Heart of a Psalmist - Worshipping Christ Through The Psalms

“Turn us again to yourself, O God. Make your face shine down upon us. Only then will we be saved.”(3)

The people of God have turned away from their shepherd. The singer petitions God to intervene and turn their spiritual direction towards him. If he does not “shine down” there will be no revival. “Only then…” will people be saved and lives restored. In the mystery of his sovereignty he invites the musical prophet Asaph to begin petitioning him to accomplish this sacred task. The purpose of this psalm is to awaken this ancient prayer; “Turn us…” in the hearts of those who dwell close to him in worship.

II SHINE DOWN UPON US - 4-7

“O Lord God Almighty, how long will you be angry and reject our prayers? You have fed us with sor- row and made us drink tears by the bucketful. You have made us the scorn of neighboring nations. Our enemies treat us as a joke.” (4-6) Asaph calls upon the full force of God’s name: “Jehovah, Elohim, T’Sabaoth” his redemptive name, his creator name and his name of Lordship and war. The condition of the nation is beyond des- perate; “anger… rejection… sorrow… tears… scorn…” The situation is “a joke” to the surrounding coun- tries; God’s beautiful vine is the subject of ungodly comedians.

“Turn us again to yourself, O God Almighty. Make your face shine down upon us. Only then will we be saved.” (7)

All the power and might of God hinges upon the invitation of mankind’s prayer, he waits for the in- tercession of his church before turning the hearts of people to himself. Jesus is the source of all light: “I am the light of the world.” (Jn. 8:12) and “only then…” as this intercessory prayer ascends will the light of his divine love be turned upon the lost. “For God, who said, ‘Let there be light in the darkness,’ has made us understand that this light is the brightness of the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Cor. 4:6)

III SPREAD OUR BRANCHES - 8-13

“You brought us from Egypt as though we were a tender vine; you drove away the pagan nations and transplanted us into your land. You cleared the ground for us, and we took root and filled the land.” (8, 9) This is the first of Asaph’s songs that focuses upon the conquest of Canaan rather than the deliv- erance from Egypt. Although the immediate application of the vine is the nation of Israel, the true su- pernatural vine is Christ himself to which all of God’s people are vitally connected. “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.” (Jn. 15:1) This vine is miraculous and can flourish anywhere as illus- trated in the next verses: • It grows upon the mountains in the south- “The mountains were covered with our shade;”(10) • It grows upon the cedars in the north- “the mighty cedars were covered with our branches.” (10) • It grows upon the sea to the west- “We spread our branches west to the Mediterranean Sea.” (11) • It grows eastward across the desert- “our limbs east to the Euphrates River.” (11)

It is possible for God’s church to grow in every situation as we remain connected to the vine of life.

“But now, why have you broken down our walls so that all who pass may steal our fruit? The boar from the forest devours us, and the wild animals feed on us.” (12, 13)

It was essential for the vineyard to have walls: “A certain landowner planted a vineyard, built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice, and built a lookout tower.” (Mt. 21:33) Without bound- aries the vine is subject to all kinds of abuse. The boar is the most destructive as it eats the roots of the vine not just the branches and fruit. Assyria, like the boar, completely uprooted the ten northern tribes of Israel and moved them to their own country in 721 B.C.

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