Psalms

Chapter 80

Hear Us, O Shepherd of Israel

This psalm is a repeated plea for restoration addressed to the Shepherd of Israel who once led Joseph like a flock and was enthroned above the cherubim. The singer asks God to shine forth before the tribes, to stir up his strength, and to save a people who now eat the bread of tears and endure the scorn of their neighbors. The heart of the psalm is the image of Israel as a vine God brought out of Egypt, planted, and caused to flourish across the land, yet now left broken down and ravaged. The prayer closes by asking God to look down from heaven, visit this ruined vine, strengthen the man at his right hand, and restore his people so they may never turn away again.

Psalm 80 is a communal lament built around the refrain of restoration and the metaphor of the devastated vine. It links present distress to God's apparent withdrawal, yet it continues to appeal to his past shepherding care and covenant power as the only hope for renewal.

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Psalms 80

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vv. 1-19

Hear Us, O Shepherd of Israel

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F¹or the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Lilies of the Covenant.” A Psalm of Asaph. ²shine forth before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh. ³Restore us, O God,

⁴O LORD God of Hosts, ⁵You fed them with the bread of tears ⁶You make us contend with our neighbors; ⁷Restore us, O God of Hosts,

⁸You uprooted a vine from Egypt; ⁹You cleared the ground for it, ¹⁰The mountains were covered by its shade, ¹¹It sent out its branches to the Sea, ¹²Why have You broken down its walls, ¹³The boar from the forest ravages it,

¹⁴Return, O God of Hosts, we pray! ¹⁵the root Your right hand has planted, ¹⁶Your vine has been cut down and burned;

¹⁷Let Your hand be upon the man at Your right hand, ¹⁸Then we will not turn away from You; ¹⁹Restore us, O LORD God of Hosts;

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01vv. 1-19Hear Us, O Shepherd of IsraelThe psalm begins by calling on the Shepherd of Israel and the One enthroned above the cherubim to shine forth and save his people, repeating the plea that God would restore them and make his face shine. It then describes the people's condition in terms of tears, divine anger, and public humiliation before hostile neighbors. From there the prayer turns to the image of the vine God once brought from Egypt and planted so fruitfully throughout the land, asking why he has now broken down its walls and left it to ruin. The final movement asks God to return, look from heaven, strengthen the stock his right hand planted and the man at his right hand, and restore the people into revived covenant faithfulness.