What does it mean that God is the Shepherd of Israel in this passage?

Calling God the “Shepherd of Israel” pictures Him as the one who leads, guards, and feeds His people like a flock. The mention of Joseph, Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh shows that the whole nation, especially the northern tribes, is in view. By using this title, the prayer leans on God’s past care, when He guided them out of danger and into the land. It is a way of saying, “You have led us before, we still belong to You, so please listen and guide, protect, and rescue us again now.”

What does the repeated phrase “Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine” mean?

The repeated prayer, “Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved,” asks God to change the people’s hearts and to restore His favor. “Turn us” admits that they cannot fix themselves; they need God to bring them back to Him. “Cause thy face to shine” is a picture of God smiling on them again, instead of being angry. They believe that if God will turn them back and look on them with kindness, then rescue and healing will follow.

Why are the people being fed with the “bread of tears” in this psalm?

The line about God feeding them with the “bread of tears” shows how deep their sorrow is. It is as if their daily food is grief. They see this pain as connected to God’s anger over their sin and their wrong prayers. Their land is suffering, their neighbors fight with them, and enemies laugh at them. All of this feels like God has turned His face away. The image of tears as food and drink captures a long season of distress that only God’s restored favor can end.

Why is Israel pictured as a vine brought out of Egypt?

The vine image tells the story of how God rescued His people from Egypt and settled them in the promised land. Like a gardener who uproots a vine and carefully plants it in a new place, God cleared out the nations, planted Israel, and let them spread until they filled the land. The strong boughs reaching to the sea and the river show how well they once flourished. This makes their present ruin more painful: the hedges are broken, wild animals ravage the vine, and they beg God to look down, visit, and care for what His own hand planted.

What does it mean that God has broken down the hedges of the vine?

The hedges around the vine are a picture of God’s protection around His people. When the psalm says God has broken down these hedges, it means He has withdrawn that protection. Now anyone passing by can pick at the vine, and wild animals, like a boar from the wood and beasts of the field, can tear it apart. This shows that their suffering is not just bad luck. It is God’s judgment on their unfaithfulness. The people feel exposed and helpless, and so they ask God to return, repair the hedge, and guard them again.

Who is the “man of thy right hand” and “son of man” in this passage?

The prayer, “Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself,” asks God to strengthen the leader He has chosen. Many readers see this as pointing to the king from David’s line, who stood for the people as their head. Others see in it a broader picture of the whole people as one person in God’s hand. In any case, the idea is that if God upholds the one He has appointed, then the people will be kept, will not turn back, and will call on His name.

What does this passage teach about God’s anger and mercy?

This prayer shows both the pain of God’s anger and the hope of His mercy. The people feel that God is angry even with their prayers, and that He Himself has given them tears, strife, and scorn from neighbors. They know this comes from their sin and wandering. Yet they also remember that He is their Shepherd, that He planted them as His vine, and that He sits between the cherubim, close to His people. Because of this, they dare to ask Him to turn them back, shine on them again, and restore what has been burned and cut down.

How can this prayer for restoration apply to believers today?

This passage speaks to anyone who feels far from God or under His discipline. It teaches us to be honest about our trouble and about our own sin, and to see that the deepest need is not just relief, but to be turned back to God. The repeated cry, “Turn us again… and we shall be saved,” can shape our own prayers when we sense coldness or drift. It reminds us to look to God as our Shepherd, to remember His past care, and to ask Him to revive us so that we call on His name with a loyal heart.

What was happening to the people when this prayer was written?

The words point to a time when the tribes linked with Joseph, Ephraim, and Manasseh were in deep distress. They had once enjoyed growth and security in the land, but now God had let enemies overpower them. Neighbors fought them, mocked them, and their life felt like one long meal of tears. Behind this trouble was their earlier turning away from true worship. Even so, there was still a faithful group who cried out to God, trusting that He could look down from heaven, visit His vine, and restore what He had planted.

Why does this passage repeat the same plea three times?

The line, “Turn us again, O God… cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved,” appears three times with slightly fuller titles for God each time. This repetition shows how deep and urgent the request is. The people know that all their hope rests on God turning them back and restoring His favor. Saying it again and again presses the same truth into their own hearts: their rescue is not in their strength, their neighbors, or their kings, but in God’s mercy. It is a model of simple, earnest, and persistent prayer.

Ps.80.1

Psalm 80:1

KJV

Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth.

Hear Us, O Shepherd of Israel

For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Lilies of the Covenant.” A Psalm of Asaph.

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.

Cross References

No cross references available for this verse.