Reflections on Psalms 80

 Psalms 80(Contemporary English Version)

1. (A psalm by Asaph for the music leader. To the tune "Lilies of the Agreement.") Shepherd of Israel, you lead the descendants of Joseph, and you sit on your throne above the winged creatures. Listen to our prayer and let your light shinesermons
   
2. for the tribes of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh. Save us by your power.sermons
   
3. Our God, make us strong again! Smile on us and save us.sermons
   
4. LORD God All-Powerful, how much longer will the prayers of your people make you angry?sermons
   
5. You gave us tears for food, and you made us drink them by the bowlful.sermons
   
6. Because of you, our enemies who live nearby laugh and joke about us.sermons
   
7. But if you smile on us, we will be saved.sermons
   
8. We were like a grapevine you brought out of Egypt. You chased other nations away and planted us here.sermons
   
9. Then you cleared the ground, and we put our roots deep, spreading over the land.sermons
   
10. Shade from this vine covered the mountains. Its branches climbed the mighty cedarssermons
    
11. and stretched to the sea; its new growth reached to the river.sermons
    
12. Our Lord, why have you torn down the wall from around the vineyard? You let everyone who walks by pick the grapes.sermons
    
13. Now the vine is gobbled down by pigs from the forest and other wild animals.sermons
    
14. God All-Powerful, please do something! Look down from heaven and see what's happening to this vine.sermons
    
15. With your own hands you planted its roots, and you raised it as your very own.sermons
    
16. Enemies chopped the vine down and set it on fire. Now show your anger and destroy them.sermons
    
17. But help the one who sits at your right side, the one you raised to be your own.sermons
    
18. Then we will never turn away. Put new life into us, and we will worship you.sermons
    
19. LORD God All-Powerful, make us strong again! Smile on us and save us.sermons

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Though presented in a different style, Psalms 80 is akin to Psalms 79 as Asaph appealed to God to save Israel from her enemies and take away the sorrow that had the people in perpetual tears. As in Psalms 79, Asaph acknowledges, or at least aludes to, Israel's sin as the cause of her calamity, though it is a more vague alusion in this psalm: "how long will You be angry with Your people's prayers?" he asks. (80:4) The only reason God would be angry with the prayers of His people is if they are not sincere and are wrongly motivated.

In the psalm Asaph reminds God of His relationship with Israel. She was the vine He uprooted from Egypt and for whom He "drove out the nations and planted it." (80:8) It took root and flourished, filling the land. But now God had "broken down its walls so that all who pass by pick its fruit?" (80:12) Keeping with the imagery of the vineyard, Asaph refers to the vineyard walls being torn down to allow the "creatures of the field" to feed on the vine, which is Israel.

Then Asaph prays that God will return and will "Look down from heaven and see; take care of this vine." He pledges that if God will "Let Your hand be with the man at Your right hand," (80:17) - a possible reference to Benjamin, which means “son of the right hand.” - Israel "will not turn away from You; revive us, and we will call on Your name." (80:18)

Asaph falls short of confessing the sins of Israel that had brought her to this place. Furthermore, he places a condition on her faithfulness to God - if He will let His hand be with Benjamin, then Israel will not turn away from Him. This prayer of Asaph's may be an example of why God was angry with the people's prayers. Though quite eloquent, it failed to address the heart of the issue. It is the typical turning to God in bad times while failing to acknowledge Him in the good times.