Psalm 80

The psalmist is again expressing the cry of the remnant, left behind when Israel was vanquished and her people taken away into slavery.

Perhaps the greatest temptation of humankind is to sing along with Frank Sinatra, “I did it my way.” We so very much want to chart our own course, to be the master of our own fate. Our challenge as Christians is in learning to distinguish our will from God’s will. As I noted in my meditation on Psalm 36 (June 6, 2012), seeking to know God’s will is not a denial of our ability to reason and work. It is an affirmation that human intellect and potential are fully realized within God’s divine grace and will.

In Psalm 80 the psalmist is living through the consequences of decisions made by the King to chart the course of Israel. He led the nation out from the shelter of God’s wings and into destruction. The remnant is desperate to find their way back to God. The refrain of this psalm, repeated three times (verses 3, 7, & 19), makes clear their only hope is for God to take the initiative to save them.

Today, churches and denominations are spending thousands of dollars trying to incorporate business strategies into the life of the church, in desperate attempts to revive dying churches. Campaigns and programs are not going to save our churches. If we want the fires of Godly revival burning brightly in our churches, we would do well to join our voices and sing with the psalmist,

  “Turn us again to yourself, O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies.

    Make your face shine down upon us.

    Only then will we be saved.”

Psalm 80:19

Sē’lah

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What word or phrase in today’s reading of the Psalms

 attracts your attention?

Reflect on that word or phrase.

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How does this passage touch your life today?

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Reading for July 21, 2012          Psalm 81