"Restore us, O God of hosts" by Jo-Ann Brant, professor of Bible, religion & philosophy
Scripture: Psalm 80:
(0) For the leader. Set to “Lilies.” A testimony. A psalm of Asaf:
2 (1) Shepherd of Isra’el, listen!
You who lead Yosef like a flock,
you whose throne is on the k’ruvim,
shine out!
3 (2) Before Efrayim, Binyamin and M’nasheh,
rouse your power; and come to save us.
4 (3) God, restore us!
Make your face shine, and we will be saved.
5 (4) Adonai, God of armies, how long
will you be angry with your people’s prayers?
6 (5) You have fed them tears as their bread
and made them drink tears in abundance.
7 (6) You make our neighbors fight over us,
and our enemies mock us.
[Complete Jewish Bible]---------------
Psalm 80 begins with a familiar metaphor, God the shepherd, but the imagery is unstable. The psalmist quickly moves to the use of shepherd as a metaphor for a king and shifts from a pastoral setting to a royal court. In contrast to Psalm 23, the people who speak do not experience God’s guidance and protection. These are the works of a people who feel God’s absence, a people in exile who call out for God’s presence and deliverance.
I recognize that this psalm was not written for me to pray but rather for me to hear. If my neighbor scorns me, it is because I have been complicit in feeding them with the bread of tears. If my enemies laugh at me, it is because I am like the fool in Ecclesiastes 7:4 who seeks out the house of mirth rather than the house of mourning. I know the answer to the psalmist’s question of how long the Lord God will be angry with my prayers. If I allow those who are in exile to drink from my cup that overflows, then I will feel the warmth of God’s face shine upon me because I will not need to turn away in shame because of my feasting.
In order to stand side by side with the Bethlehem shepherds to welcome our savior, I must also heed Jesus’ word in Matthew 5:23 and turn to them to ask permission to join their company.
Scripture: Psalm 80:1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock! You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth
2 before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh. Stir up your might, and come to save us!
3 Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
4 O Lord God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?
5 You have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in full measure.
6 You make us the scorn of our neighbors; our enemies laugh among themselves.
7 Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.[New Revised Standard Version]
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