Psalm 80

Psalm 80
Psalm 80 continues the cry of the 79th psalm on behalf of the people of Israel. Notice that the language used refers not to the godly remnant in the midst of, or separated from, an ungodly generation, as in the Second Book of the Psalms, or to the trials of the righteous man in the midst of those who reject God’s testimony (often it is Christ that is spoken of) as in the First Book; here the appeal is for Israel, the nation, that it be restored and revived as of old.
This psalm looks to God as the Shepherd of Israel, as Israel’s God. (See Isaiah 40:10, 1110Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. 11He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. (Isaiah 40:10‑11); Exodus 25:10-2210And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. 11And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about. 12And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four corners thereof; and two rings shall be in the one side of it, and two rings in the other side of it. 13And thou shalt make staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. 14And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them. 15The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it. 16And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee. 17And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. 18And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat. 19And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof. 20And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be. 21And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. 22And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel. (Exodus 25:10‑22)). Past the centuries of their wanderings as “Not My People” (Hosea 1:99Then said God, Call his name Lo-ammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God. (Hosea 1:9)), scattered among the Gentiles, this psalm turns back to the first, bright days of Israel, and so in verse 2 we have the three tribes who were nearest the ark in the camp on the wilderness journey (Numbers 2:18-2418On the west side shall be the standard of the camp of Ephraim according to their armies: and the captain of the sons of Ephraim shall be Elishama the son of Ammihud. 19And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were forty thousand and five hundred. 20And by him shall be the tribe of Manasseh: and the captain of the children of Manasseh shall be Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. 21And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were thirty and two thousand and two hundred. 22Then the tribe of Benjamin: and the captain of the sons of Benjamin shall be Abidan the son of Gideoni. 23And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were thirty and five thousand and four hundred. 24All that were numbered of the camp of Ephraim were an hundred thousand and eight thousand and an hundred, throughout their armies. And they shall go forward in the third rank. (Numbers 2:18‑24)), and who immediately followed the sanctuary on the march (Numbers 10:22-2422And the standard of the camp of the children of Ephraim set forward according to their armies: and over his host was Elishama the son of Ammihud. 23And over the host of the tribe of the children of Manasseh was Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. 24And over the host of the tribe of the children of Benjamin was Abidan the son of Gideoni. (Numbers 10:22‑24)). Israel then here in faith looks to Jehovah, God of hosts to lead them in displayed power as of old.
He had brought out a vine from Egypt, and planted it; it had grown great, but its fences were broken down; it was wasted and became food for the beast of the field. (See Isaiah 5:1-71Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: 2And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. 3And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. 4What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? 5And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: 6And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. 7For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry. (Isaiah 5:1‑7)). All this is acknowledged, it was God’s dealing with Israel because of fearful sins; but to Him Israel is here seen to look, and to call for deliverance.
All Israel’s blessing depends upon the Man they rejected and scorned and crucified, Whom God has made the Man of His right hand, made Him strong for Himself, as the verse reads. In Christ we see the eternal God become man in lowly grace; manhood once assumed, He will never give it up, and as man, yes, as Son of Man, He will come forth in power to reign where He was crucified.
Verses 18-19 ascribe to God the power for which Israel waits: “Revive us, and we will call upon Thy name; Restore us, and we shall be saved.”
When faith thus looks to God, there will be blessing. Does not the earnestness, the confidence expressed in the prayers in the Psalms, remind us who are believers, that we do not pray as often, and as earnestly, as believingly, as we should?