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,
and for the son whom you made strong for yourself.
They have burned it with fire; they have cut it down;
may they perish at the rebuke of your face!
But let your hand be on the man of your right hand,
the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!
Then we shall not turn back from you;
give us life, and we will call upon your name!
Restore us, O Lord God of hosts!
Let your face shine, that we may be saved!
The glory of God has not departed.
Here are words which I wrote 15 years ago. I am humbled and saddened to admit that they are as true today as they were then, if not more so. I do not say that I have the gift of prophecy for the words of Psalm 80 are the Words of God and are therefore timeless. My words are mine, hopefully inspired by the same Holy Spirit at a time when I was more immersed in the Scriptures than I am now. I am too distracted by the unkindness and acrimony in the world around us fueled by the media and many who post their political rants on social media.
Nevertheless, Psalm 80 is a prayer that we can pray today and know the Lord hears us. The Psalm speaks of God’s people as His vineyard from which He expected much. But the Psalm is filled with gloom and despair over the unfaithfulness of His people. The references to Joseph, Ephraim, Manasseh and Benjamin indicate that this Psalm belongs to the time when Judah had witnessed the destruction of her northern neighbor, Israel, at the hands of the Assyrians. Darkness had enveloped the land of the people of God: a nation that shared its roots with the Kingdom of God had been uprooted and destroyed by His enemies. Yet the Lord, as always, reigned in His holy tabernacle even though it appeared that His will had been thwarted. The Psalmist pleaded with the Lord to shed the light of His glory once again and dispel the sadness of the people of Judah.
Sometimes things go so awry in our lives that we are filled with gloom and dark despair. Nationally and globally we in the 21st Century seem to be in that kind of state. All around us the world is filled with turmoil and terror. Innocent people are oppressed and slaughtered. Wickedness is tolerated, promoted, and legalized. The wicked seem to get away with unjust and sinful ways. Not only are they not stopped by the Lord, they actually seem to prosper. Christians are assaulted and persecuted even in our land. The government protects the civil rights of sinners while the righteous who voice a different opinion are accused of bias and discrimination. Like the Psalmist we cry out for the glory of the Lord to shine, but though it seems as evil has the upper hand, God is still in control. Let us as Christians stand boldly for the truth of God’s word against the wicked philosophies of this world.