Text: Psalm 80

Synopsis: Written sometime around the Assyrian invasion of Israel’s Northern tribes, Psalm 80 is a lament and prayer for the restoration of God’s people.  It gives us a language for praying for the church as it faces all manner of corruption, opposition, and frailty. Using both the metaphor of shepherd/flock and vinedresser/vine, the psalmist appeals to God on the basis of His attentive concern for His people.  Manifest in the psalmist’s sincere anguish is also a bold confidence that God will not abandon the work He began in and through His beloved flock/vine.  When Jesus later identifies Himself as both The Good Shepherd and The Vine, He reveals that the church’s only life comes through Him. A prayer for restoration is necessarily a prayer that the church would be united more closely to Christ.  Until He returns and completes the restoration of His spotless bride, we are called to pray Psalm 80 for ourselves and for our fellow brothers and sisters–being confident of this: that He who began a good work in us will be faithful to complete it.