(Psalm 80:1-19) Listen, Shepherd of Israel,
Who leads Joseph like a flock;You who are enthroned above the cherubim, shine forth!
2 Before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, awaken Your power,
And come to save us!
3 God, restore us
And make Your face shine upon us, and we will be saved.
4 Lord God of armies,
How long will You be angry with the prayer of Your people?
5 You have fed them with the bread of tears,
And You have made them drink tears in large measure.
6 You make us an object of contention to our neighbors,
And our enemies laugh among themselves.
7 God of armies, restore us
And make Your face shine upon us, and we will be saved.
8 You removed a vine from Egypt;
You drove out the nations and planted it.
9 You cleared the ground before it,
And it took deep root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shadow,
And the cedars of God with its branches.
11 It was sending out its branches to the sea
And its shoots to the Euphrates River.
12 Why have You broken down its hedges,
So that all who pass that way pick its fruit?
13 A boar from the forest eats it away,
And whatever moves in the field feeds on it.
14 God of armies, do turn back;
Look down from heaven and see, and take care of this vine,
15 The shoot which Your right hand has planted,
And of the son whom You have strengthened for Yourself.
16 It is burned with fire, it is cut down;
They perish from the rebuke of Your face.
17 Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand,
Upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself.
18 Then we will not turn back from You;
Revive us, and we will call upon Your name.
19 Lord God of armies, restore us;
Make Your face shine upon us, and we will be saved.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
Even when and especially when our enemies mock and laugh at us, we just need to continue looking to the Lord. Obviously, God made the covenants with Israel to protect and guide them, as He chose them to be the missionaries to the world. These covenants will be fulfilled one day, in the Millennium.
Meanwhile, these verses can apply to other nations - meaning - if a nation and its leaders honor God, God will bless those nations. But! Other nations will never "replace" Israel. Let us be careful not to twist God's words so they say what we want to hear. If we do that, then we are dishonoring God!
Now, these verses do apply to individuals as well, as God desires that all come to know Him personally. All we have to do is see and believe and call upon Him, and it is the Lord who saves us. And as we ask, He will work things out, and work in and through us. In trusting and fearing the Lord and striving in obedience to His will, we do not have to fear or worry about anything or anyone, He will protect, guide and help us.
Several times in this psalm, David uses the name "God of armies". God created everything and is over everything and everyone, including the angels. As this is the case, we should know that God is able to carry out His promises and His plans, and we can be confident that it is as good as done! This is one level of trust.
We should also understand that God is omniscient, and therefore He knows what will work and what will not work. As He loves and cares for us, He would not steer us wrong! Therefore, we can be confident to obey His commandments, not because we have to, but because we want to. This is another level of trust! Then, the more we trust and follow through, the more we will see God work in our lives, the more we will see that we can trust the Lord... and, on and on. Faith and trust in the Lord will fill us with His comfort, courage and strength!
Our personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ is a journey. When we decide to take His hand, even when we stray or stumble, He will never let us go! And when we decide to walk closer and closer to Him and with Him, we will experience more and more of His comforting presence and the blessings of His light shining upon us.
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