O God, restore us; light up your face and we shall be saved. Psalms 80:4 NABRE
This psalm is an appeal to God, the Shepherd of Israel, to restore His desolate people. Their prayer is confident and urgent. It begins with an appeal to God to intervene, then a complaint to God about their afflictions, an acknowledgement of the fact they are His people, His vineyard now ravaged, who beseech him once more and reassert their trust in him. God is seen as a Shepherd in this psalm while the people are the vineyard. These are terms used in Jesus time. Jesus describes Himself as the Shepherd who guides his people. Jesus loves His sheep, so much so that He lays down His life for His sheep. Jesus uses the image of a vineyard to signify the people that belong to the Lord, He compares them to the vine from which life flows to the branches, those who form part of the new people of God. In this psalm God as Shepherd is responsible for the people’s suffering, their tears, their humiliation. But they call God to restore them, to restore their nation as it was before. Saying light up Your face, which is a way of asking God to let His face shine upon them, let the people see His power to save them. The response is all up to God. The decision to restore, to save the people is His alone and will be done according to His plan for the nation and all people.
We might have had similar desperation, something happening in our life or our family that has us calling out to God; please God, restore things as they were, let your power intervene, through you all can be restored. We might see this in an accident or injury, an illness, a surprising diagnosis. Whatever the circumstance, when things are at their worse, we know it is only God who can restore us.
Do you call to God in a time of need? Do you accept God’s plan for your life?
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