Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from Ps 80.2 and following. Indeed, at the end of Psalm 79, Israel reminded God that he was “the flock of his pasture.” This Psalm begins by invoking the Shepherd of Israel. Like scattered sheep unable to find their way, the faithful cry out: “O God! bring us back.” This restoration work after a time of bewilderment is part of the care of our Good Shepherd (Ps 23:1-6). “Make your splendor shine,” asks the residue in his distress. Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, were the tribes who, under their banner, immediately followed the ark, the figure of Christ (Nb 10:11-28). From verse 13, believers are astonished: Why did God deliver to plunder and fire the vine, Israel, which He had carried from Egypt and planted with so much care? Jehovah gives His answer in Isaiah 5:1-7 in the form of another ‘why’: Why when I hoped that my vine would produce good grapes, did it produce wild grapes?
But in contrast to this vine of Israel, unproductive despite all the work of the divine Cultivator, John 15:1-8 designates “the true Vine”: Christ. He is introduced in verse 18 as the man of God’s right hand and the Son of man, the name He so often gives Himself in the Gospels. For this psalm seems to be related to the previous one: Verse 13 of Psalm 79 suggests verse 1 of Psalm 80. As a result, freedom and trust are affirmed in the soul of the residue. There is not the same confession of sin, but a more fervent prayer for deliverance, and a fuller understanding of divine counsel: Man sitting at the right hand of God is invoked, the son of man strengthened to accomplish God’s purposes. What a thought we are expressing here! To think that there is a man, “a real man” now glorified in the highest heavens! Such is Jesus resurrected and ascended to heaven (Mat 28:18; Ps 110.1; Dan 7:13-14; 1 Pet 3:22).
Thus, verse 3 relates to Numbers 10: when moving from the camp, we learn that the ark immediately preceded the banner of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, and when the tribes left, the trumpets sounded, just as here we have a prayer to the Lord. Verse 18 reminds us in a very special way of Matthew 26:64. The prophet, interceding for Israel, is moved by the touching and powerful memory of Israel’s past glories, as later the apostle Paul (Rom 9:1-5). And this is of great beauty: the very nature of the ruin attests to the majesty of the building, and awakens our interest all the more. About what might be called the refrain of this psalm: “bring us back”, we can notice that we find in Scripture the person of the Lord revealed in a striking way. Thus, seen in different days, He is both the one who answers prayer and the one who expresses it. He receives the Spirit and pours out the Spirit (Zechariah 12:10; Acts 2:33). He is the Rock (Mat 16:18) and yet he looks to God as to his Rock (Ps. 62). He is part of the flock (Ps. 23), while being the Shepherd of the flock (John 10). Sitting on the throne, he is the object of praise, and yet he leads the praise of the people (Ps 116; Apo 5).
He is a Priest, and yet the redeemed are made priests to Him (Rev. 20:6). On the one hand, he is a Jew, desiring that divine favor rests on his nation, and waiting for Jehovah to turn his face again to his people (Isaiah 8:17), and on the other hand, he is like Jehovah himself, the God of Israel, whose face is turned away from his people (Mat 23:39); thus is revealed in a striking way what he is as God and what he is as a man, at the same time the One who, Head of Israel, expects God, and who is himself the God of Israel. For everything is illuminated when one enters into the great mystery of “God manifested in the flesh”, with his glorious results. But who can express the extent of it? (Psalm 18.)
It was Jehovah, the God of hosts: Faith sighs after his presence, in power in the midst of his people, as in ancient times. The question is: “Until when” (the ardent desire of faith) “will your anger smoke against the prayer of your people?” These are the thoughts and the language of faith! The vine, transported from Egypt, was ravaged; his hedge, according to isaiah’s threat (Isaiah 5:5), was broken; tears were the only beverage of Jehovah’s people; the faithful beg God to look from the heavens and visit the vineyard: the vine he had planted and the provin [branch of the vine that takes root] that he had fortified for himself – the latter meaning the family of David.
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
Listen, Shepherd of Israel:
· Christ the Shepherd
-Appeal Ps 23:1-2 Song of David. The Lord is my shepherd: I will not lack anything.2 He makes me rest in green pastures, He directs me near the peaceful waters.
-Shows tenderness Isa 40:11 Like a shepherd, he will graze his flock, He will take the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his womb; He will lead the nursing sheep.
-Sacrifice Himself Jn 10:11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for his sheep.
-Is risen Hb 13:20 That the God of peace, who brought from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of an eternal covenant, our Lord Jesus,
Welcome the lost 1 Pet 2:25 for you were like wandering sheep. But now you have returned to the pastor and guardian of your souls.
Crown the faithful 1 Pet 5:4 And when the sovereign shepherd appears, you will obtain the incorruptible crown of glory.
· The Shekina, supernatural light or cloud that appeared on the propitiatory
Ex 40:35 Moses could not enter the tent of assignment, because the cloud remained on it, and the glory of Jehovah filled the tabernacle. 1 Kings 8:10 The moment the priests came out of the holy place, the cloud filled the house of Jehovah. Ps 80:2 Lend an ear, shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock! Appear in your splendor, You who sit on the cherubs! Isaiah 37:16 Eternal of hosts, God of Israel, sitting on the cherubs! It is you who are the only God of all the kingdoms of the earth, it is you who made the heavens and the earth. Lk 2:12 And here is what sign you will recognize it: you will find a child swaddled and lying in a manger.
· Wrath of God
Ex 4:14 Then jehovah’s wrath ignited against Moses, and he said, Is there not your brother Aaron, the Levite? I know he will speak easily. Here he is himself, who comes before you; and when he sees you, he will rejoice in his heart. Nb 32:13 Jehovah’s wrath ignited against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness for forty years, until the annihilation of the whole generation that had done evil in the eyes of Jehovah. 1 Kings 14:15 Jehovah shall strike Israel, and it shall be of him like the reed which is waved in the waters; he shall snatch Israel from that good land which He had given to their fathers, and he shall scatter them on the other side of the river, because they have made idols of themselves, irritating Jehovah. 2 Kings 13:3 The wrath of Jehovah ignited against Israel, and He delivered them into the hands of Hazael, king of Syria, and into the hands of Ben Hadad, son of Hazael, all the time these kings lived. 1 Ch 13:10 Jehovah’s wrath ignited against Uzza, and Jehovah struck him because he had laid out his hand on the ark. Uzza died there, before God. 2 Ch 28:25 and he established high places in each of the cities of Judah to offer perfumes to other gods. He thus irritated Jehovah, the God of his fathers. Ps 7:12 God is a just judge, God is irritated at all times.
· Providence gives, examples of divine provisions given in times of deficiency
-To Israel in the wilderness Dt 2:7 For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands, he has known your walk in this great wilderness. For forty years The Lord your God has been with you: you have lacked nothing.
-To Elijah in time of famine 1 Kings 17:6, 16 The crows brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank water from the torrent.16 The flour that was in the pot was not lacking, and the oil that was in the jug did not diminish, according to the word that Jehovah had spoken by Elijah.
-To Elijah in the wilderness 1 Kings 19:6 He looked, and there was at his bedside a cake baked on heated stones and a jug of water. He ate and purposeed, then went back to bed.
-To the army of the three kings 2 Kings 3:20 Or in the morning, at the time of the presentation of the offering, behold, the water came from the way of Edom, and the land was filled with water.
-To the widow of the prophet 2 Kings 4:6 When the vessels were full, she said to her son: Present me with another vase. But he replied: There is no more vase. And the oil stopped.
-In Samaria in time of famine 2 Kings 7:8 The lepers, having arrived at the entrance of the camp, entered a tent, ate and drank, and took away silver, gold, and clothes, which they went to hide. They returned, entered another tent, and took away objects that they went to hide.
-To the multitude that followed Christ Mt 14:20 All ate and were satiated, and twelve baskets were taken away full of the pieces that remained.
To Holy Phil 4:19 And my God will provide for all your needs according to His richness, with glory, in Jesus Christ.
From all of the above, we note that God’s people will be guarded. This is the scope of the request of this Psalm: the potential intervention of Jehovah, the God of Israel; the power placed on the Son of man! The petition has its source in israel’s great distress; however, faith awaits Jehovah, and sees him intervene in Israel. When he has visited them in this way, they will no longer withdraw behind him; when he has given them back their lives, they will invoke his name of Messiah. These verses show the subject of desire: “Bring us back”; however, it is still the external deliverance that they are waiting for. David asks for special attention to the point of view already mentioned: he indicates what was in the mind of the Lord, when he presented to his own this immense anomaly that the Son of man was to suffer. The Church and her union with Christ, and then individually known adoption, are the only things not revealed in the Old Testament. Everything about Christ is revealed, except perhaps christ’s present position as priest. Neither of these things are mentioned among the titles given to Christ in the first chapter of John’s gospel. He is the Lord of all things, but as a man, and by virtue of His work on behalf of His people, He delivers this deliverance from the residue of Israel. Our prayers are with you all.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to respond to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow “the faithful beg God to be delivered from the coalition of neighboring nations.”
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.