Sermon: O God, Shine upon the Church! Psalm 80

Don Ruhl

12 years ago

Listen to this sermon: 03182012Psa80

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O God, Shine upon the Church!

Hear what Israel did when she no longer dominated the land

Psalm 80

Don Ruhl • Savage Street, Grants Pass, Oregon • March 18, ad 2012

Prelude:

When I preached Psalm 79 February 26^th in the evening,
1. I told brother Wayne Duncan that Psalm 80 had a similar message;
2. he said that I should deliver Psalm 80 on a Sunday morning.
What has happened to the church in America and the Western World?
1. Our influence has diminished.
2. Many have left the church.
3. The world laughs at us.
4. The world curses us.
5. The world seeks to silence us.
  1. Yet, God started the church on the Day of Pentecost, and
  2. quickly, just as Daniel 2 prophesied,
    1. though starting small it covered the earth.
    2. In Europe and America, Christianity influenced the building of nations.
Yet, the church in most lands is like the buildings they once inhabited,
1. just a relic of some age in the past,
2. something that has become irrelevant in the minds of many.
Ancient Israel had similar problems
1. as shown in Psalm 80, but
2. they did something to remedy the situation.
  1. What did they do?
  2. Can we do it today?

Persuasion:

Psalm 80.0 — For Us

0 To the Chief Musician.
Set to “The Lilies.”
A Testimony of Asaph.
A Psalm.
(Psa 80.0)
1. Asaph wrote a heart-wrenching prayer to God,
2. set it to music,
  1. naming the tune, “The Lilies.”
  2. Music sometimes has a separate name from the name of a song.
    1. If you know the name of the tune, the music,
    2. you can sing other songs that have the same tune.
      1. [Examples from the back of our song book]
      2. Psalms 45 and 69 were also set to The Lilies.
Psalm 80.1, 2 — Hear Us

1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
You who lead Joseph like a flock;
You who dwell between the cherubim, shine forth!
2 Before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh,
Stir up Your strength,
And come and save us!
(Psa 80.1, 2)
1. Immediately Asaph pleads for the Shepherd of Israel to hear.
  1. After all, David wrote in the 23^rd Psalm,
    
    1 The LORD is my shepherd;
    I shall not want [lack].
    (Psa 23.1)
  2. If that be the case,
    1. the sheep should be able to go to the Shepherd
    2. in time of need and get help.
2. God dwells between the cherubim,
  1. the place where the glory of God met the priest.
  2. The psalmist wanted God to shine forth out of that place.
3. Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin
  1. were the tribes on the West side of the tabernacle as they camped and
  2. marched through the wilderness (Num 2.18–24).
    1. Ephraim and Manasseh were sons of Joseph, and
    2. Joseph and Benjamin were sons of the same mother.
Psalm 80.3 — Restore Us

3 Restore us, O God;
Cause Your face to shine,
And we shall be saved!
(Psa 80.3)
1. Verse 3 is like a chorus
  1. repeated three times in this psalm
  2. with a slight variation each time.
2. Something had happened to these tribes,
  1. needing God to shine upon them,
  2. needing God to be strong for them,
  3. needing God to save them,
    1. with a request for restoration added.
3. Asaph asked God to cause His face to shine
  1. upon them and for them,
  2. asking for the highest favor of God.
Psalm 80.4–6 — Answer Us

4 O LORD God of hosts,
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 great measure.
6 You have made us a strife to our neighbors,
And our enemies laugh among themselves.
(Psa 80.4–6)
1. These tribes prayed without ceasing for these things.
2. Beginning with a term of endearment,
  1. Asaph wanted to know how long would God be angry
  2. against the prayer of His people, because
    1. He had not answered it, or
    2. at least it appeared that way.
      1. Sometimes He works on the answer as we wait,
      2. which to us looks like He has not answered our prayers.
        
        Do not treat God like your waiter,
        
        and by the way,
        
        do not treat your waiter like you are God.
3. In the meantime they ate the bread of tears and drunk many tears.
4. While they prayed to God,
  1. their enemies contended with them and
  2. laughed at them.
Psalm 80.7 — Show Us

7 Restore us, O God of hosts;
Cause Your face to shine,
And we shall be saved!
(Psa 80.7)
1. They sang the chorus,
  1. repeating the request for restoration,
  2. repeating the request for God to cause His face to shine, and
  3. repeating that it would lead to salvation.
2. This time Asaph added to his reference to God.
  1. In verse 3, the poet said, “O God,” but
  2. then in verse 7, he said, “O God of hosts.”
3. In verse 3, he said it after simply mentioning some tribes of Israel, but
  1. in verse 7, he added, “of hosts,” because
  2. that refers to His armies, and
    1. in verse 6, Asaph had referred to the enemies of God’s people.
    2. The psalmist wanted God to use His resources to fight their enemies.
Psalm 80.8–11 — Bless Us

8 You have brought a vine out of Egypt;
You have cast out the nations, and planted it.
9 You prepared room for it,
And caused it to take deep root,
And it filled the land.
10 The hills were covered with its shadow,
And the mighty cedars with its boughs.
11 She sent out her boughs to the Sea,
And her branches to the River.
(Psa 80.8–11)
1. Asaph remembered how the God of hosts had blessed them in the past,
  1. like bringing a vine out of Egypt,
  2. preparing the soil of Canaan,
    1. removing the nations like stones, and
    2. transplanting the vine in that land.
2. In that good soil,
  1. the vine of Israel took deep root,
  2. grew, and filled the land,
    1. so that its shadow
      1. covered the hills, and
      2. covered the mighty cedars, and
    2. the vine kept growing that it
      1. sent out her boughs to the Sea, and
      2. her branches to the River.
Psalm 80.12, 13 — See Us

12 Why have You broken down her hedges,
So that all who pass by the way pluck her fruit?
13 The boar out of the woods uproots it,
And the wild beast of the field devours it.
(Psa 80.12, 13)
1. With God so blessing the vine Israel,
  1. Asaph questioned why God broke down her hedges,
  2. her protective defense,
    1. allowing the nations to come and
    2. take whatever they wanted from Israel.
2. Not only did their enemies plunder Israel, but
  1. their enemies destroyed her
  2. as a wild boar or other wild animal destroys a vine.
Psalm 80.14–16 – Visit Us

14 Return, we beseech You, O God of hosts;
Look down from heaven and see,
And visit this vine
15 And the vineyard which Your right hand has planted,
And the branch that You made strong for Yourself.
16 It is burned with fire, it is cut down;
They perish at the rebuke of Your countenance.
(Psa 80.14–16)
1. It was as though the God of hosts had abandoned Israel.
2. Therefore, Asaph, speaking for the tribes of Israel,
  1. pled with God
    1. to return,
    2. to look down from heaven to see their condition, and
    3. to visit them.
  2. The psalmist reminded God, crediting Him
    1. that His right hand had planted the vine Israel, and
    2. that He had made the branch strong for Himself.
3. Yet, things had changed, and
  1. it was burned with fire,
  2. it was cut down, and
    1. He had caused it to perish by the rebuke of His countenance.
    2. Asaph recognized that God had allowed this to happen, because
      1. He was angry with Israel (v. 4), and
      2. He had rebuked them
        
        with the look of His face,
        
        which Asaph wanted God to change from a rebuke to shining.
Psalm 80.17, 18 — Revive Us

17 Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand,
Upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself.
18 Then we will not turn back from You;
Revive us, and we will call upon Your name.
(Psa 80.17, 18)
1. Again, the poet/psalmist, prayer-leader/music-maker,
  1. pled for God to let His hand be favorable upon the man of His right hand,
  2. picturing Israel as a man rather than a vine.
2. Why did Asaph want this favor?
  1. He wanted it because God had made Israel,
  2. whom Asaph calls the son of man,
    1. strong for Himself.
    2. Although Israel was human,
      1. God had chosen to make the nation strong for His glory, but
      2. in her current condition that was not happening.
3. However, if the God of hosts would do this,
  1. Israel would not turn back from God, and
  2. as He revived them, they would call upon His name.
Psalm 80.19 — Save Us

19 Restore us, O LORD God of hosts;
Cause Your face to shine,
And we shall be saved!
(Psa 80.19)
1. They would sing the chorus for a third time.
2. The tribes of Israel though the prayer-writing, song-composing skills of Asaph,
  1. pled for restoration, the shining of God’s face, and salvation.
  2. How could God resist such words?
3. Asaph again added to the chorus, going
  1. from “O God” in verse 3
  2. to “O God of hosts” in verse 7
  3. to “O Lord God of hosts” in verse 19,
    1. which is truly “O Yahweh God of hosts.”

Exhortation:

The Message of Psalm 80 for the Church
1. The Problem
  1. Is God angry at the church and that is why she is shrinking and wrinkling?
  2. We have cried a thousand tears over the lost souls of apostate Christians.
  3. The secularists have increased their attacks against us.
  4. Why has God made us weak in the land?
  5. Why do the evolutionists recruit our young people?
  6. The church has been decimated in numbers.
2. Getting God’s Attention
  1. God, hear us when we pray.
  2. God, see our condition in the church.
  3. God, see how we once grew in America and restore that growth.
3. What We Need from God
  1. Shine, Jesus, Shine!
  2. Stir up Your strength and make the church strong for truth in the land.
  3. Restore us again to prominent influence in our nation.
  4. Let your hand, God, be upon us.
4. The Desired Result
  1. We will be saved from perishing in America.
  2. We will call upon the name of God.
My Adaptation of Psalm 80 for the Church today

0 To the prayer leader.

Set to a crying heart.

A Testimony for the church.

A Psalm.

1 Give ear, O Shepherd of the church,

You who lead the church like a flock;

You who dwell in heaven, shine forth!

2 Before Christians, preachers, and elders,

Stir up Your strength,

And come and save us!

3 Restore us, O God;

Cause Your face to shine,

And we shall be saved!

4 O LORD God of hosts,

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 great measure.

6 You have made us a strife to our neighbors,

And our enemies laugh among themselves.

7 Restore us, O God of hosts;

Cause Your face to shine,

And we shall be saved!

8 You have brought the vine Jesus;

You have planted Him and His church in every nation.

9 You prepared room for it in America,

And caused it to take deep root,

And it filled the land.

10 The hills were covered with its shadow,

And the mighty cities with its boughs.

11 She sent out her boughs to the East Coast,

And her branches to the West Coast.

12 Why have You broken down her hedges,

So that all the secularists who pass by the way pluck her fruit, our children?

13 The atheist boar out of the woods uproots it,

And the wild beast of evolution devours it.

14 Return, we beseech You, O God of hosts;

Look down from heaven and see,

And visit the body of Christ,

15 And the church which Your right hand has planted,

And the Christians whom You made strong for Yourself.

16 We are burned with fire, as worldliness pulls away our young people;

Congregations perish at the rebuke of Your countenance.

17 Let Your hand be upon the spiritual body of Christ,

Upon the sons and daughters whom You made strong for Yourself.

18 Then we will not turn back from You;

Revive us, and we will call upon Your name.

19 Restore us, O LORD God of hosts;

Cause Your face to shine on the church,

And we shall be saved from perishing in America!

God shines upon us everyday in every way.
1. Shine back at Him.
  1. Be restored.
  2. Be saved.
2. Psalm 80 shows the seriousness of having the Lord as your Shepherd.
  1. Do not play at Christianity.
  2. The Lord will answer a prayer like Psalm 80 and our adaptation of it
    1. when we live as Asaph did,
    2. whom lived for God and for Israel.
      1. We must live for Jesus and
      2. we must serve the church.
Rededicate Yourself.
Begin to Follow Jesus.

O God, Shine upon the Church!

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