Psalms 80: Restore Us, O God
A national lament that pictures Israel as a ruined vine and pleads three times for God to make his face shine so they may be saved.
Psalms 80 (WEB)
1 Hear us, Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock, you who sit above the cherubim, shine out.
2 Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up your might! Come to save us!
3 Turn us again, God. Cause your face to shine, and we will be saved.
4 Yahweh God of Armies, How long will you be angry against the prayer of your people?
5 You have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in large measure.
6 You make us a source of contention to our neighbors. Our enemies laugh among themselves.
7 Turn us again, God of Armies. Cause your face to shine, and we will be saved.
8 You brought a vine out of Egypt. You drove out the nations, and planted it.
9 You cleared the ground for it. It took deep root, and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shadow. Its boughs were like God’s cedars.
11 It sent out its branches to the sea, Its shoots to the River.
12 Why have you broken down its walls, so that all those who pass by the way pluck it?
13 The boar out of the wood ravages it. The wild animals of the field feed on it.
14 Turn again, we beg you, God of Armies. Look down from heaven, and see, and visit this vine,
15 the stock which your right hand planted, the branch that you made strong for yourself.
16 It’s burned with fire. It’s cut down. They perish at your rebuke.
17 Let your hand be on the man of your right hand, on the son of man whom you made strong for yourself.
18 So we will not turn away from you. Revive us, and we will call on your name.
19 Turn us again, Yahweh God of Armies. Cause your face to shine, and we will be saved.
Psalms 80 (KJV)
1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth.
2 Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh stir up thy strength, and come and save us.
3 Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.
4 O Lord God of hosts, how long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people?
5 Thou feedest them with the bread of tears; and givest them tears to drink in great measure.
6 Thou makest us a strife unto our neighbours: and our enemies laugh among themselves.
7 Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.
8 Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it.
9 Thou preparedst room before it, and didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land.
10 The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars.
11 She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river.
12 Why hast thou then broken down her hedges, so that all they which pass by the way do pluck her?
13 The boar out of the wood doth waste it, and the wild beast of the field doth devour it.
14 Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine;
15 And the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted, and the branch that thou madest strong for thyself.
16 It is burned with fire, it is cut down: they perish at the rebuke of thy countenance.
17 Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself.
18 So will not we go back from thee: quicken us, and we will call upon thy name.
19 Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.
Psalms 80 (ASV)
1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; Thou that sittest above the cherubim, shine forth.
2 Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up thy might, And come to save us.
3 Turn us again, O God; And cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved.
4 O Jehovah God of hosts, How long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people?
5 Thou hast fed them with the bread of tears, And given them tears to drink in large measure.
6 Thou makest us a strife unto our neighbors; And our enemies laugh among themselves.
7 Turn us again, O God of hosts; And cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved.
8 Thou broughtest a vine out of Egypt: Thou didst drive out the nations, and plantedst it.
9 Thou preparedst room before it, And it took deep root, and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with the shadow of it, And the boughs thereof were like cedars of God.
11 It sent out its branches unto the sea, And its shoots unto the River.
12 Why hast thou broken down its walls, So that all they that pass by the way do pluck it?
13 The boar out of the wood doth ravage it, And the wild beasts of the field feed on it.
14 Turn again, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: Look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine,
15 And the stock which thy right hand planted, And the branch that thou madest strong for thyself.
16 It is burned with fire, it is cut down: They perish at the rebuke of thy countenance.
17 Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, Upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself.
18 So shall we not go back from thee: Quicken thou us, and we will call upon thy name.
19 Turn us again, O Jehovah God of hosts; Cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved.
Summary
This psalm of Asaph is a national lament structured around a refrain that grows more urgent each time: "Turn us again, God. Cause your face to shine, and we will be saved." It opens by addressing God as the Shepherd of Israel, the one who leads Joseph like a flock and sits enthroned above the cherubim, begging him to stir up his might and come to save. The people have been fed with the bread of tears and made a source of mockery to their neighbors. The psalmist then unfolds a memorable image: Israel as a vine that God brought out of Egypt, planted, and tended until it filled the land and sent its branches to the sea. But now its walls are broken down, passersby pluck it, the boar ravages it, and it is burned with fire. The prayer cries for God to look down from heaven, visit this vine, and let his hand rest on "the man of your right hand," "the son of man whom you made strong for yourself." Christians have long heard in that phrase a foreshadowing of Jesus, the true Vine and the Son of Man through whom God restores his people. The threefold refrain teaches us that revival begins not with our effort but with God turning us back to himself.
Voices
- The Shepherd of Israel — God enthroned above the cherubim, addressed as the one who leads his people like a flock and is begged to shine forth and save.
- The lamenting nation — Israel fed with the bread of tears, pictured as a ravaged vine, crying three times for God to restore and save them.
- The man of God's right hand — The "son of man" God makes strong for himself, in whom the church sees a foreshadowing of Christ the true Vine.
Key Verse
Psalm 80:3 (WEB)
Turn us again, God. Cause your face to shine, and we will be saved.
Lessons Learned
- God is the Shepherd of his people, and salvation begins when he turns us back to himself.
- The shining of God's face—his favor and presence—is what we most need in seasons of distress.
- God plants and tends his people like a treasured vine, and grieves when they are ravaged.
- Israel's vine, broken and burned, finds its restoration in the Son of Man at God's right hand.
- Revival is God's work. "Turn us again, God. Cause your face to shine, and we will be saved" (Psalm 80:3, WEB). We cannot restore ourselves; we ask God to turn us.
- God's favor is our salvation. "Cause your face to shine, and we will be saved" (Psalm 80:7, WEB). To have the light of God's countenance is to be rescued; to lose it is to be undone.
- God cherishes his people. "You brought a vine out of Egypt. You drove out the nations, and planted it" (Psalm 80:8, WEB). His people are his careful planting, not an afterthought.
- Hope rests on the Son of Man. "Let your hand be on the man of your right hand, on the son of man whom you made strong for yourself" (Psalm 80:17, WEB). Restoration comes through God's chosen one, fulfilled in Christ.
- What does it mean that the refrain repeats and intensifies through the psalm (80:3, 7, 19)?
- How does the image of the vine describe both Israel's blessing and its ruin?
- Why does the prayer ask God to make his "face shine" rather than simply to fix the problem?
- Who is the "son of man" of verse 17, and how might Christians read this verse in light of Jesus?
- What broken-down "vine" in your life or community most needs God to visit and restore it?
- The refrain grows from "God" to "God of Armies" to "Yahweh God of Armies" (80:3, 7, 19), each time pressing harder on God's power. The repetition is the heartbeat of the psalm, a people who will not stop asking until God restores them.
- God brought the vine out of Egypt, planted it, and made it fill the land (80:8-11); now its walls are broken, it is plucked, ravaged, and burned (80:12-16). The same vine shows both God's lavish care and the ruin that comes when his protection is withdrawn.
- Because the deepest need is not a changed circumstance but a restored relationship; the shining face means God's favor, presence, and reconciled smile (80:3). Help the group see that what we ultimately need is God himself, not merely his gifts.
- In context it points to Israel or its king, but Jesus took the title "Son of Man" as his own and called himself the true Vine (John 15). Christians rightly see verse 17 fulfilled in Christ, the Man of God's right hand through whom we are restored.
- This is a gentle personal-application question. Invite members to name a broken area—a relationship, a church, a wandering heart—and to pray the psalm's refrain over it. As leader, keep the focus on asking God to turn and restore rather than on self-improvement.