1Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
You who lead Joseph like a
flock;
You who dwell between the
cherubim, shine forth!
2Before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh,
Stir up Your strength,
And come and save us!
3Restore us, O God; Cause Your
face to shine,
And we shall be saved!
4O Lord God of hosts,
How long will You be angry Against the prayer of Your people?
5You have fed them with the bread of tears,
And given them tears to drink
in great measure.
6You have made us a strife to our neighbors,
And our enemies laugh among
themselves.
7Restore us, O God of hosts;
Cause Your face to shine,
And we shall be saved!
8You have brought a vine out of Egypt;
You have cast out the nations,
and planted it.
9You prepared room for it,
And caused it to take deep
root,
And it filled the land.
10The hills were covered with its shadow,
And the mighty cedars with its
boughs.
11She sent out her boughs to the Sea,
And her branches to the River.
12Why have You broken down her hedges,
So that all who pass by the
way pluck her fruit?
13The boar out of the woods uproots it,
And the wild beast of the
field devours it.
14Return, we beseech You, O God of hosts;
Look down from heaven and see,
And visit this vine
15And the vineyard which Your right hand has planted,
And the branch that You made
strong for Yourself.
16It is burned with fire, it is cut down;
They perish at the rebuke of Your
countenance.
17Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand,
Upon the son of man whom You
made strong for Yourself.
18Then we will not turn back from You;
Revive us, and we will call
upon Your name.
19Restore us, O Lord God of
hosts;
Cause Your face to shine,
And we shall be saved!
Commentary
Vs.
1 1Give ear, O
Shepherd of Israel,
You who lead Joseph like a
flock;
You who dwell between the
cherubim, shine forth!
This Psalm begins with a call for the Shepherd of Israel (a Name or Title of our God, Gen. 49:24) to hear their voices; the collective cries of Israel and shine forth! For it is He our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who is the Good Shepherd of Israel (Gen. 49:24; Psalm 23:1; John 10:1-18 etc.) who was even in ancient times leading Joseph, Israel’s son whom he bestowed his greatest blessing upon, like a flock. Thus Joseph is here representative of all the nation (see Gen. 49:22-24).
Vs. 2 “Before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh,
Stir up Your strength,
And come and save us!”
Three leading tribes are now mentioned; Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh. Now Ephraim and Manasseh were Joseph’s sons whom Jacob took as his own (Gen. 48:2-6), while Benjamin was Joseph’s most beloved youngest brother. These three tribes then were assigned by God the high rank and privilege of being the first tribes to follow behind the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord (Num. 2:17-24; 10:21-24). Therefore, as representatives of Israel their call is for the Shepherd of Israel to stand before them as the nations leader and stir up His strength and come and save them.
Vs. 3 “Restore us, O God; Cause Your face to shine,
And we shall be saved!”
God’s restoring Power is now being called upon for Israel’s restoration and salvation. For when He causes His face to shine, to look upon them with favor and grace they shall be saved, then from their current troubles, but ultimately from the world and ruler of it when they receive God’s Son.
Vs. 4-6 4O Lord God of hosts,
How long will You be angry Against the prayer of Your people?
5You have fed them with the bread of tears,
And given them tears to drink
in great measure.
6You have made us a strife to our neighbors,
And our enemies laugh among
themselves.
In making confession and supplications to our God the question is now asked, how long? How long will God be angry at the prayer of His people? For they have been brought low before their enemies, God's enemies. Now as to God being angry at the prayer of His people how could He not be, since they themselves had forsaken the true worship of God for pagan deities, therefore their own behavior soon degenerated into all kinds of wickedness and depravity that comes with turning from God and serving them. Therefore, He fed them with the bread of tears, He gave them sorrows upon sorrows, He even made them a strife to their neighbors, and yet when their enemies saw their affliction, they in their uplifted ease only laughed among themselves, which they should not have done. For judgment always begins at the house of God, and if it falls on us first what will be end of those who do not believe and obey Him, only a most dreadful and terrifying end that is for sure (2 Thess. 1:8; 1 Peter 4:17).
Vs. 7 “Restore us, O God of hosts;
Cause Your face to shine,
And we shall be saved!
Having laid out their plight before Him they once again ask God to restore them, to restore them to a right relationship with Himself, to restore them to their favored status, to cause His face to shine upon them, to make them His people once again, for when He does, they shall be saved! (Consider Hosea 1:8-10).
Vs. 8-11 8You have brought a vine out of Egypt;
You have cast out the nations,
and planted it.
9You prepared room for it,
And caused it to take deep
root,
And it filled the land.
10The hills were covered with its shadow,
And the mighty cedars with its
boughs.
11She sent out her boughs to the Sea,
And her branches to the River.
Israel’s history is now recalled to God. To remind Him that it was He who brought them (the vine) out of Egypt. That it was He who cast out the nations before them and gave them their land, that it is was He who then planted them as His vine in the land, and it was He who made room for them to grow and take deep root in the land and be fruitful (vs. 8-9). Therefore, they were the vine which God Himself planted and caused to cover the land, indeed all the hills, and even the mighty cedars were covered with their boughs, for the boughs of Israel went out as far as the Sea and her branches to River, the great River Euphrates (consider Exodus 15:7; Psalm 44:2 etc.). Thus, she (Israel) became the preeminent vine in the land, and yet for all of God’s doing in her life she only became a degenerate plant which brought shame to His Name and thus brought her to her current situation (Isaiah 5:1-7; Jer. 2:20-22). And so their appeal here in their repentance is that He once again work to reestablish them in the land that He has chosen for them and given to them to be His people in.
Vs. 12-13 12Why have You broken down her hedges,
So that all who pass by the
way pluck her fruit?
13The boar out of the woods uproots it,
And the wild beast of the
field devours it.
They now ask God why He has broken down their hedges, that is taken away His hedge of protection for them, leaving them vulnerable to everyone who passes by to pluck their fruit; that is to plunder and pillage them. Thus the boar of the woods and the wild beast of the field are figurative of the peoples devouring Jacob, dirty, filthy, cruel, people who show no mercy.
Vs. 14-15 14Return, we beseech You, O God of hosts;
Look down from heaven and see,
And visit this vine
15And the vineyard which Your right hand has planted,
And the branch that You made
strong for Yourself.
Once again, their passionate plea is for God’s visitation to come upon them. That He as the Lord of Hosts, that is He is the Lord of the heavens, would look down and see them, see all that is being done to them, that He would thus visit them, the vineyard which He Himself has planted. While the branch that He has made strong for Himself though representing the nation of Israel here (Isaiah 60:21-22) clearly has Messianic applications (consider Isaiah 4:2-6; Jeremiah 23:5-6, 33:15; Zechariah 3:8; 6:12). For the two are absolutory united together in God's plans. For just as God established the nation of Israel for Himself, so it is through Israel that God chose to bring forth His Messiah, that is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ into the world, not only for their salvation, but for all in this world who believe in Him.
Vs. 16 “It is burned with fire, it is cut down;
They perish at the rebuke of Your
countenance.”
They now decry that the vine which God planted has now been burned with fire, that is Jerusalem and the temple. Nonetheless at the rebuke of God’s countenance all those who have done so shall likewise perish. Think then of all the nations that came against Israel down through their history everyone of them God has destroyed, or brought to and end, (or will bring to and end), while Israel lives on!
Vs. 17-19 17Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand,
Upon the son of man whom You
made strong for Yourself.
18Then we will not turn back from You;
Revive us, and we will call
upon Your name.
19Restore us, O Lord God of
hosts;
Cause Your face to shine,
And we shall be saved!
Their finial appeal for God’s hand to be upon the man of His right hand can be none other than the Son of Man, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Man whom He has made strong for Himself. For He is God’s Chosen King, the One who will save and lead them when they receive Him as their King. On that Day then they will never again turn back from God, for God will be with them, with us all who believe in Him forever! Therefore, in closing, the prayer asks for God to revive and restore them, to cause His face to shine upon them (i.e., look favorably upon them), then they shall be saved!
Scripture Quotations
New King James (1982): Thomas Nelson.
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