Weekday Devotion: Psalm 80
A continuing series of Psalm devotions for upcoming Sundays. These are written by Rev. Christopher Antonetti and adapted from The Psalms: A Devotional Commentary by C.M. Zorn.
Psalm 80:7-19
Restore us, O God of hosts;
let your face shine, that we may be saved!
You brought a vine out of Egypt;
you drove out the nations and planted it.
You cleared the ground for it;
it took deep root and filled the land.
The mountains were covered with its shade,
the mighty cedars with its branches.
It sent out its branches to the sea
and its shoots to the River.
Why then have you broken down its walls,
so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?
The boar from the forest ravages it,
and all that move in the field feed on it.
Turn again, O God of hosts!
Look down from heaven, and see;
have regard for this vine,
the stock that your right hand planted,
and for the son whom you made strong for yourself.
They have burned it with fire; they have cut it down;
may they perish at the rebuke of your face!
But let your hand be on the man of your right hand,
the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!
Then we shall not turn back from you;
give us life, and we will call upon your name!
Restore us, O Lord God of hosts!
Let your face shine, that we may be saved!
This Psalm is the cry of the church to God, both the church of the Old and New Testament. The church reminds God of all He did for it in the past, of what it is now, and what it has become thanks to the grace of God. The Old Testament church, the church of Israel, coming from Jacob, was taken out of slavery in Egypt by the Lord. The Lord planted them like a vine in their own land, and they thrived and grew. The New Testament church also, the church of Jesus Christ, has been planted by God and spread over the whole earth to be a blessing to all nations.
Yet things in the church are not always well in this world. The church experiences distress. It seems like God no longer protects it. The wall is down. There is no growth. We pray to God, why is this so? Why do enemies take away it’s fruit and destroy it?
The church does not expect a direct answer from the Lord but appeals to His faithfulness. God has been faithful to His church before. It is his son, adopted through baptism into Christ’s death and resurrection. The church continually asks God to be faithful to the one He has planted. For the church is the branch on the vine that is Jesus Christ himself. God, be faithful to us and rebuke your enemies who would tear down what you have planted, both outside and inside the visible church! If only you let us live, we will not turn back from you, we will call upon your name. Let your face shine on us, and we shall be saved!
Restore us, O God of hosts;
let your face shine, that we may be saved!
You brought a vine out of Egypt;
you drove out the nations and planted it.
You cleared the ground for it;
it took deep root and filled the land.
The mountains were covered with its shade,
the mighty cedars with its branches.
It sent out its branches to the sea
and its shoots to the River.
Why then have you broken down its walls,
so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?
The boar from the forest ravages it,
and all that move in the field feed on it.
Turn again, O God of hosts!
Look down from heaven, and see;
have regard for this vine,
the stock that your right hand planted,
and for the son whom you made strong for yourself.
They have burned it with fire; they have cut it down;
may they perish at the rebuke of your face!
But let your hand be on the man of your right hand,
the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!
Then we shall not turn back from you;
give us life, and we will call upon your name!
Restore us, O Lord God of hosts!
Let your face shine, that we may be saved!
This Psalm is the cry of the church to God, both the church of the Old and New Testament. The church reminds God of all He did for it in the past, of what it is now, and what it has become thanks to the grace of God. The Old Testament church, the church of Israel, coming from Jacob, was taken out of slavery in Egypt by the Lord. The Lord planted them like a vine in their own land, and they thrived and grew. The New Testament church also, the church of Jesus Christ, has been planted by God and spread over the whole earth to be a blessing to all nations.
Yet things in the church are not always well in this world. The church experiences distress. It seems like God no longer protects it. The wall is down. There is no growth. We pray to God, why is this so? Why do enemies take away it’s fruit and destroy it?
The church does not expect a direct answer from the Lord but appeals to His faithfulness. God has been faithful to His church before. It is his son, adopted through baptism into Christ’s death and resurrection. The church continually asks God to be faithful to the one He has planted. For the church is the branch on the vine that is Jesus Christ himself. God, be faithful to us and rebuke your enemies who would tear down what you have planted, both outside and inside the visible church! If only you let us live, we will not turn back from you, we will call upon your name. Let your face shine on us, and we shall be saved!
Related Posts
Recent
Sermon for Reminiscere, the Second Sunday in Lent, AD 2021
February 28th, 2021
Sermon for the Feast of St. Matthias (Lent Midweek 1), AD 2021
February 25th, 2021
Sermon for Invocabit, the first Sunday in Lent, AD 2021
February 21st, 2021
Sermon for Ash Wednesday, AD 2021
February 18th, 2021
Sermon for Quinquagesima, AD 2021
February 15th, 2021
Archive
2021
January
Sermon for the Eve of the Circumcision and Name of Jesus, AD 2020Sermon for the Second Sunday after Christmas, AD 2021Sermon for the Epiphany of Our Lord, AD 2021Sermon for the Baptism of Our Lord, AD 2021Sermon for the Second Sunday after the Epiphany, AD 2021Sermon for the Transfiguration of Our Lord, AD 2021
February
Sermon for Septuagesima, AD 2021Sermon for the Purification of Mary and Presentation of Our Lord, AD 2021Sermon for Sexagesima, AD 2021Sermon for Quinquagesima, AD 2021Sermon for Ash Wednesday, AD 2021Sermon for Invocabit, the first Sunday in Lent, AD 2021Sermon for the Feast of St. Matthias (Lent Midweek 1), AD 2021Sermon for Reminiscere, the Second Sunday in Lent, AD 2021
2020
July
August
Sermon for the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost, AD 2020Sermon for the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost, AD 2020Sermon for the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost, AD 2020Sermon for the Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost, AD 2020Sermon for the Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist, AD 2020Sermon for the Memorial of Allen Thomason, August 29, AD 2020Sermon for the Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost, AD 2020
September
Sermon for the Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost, AD 2020Sermon for the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost, AD 2020Weekday Devotion: Psalm 27Sermon for the Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost, AD 2020Weekday Devotion: Psalm 25Sermon for the Feast of St. Matthew, AD 2020Sermon for the Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost, AD 2020
October
Sermon for the Funeral of Phillip G. Gerk, Feast of St. Michael and All Angels, September 29, AD 2020Weekday Devotion: Psalm 80Sermon for the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost, AD 2020Sermon for the Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost, AD 2020Weekday Devotion: Psalm 96Sermon for the Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost, AD 2020Weekday Devotion: Psalm 46Sermon for Reformation Day, AD 2020
November
Sermon for the Feast of St. Simon and St. Jude, AD 2020Sermon for All Saints Day, AD 2020Sermon for the Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost, AD 2020Sermon for the Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost, AD 2020Sermon for the Last Sunday of the Church Year, AD 2020Sermon for the Funeral of Marjorie A. Fischer, November 24, AD 2020Sermon for a Day of Thanksgiving, November 25/26, AD 2020Sermon for Ad Te Levavi, the First Sunday in Advent, AD 2020