Psalm 80:8-19 NKJV
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.
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.
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.
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.
19 Restore us, O Lord God of hosts;
Cause Your face to shine,
And we shall be saved!
On several occasions in Scripture the Lord likens His people to a vine. Israel is compared to a vineyard in which God planted the choicest vine (Isaiah 5). Ezekiel compares the inhabitants of Jerusalem to wood from a vine that has grown worthless and is only good for the fire (Ezekiel 15). By comparing God’s people to a vine, He teaches how He plants, cultivates, and prunes His people so that they might bear fruit.
In Psalm 80, the vine which God had prepared room for, planted, and made grow, is devastated. As punishment for its repeated sins and impenitence, God allowed the vine’s hedges to be broken down. Without divine protection, God’s people are easy pickings and her enemies uproot her. Asaph prays for God to cease to look upon them with a rebuking countenance and send the Son of Man, the one who sits at God’s right hand. When the Son of Man comes, God will cause His face to shine upon them, for when God looks favorably upon His people they are restored and saved.
God answers Asaph’s prayer when He sends His only begotten Son to take upon Himself human flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Jesus is the Son of Man whom God has made strong for Himself, that is, for His saving purpose. Jesus calls Himself the “true vine” (Jn 15:1), God’s perfect planting which gives forgiveness of sins and life to the branches grafted into Him. Branches are granted into Him by believing and remaining in His word. Grafted to Christ, receiving His life through His word, we bear good fruit. The fruit is faith amid trials, prayer, and the desire to hear and learn God’s word. The fruit is love for one’s neighbor, diligence in one’s callings, and all the fruits of the Spirit Paul mentions in Galatians 5. The branch that does not bear fruit will be taken away, just as the Jews were taken away at the time of the exile. Jesus also tells us that every branch that bears fruit, God the Father prunes, that it may bear more fruit (Jn 15:2). God planted His vine—Christ Jesus—and grafts believers to the vine so that they might have life and bear fruit.
Let us pray: Grant us steadfast faith, dear Father, so that we may continually abide in Christ, enjoy His blessings, and bear God-pleasing fruit today. Amen.