PSALM 80 Reading Guide

PSALM 80 Reading Guide

PSALM 80 2 PSALM 80 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 LORD 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 an object of contention for our neighbors, and 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, and for the son whom you made strong for yourself. 16 They have burned it with fire; they have cut it down; may they perish at the rebuke of your face! 17 But let your hand be on the man of your right hand, the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself! 18 Then we shall not turn back from you;

PSALM 80 3 give us life, and we will call upon your name! 19 Restore us, O LORD God of hosts! Let your face shine, that we may be saved!

PSALM 80 4 DAY 1 Read through Psalm 80 once writing down what you find interesting, what you find helpful, and what you don t fully understand. Read through the notes on Psalm 80 in the ESV Study Bible. Write at least one paragraph highlighting what you learned from the study notes. According to the introductory notes on Psalm 80 in the ESV Study Bible*, This is a community lament geared to a situation in which the people (or at least part of them) have received hard treatment from the Gentiles; it poignantly asks God to restore us, let your face shine on us that we may be saved! Reread Psalm 80, personalizing the Psalm as your own prayer. Write out that prayer. DAY 2 Read Psalm 80 again, stopping after each refrain Restore us, O Lord God of hosts! Let your face shine, that we may be saved! (verses 3, 7, 19) to reflect on what God s people are asking God to do. Now read verses 14-15 again which, according to the introductory notes in the ESV Study Bible, form a long version of the refrain, explaining more fully what it would mean for God to restore his people and let his face shine. Write out a few sentences explaining, based on verses 14-15, what it means for God to restore his people and let his face shine. In verse 15, Israel refers to itself as a vine, the stock that your right hand planted. God, out of love and faithfulness, has continued to work for the good of his people, a good that he started. So when his people cry out for him to work again, they are doing so because they know he loves them and is absolutely committed to them. This commitment is seen throughout Israel s history, told in the Old Testament. It s ultimately seen in God sending Jesus to save each and every one of his children. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba! Father! So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, an heir through God. (Gal. 4:4-7) As commentator Derek Kidner wrote, God is not one to begin a great work and lose interest in it. 1 Jesus life, death, and resurrection means God has not lost interest in you! Write out a prayer of thanksgiving to Jesus, thanking him for his continued commitment to you and his continued commitment to making you everything God designed you to be. 1 D. Kidner, Psalms 73-150. Downers Grove, IL (InterVarsity Press, 1973), p. 292.

PSALM 80 5 DAY 3 Read Psalm 80 again, underlining all the impassioned pleas for God s attention and for God to act. There is a boldness with which God s people pray. The impassioned pleas for His attention, that He will rouse Himself and act, have a proper place within in prayer although they add nothing to His will to help God, it seems, prefers an excess of boldness in prayer to an excess of caution We come to Him as sons, not as applicants. 2 John Newton, in his hymn Come My Soul, Thy Suit Prepare, encourages similar boldness in our prayers. Come, my soul, thy suit prepare: Jesus loves to answer pray'r; He himself has bid thee pray, Therefore will not say thee nay. Thou art coming to a King, Large petitions with thee bring; For his grace and pow'r are such, None can ever ask too much. With my burden I begin: Lord, remove this load of sin; Let thy blood, for sinners spilt, Set my conscience free from guilt. Lord, I come to thee for rest, Take possession of my breast; There thy blood-bought right maintain, And without a rival reign. While I am a pilgrim here, Let thy love my spirit cheer; As my Guide, my Guard, my Friend, Lead me to my journey's end. Show me what I have to do, Ev'ry hour my strength renew: Let me live a life of faith, Let me die thy people's death. What would you like God to see work in your life? How would you like him to act? Where are things not as they should be? How would you like them to be? 2 Ibid., p. 289.

PSALM 80 6 Following the pattern of Psalm 80, write out a bold prayer to God, asking him to act on your behalf. DAY 4 Read Psalm 80 again. Though only a few tribes are mentioned as needing saving (verse 2), all of God s people join this lament on their behalf. As all God s people gather to sing this song for the group that is suffering, they give expression to Romans 12:15: Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Think through the people in your community. Who is suffering? Who could use your prayer? Write out a specific desire for a specific person in your community, writing out the specific ways you long for things to be for them. Now, write a few sentences explaining where they are currently. As you look at the gap between where they are and where you long for them to be, write down a number of adjectives describing how you feel as you look at that gap. Read through everything you ve written down and based on that, write out a prayer of lament to God, asking him to work for your friend s good. DAY 5 Read through Psalm 80 twice. Write out at least two paragraphs reflecting on what you ve learned about God, yourself, and others from Psalm 80. Write out at least one thing you hope to apply to your life from Psalm 80. Spend at least 15 minutes sharing what you wrote with a trusted friend or family member. If they read Psalm 80 this week, ask them to do the same. End your time in prayer, thanking God for what he taught you this week. * Purchasing an ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Bibles, 2008.) will aid you in your understanding of the Psalms. The first day s reading each week assumes you will have access to the notes in the ESV Study Bible. The ESV Study Bible is the most comprehensive study Bible ever published. It will help you understand not just the Psalms, but also the rest of the Bible in a deeper way. You can either buy the Bible (amazon.com, search: ESV Study Bible) or purchase online access to the notes at www.esvbible.org. Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV ), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. 2014 Elliot Grudem.