not just tearing down momuments, they’re trying to destory the very foundation upon which our nation was founded. (It is a book that needs to be read! (More to come)
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