Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Psalms 80:2

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Psalms 80:2. Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh — It is supposed that these three tribes represent the whole, Benjamin being incorporated with Judah, Manasseh comprehending the country beyond Jordan, and Ephraim all the rest.-Dodd.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Psalms 79-80 Cries from a conquered people

Like a previous psalm of Asaph, Psalms 79:0 is from the time of Jerusalem’s destruction and the taking of the people into captivity. (For an outline of events see introductory notes to Psalms 74:0.) The historical setting for Psalms 80:0 is not clear. Both psalms, 79 and 80, are cries to God for salvation after Israel has suffered defeat and desolation.

The scene around Jerusalem is one of horror. The temple has been destroyed, the city is in ruins, and the army is a mass of decaying corpses providing food for wild birds and animals. Shame is added to sorrow through the insults heaped on Israel by its neighbours (79:1-4).
True, the destruction of Jerusalem has been a judgment sent by God on the nation because of its sin, but, ask the people, is not that enough? Will not God now reverse his judgment and punish those who eat up his people (5-7)? They pray that God will forgive their sins and restore them to their land. In this way he will silence those nations who mock him as being powerless to save (8-10). God’s captive people cry out to him to rescue them and punish those who insult him (11-13).
Again the people cry to God for some decisive action that will save them from their present plight (80:1-3). They are weighed down with grief. God has apparently forgotten them and their enemies cruelly mock them (4-7).
When they think of the nation’s past glory they wonder why they must suffer such shame. Israel was like a vine transplanted from Egypt into Canaan, where it grew and spread. It covered the mountains, burst its boundaries, and reached to the Lebanon Ranges and the Euphrates River (8-11). Why then does God allow the wild beasts of the forest to plunder and destroy his vineyard? Why does he allow enemy nations to crush Israel (12-13)?
The people pray that God will rescue the suffering nation, that he will save the damaged vine and restore it to healthy growth (14-16). They pray that he will give back to Israel the strength it once had as his specially chosen nation (17-19).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

THE PRAYER

“Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; Thou that sittest above the cherubim, shine forth. Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up thy might, And come to save us. Turn us again, O God, And cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved. Oh Jehovah, God of hosts, How long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people? Thou hast fed them with the bread of tears, And given them tears to drink in large measure. Thou makest us a strife unto our neighbors; And our enemies laugh among themselves. Turn us again, O God of hosts; And cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved.”

Barnes stated that there are two prayers here (Psalms 80:1-3 and Psalms 80:4-7), but there are similarities. God is petitioned for salvation in both; He is requested to “Turn us again” in both (Psalms 80:3; Psalms 80:7); and the reference to the Aaronic blessings of Numbers 6:25, “Cause thy face to shine,” is in both (Psalms 80:3; Psalms 80:7).

The problem in these verses is the mention of Ephraim and Manasseh and Benjamin with no specific reference to any other of the tribes of Israel. Some have made this the basis of supposing that the falling away of the northern Israel was the occasion of the psalm; but Benjamin did not belong to the ten tribes who rebelled against the house of David.

Barnes’ explanation here of how these three names came to be mentioned is: (1) “Thou leadest Joseph like a flock” was a common reference to God as the leader of all Israel. (2) This came about because of the vital part Joseph had in preserving the life of the nation from the famine and for his favorable location of Israel in the Nile Delta. (3) “Ephraim and Manasseh seem to be mentioned here because Joseph their father had been referred to in the previous verse; and it was natural in speaking of the people to refer to his sons.”Ibid. Benjamin was mentioned because he was the brother of Joseph, and all three of these constituted the whole Rachel branch of the Twelve Tribes.

It appears to us that there is also another good reason. The two half-tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh represented the northern Israel, and the tribe of Benjamin represented the southern Israel, where they remained faithful to the house of David. How beautifully all of this fits! God is the “Shepherd of Israel,” who leads Joseph like a flock, not merely part of Joseph (standing for Israel) but all Israel, as represented by the three descendants of Jacob through Rachel.

“Thou hast fed them with the bread of tears” This is a reference to the times of extreme sorrow, disappointment, and suffering through which Israel was passing at the time this psalm was written.

THE METAPHOR OF THE VINE

This metaphor of Israel as a vine is frequently mentioned in the Old Testament.

“My well-beloved had a vineyard in a very fruitful hill; he digged it, gathered the stones out of it, and planted it with the choicest vine. He built a tower in the midst of it, hewed out a winepress; and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes” (Isaiah 5:1-2). “I had planted thee a noble vine, a wholly right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate branches of a foreign vine unto me? (Jeremiah 2:21). An alternative reading here for `degenerate vine,’ is `corrupt vine.’“Cross-Reference Bible, p. 1331.

It is this background teaching of Israel as God’s vine that illuminates the declaration of Jesus Christ that, “I am the true vine” (John 15:1). This means that Christ is the True Israel of God, and that there is none other.

The historical Israel never developed as the vine God had intended; only in Jesus Christ did there appear the Noble Vine of God’s intentions. It is in the full realization of these facts that we have the understanding that Jesus’ holy Church, which is “in him,” is therefore a part of his spiritual body, the New Israel which has replaced the Old Israel. God’s Church in Christ is the True Israel of God. The New Testament eloquently bears witness of this epic truth. Paul referred to Christians in Galatians 6:16 as, “The Israel of God.”

PROBLEMS OF THE CORRUPT VINE

In the times when this psalm was written, the degenerate vine had brought forth a sufficient crop of “wild grapes,” to fully justify God’s rooting them out of Canaan where God had planted them. The balance of this chapter describes what was happening to the doomed degenerate vine of Ancient Israel.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Before Ephraim, and Benjamin, and Manasseh - Ephraim and Manasseh were the two sons of Joseph, and their names were given to two of the tribes of Israel. See the notes at Psalms 78:67. They seem to have been particularly mentioned here, because Joseph, their father, had been referred to in the previous verse; and it was natural, in speaking of the people, to mention his sons. Benjamin is mentioned because, in the encampment and march through the wilderness, these three tribes always went together, as the descendants of the same mother. Genesis 46:19-20; Numbers 2:18-24; Numbers 10:22-24. It is probable that they were always especially united in the great operations of the Hebrew people, and that when one was mentioned it was customary to mention the others, as being of the same family, or descended from the same mother. There does not appear, from the psalm itself, any particular reason why the prayer is offered that God would manifest himself especially to these three tribes; and nothing in regard to the occasion on which the psalm was composed, can be argued from the fact that they are thus mentioned.

Hengstenberg indeed supposes that the common idea that the tribe of Benjamin adhered to Judah in the revolt of the ten tribes is erroneous, and that Benjamin was one of the ten tribes which revolted; and that Simeon was not included in the number because he had no separate territory, but only certain towns and places within the limits of the tribe of Judah. Prof. Alexander, embracing this opinion, supposes that the psalm refers to the calamities which came upon the ten tribes at the time of their captivity. But this supposition seems to me to be improbable. The obvious and fair interpretation of the narrative on the subject is, that the tribe of Benjamin adhered to that of Judah at the time of the revolt, for it is said 1 Kings 12:21 that “when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to right against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam, the son of Solomon.” Besides, even on the supposition that Benjamin was one of the ten revolted tribes, the fact that these three tribes are particularly mentioned together would not prove that the psalm referred to the carrying away of the ten tribes into Assyria, for still the question would arise why these are particularly mentioned rather than any other of the ten. It seems to me, therefore, that the fact that these are specified can be explained on the suppositions above suggested:

(a) That the main reference in the psalm was to the coming out of Egypt - the bringing the “vine” - that is, the people - from that land Psalms 80:8;

(b) That in alluding to that, it was natural to make mention of Joseph, who was so distinguished there, and who, after so many trials, was exalted to so great honor that his name might be given to the whole people;

(c) That when Joseph had been spoken of, it was natural, in the progress of the psalm, to mention particularly the names of his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh; and

(d) that having mentioned them, it was natural also to refer to one whose name was always associated with that of Joseph as his younger brother by the same mother, and to the tribe of that name which was always associated with Ephraim and Manasseh in the march.

I regard the psalm, therefore, as referring to the entire Hebrew people, and the names of these three tribes as representatives of the whole nation. The prayer is, that God would manifest; himself in the presence of his people.

Stir up thy strength - As if he were indifferent to their condition; as if he put forth no effort to save them. See the notes at Psalms 35:23.

And come and save us - Margin, as in Hebrew, come for salvation to us. That is, Come and deliver us from our enemies and our dangers.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Psalms 80:1-19

Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine foRuth ( Psalms 80:1 ).

God's dwelling between the cherubim. Actually, in the book of Revelation John describes the throne of God with the four cherubim round about the throne crying, "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty ceasing not to declare the greatness and holiness of God, night and day."

Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh stir up your strength, and come and save us. Turn again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved. O LORD God of hosts, how long will you be angry against the prayer of thy people? You feed them with the bread of tears; you give them tears to drink in great measure. You make us a strife unto our neighbors and to our enemies: they laugh among themselves. Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved. Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: you have cast out the heathen, and planted it ( Psalms 80:2-8 ).

The vine out of Egypt, of course, is the nation Israel. "You've brought it out of Egypt, and You've prepared it in this land."

You've prepared room before it, you did cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land ( Psalms 80:9 ).

And so the people of God filled this land of Israel.

The hills were covered with the shadow of it, the boughs thereof were like goodly cedars. She sent out her boughs into the sea, her branches to the river. Why have you then broken down her hedges, so that they all which pass by the way do pluck her? The boar out of the woods doth waste it, the wild beast out of the fields doth devour it. Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine ( Psalms 80:10-14 );

And so the nation Israel typified as a vine. This is a symbolism that is used also in the prophet Isaiah. God speaks of His vineyard, how He planted it, and cultivated it, and put the winepress in it, but it never did bring forth the fruit that He desired.

And the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted, the branch that thou hast made strong for thy self. It's burned with fire, it's cut down: they perish at the rebuke of thy countenance. Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, and upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself. So will not we go back from thee: quicken us [or make us alive], and we shall call upon thy name. Turn us again, O LORD God of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved ( Psalms 80:15-19 ).

"O God, turn to us once more, cause Your face to shine." For God had forsaken the nation Israel, because they had forsaken God. And as Asa was told by the prophet, "The Lord is with you while you'll be with Him. And if you seek Him, He'll be found of you. But if you forsake Him, He will forsake you." So the nation Israel forsook God; God forsook them. But I can think of no greater tragedy in life than to be forsaken by God. And thank God it is an experience that none of us need to go through. On the cross Jesus cried, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" There on the cross Jesus was forsaken of the Father in order that you never need be forsaken by God. And thus, "Turn, O God, remember Your people. Bring Thy salvation."

Shall we pray.

Father, we thank You for the opportunity of studying Your Word. May we learn from the lessons that are here, Father. Oh God, may we really apply the truths to our own situations, and may we walk, oh Lord, with Thee. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Shall we stand.

David said, "I will hide Thy Word in my heart that I might not sin against Thee." And may you do likewise. May you go forth and let the Word of God dwell in your hearts richly through faith. That you might be able to comprehend how much God does love you, how much God is concerned with your well being, how much God wants to help you and strengthen you. And thus, may you walk with Him this week in a renewed consciousness of His love and of His power and of His goodness. And may He strengthen you for every test and trial that you might face. And may you walk in the victory of Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit, living a life that is acceptable and pleasing unto Him. In Jesus' name. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The psalmist appealed to Yahweh as the Shepherd of His people Israel (cf. Psalms 23:1; Psalms 28:9); "shepherd" was a common title of the king in the ancient Near East (cf. Psalms 78:71). He also referred to Him as sitting enthroned above the cherubim in the temple (cf. Psalms 99:1). Ephraim was the leading tribe in the north and Benjamin was the leader in the south. Manasseh was the leader in Transjordan in the east.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

1. An appeal to Israel’s Shepherd 80:1-3

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Psalms 80

Again Asaph called on God to deliver and restore Israel. The nation was downtrodden and needed Yahweh’s salvation. This community lament psalm is unusual because of the figure the psalmist used to describe Israel. He pictured the nation as a grape vine (Psalms 80:8-16). The fall of Samaria in 722 B.C. may be in view. [Note: Kidner, Psalms 73-150, p. 288.] Psalms 77, 81 also lament the destruction of Samaria, the former capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel.

"Except for the books of Jeremiah and Lamentations, the psalms have more to say about tears than any other book in the Bible." [Note: Armerding, p. 116.]

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, stir up thy strength,.... Which Christ did in the public ministry of the word, speaking as one having authority, and not as the Scribes and Pharisees; and in the performance of miracles, openly, and in the sight of all; and in his sufferings and death for the salvation of his people; in which he appeared to be the mighty God, travelling in the greatness of his strength, and mighty to save. These tribes design all Israel, before whom the above things were done; and the allusion is to these three tribes marching immediately after the Kohathites, who carried the ark on their shoulders in journeying, Numbers 2:17 which is called the Lord's strength, and the ark of his strength,

Psalms 78:61. The Targum in the king's Bible reads, to the children of Ephraim, c. reading לבני instead of לפני see the Masorah, and Proverbs 4:3,

and come and save us; come from heaven to earth, not by change of place, but by assumption of nature; this was promised and expected, and is here prayed for; Christ is now come in the flesh, which to deny is antichristian; and his end in coming was to save his people from their sins, from the curse and condemnation of the law, and wrath to come; and as he came on this errand, he is become the author of eternal salvation, in working out which he has shown his great strength.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

To the chief musician upon Shoshannim, Eduth. 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.

      The psalmist here, in the name of the church, applies to God by prayer, with reference to the present afflicted state of Israel.

      I. He entreats God's favour for them (Psalms 80:1; Psalms 80:2); that is all in all to the sanctuary when it is desolate, and is to be sought in the first place. Observe, 1. How he eyes God in his address as the Shepherd of Israel, whom he had called the sheep of his pasture (Psalms 79:13), under whose guidance and care Israel was, as the sheep are under the care and conduct of the shepherd. Christ is the great and good Shepherd, to whom we may in faith commit the custody of his sheep that were given to him. He leads Joseph like a flock, to the best pastures, and out of the way of danger; if Joseph follow him not as obsequiously as the sheep do the shepherd, it is his own fault. He dwells between the cherubim, where he is ready to receive petitions and to give directions. The mercy-seat was between the cherubim; and it is very comfortable in prayer to look up to God as sitting on a throne of grace, and that it is so to us is owning to the great propitiation, for the mercy-seat was the propitiatory. 2. What he expects and desires from God, that he would give ear to the cry of their miseries and of their prayers, that he would shine forth both in his own glory and in favour and kindness to his people, that he would show himself and smile on them, that he would sir up his strength, that he would excite it and exert it. It had seemed to slumber: "Lord, awaken it." His cause met with great opposition and the enemies threatened to overpower it: "Lord, put forth thy strength so much the more, and come for salvation to us; be to thy people a powerful help and a present help; Lord, do this before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh," that is, "In the sight of all the tribes of Israel; let them see it to their satisfaction." Perhaps these three tribes are named because they were the tribes which formed that squadron of the camp of Israel that in their march through the wilderness followed next after the tabernacle; so that before them the ark of God's strength rose to scatter their enemies.

      II. He complains of God's displeasure against them. God was angry, and he dreads that more than any thing, Psalms 80:4; Psalms 80:4. 1. It was great anger. He apprehended that God was angry against the prayer of his people, not only that he was angry notwithstanding their prayers, by which they hoped to turn away his wrath from them, but that he was angry with their prayers, though they were his own people that prayed. That God should be angry at the sins of his people and at the prayers of his enemies is not strange; but that he should be angry at the prayers of his people is strange indeed. He not only delayed to answer them (that he often does in love), but he was displeased at them. If he be really angry at the prayers of his people, we may be sure it is because they ask amiss, James 4:3. They pray, but they do not wrestle in prayer; their ends are not right, or there is some secret sin harboured and indulged in them; they do not lift up pure hands, or they lift them up with wrath and doubting. But perhaps it is only in their own apprehension; he seems angry with their prayers when really he is not; for thus he will try their patience and perseverance in prayer, as Christ tried the woman of Canaan when he said, It is not meet to take the children's bread and cast it to dogs. 2. It was anger that had continued a great while: "How long wilt thou be angry? We have still continued praying and yet are still under thy frowns." Now the tokens of God's displeasure which they had been long under were both their sorrow and shame. (1.) Their sorrow (Psalms 80:5; Psalms 80:5): Thou feedest them with the bread of tears; they eat their meat from day to day in tears; this is the vinegar in which they dipped their morsel,Psalms 42:3. They had tears given them to drink, not now and then a taste of that bitter cup, but in great measure. Note, There are many that spend their time in sorrow who yet shall spend their eternity in joy. (2.) It was their shame, Psalms 80:6; Psalms 80:6. God, by frowning upon them, made them a strife unto their neighbours; each strove which should expose them most, and such a cheap and easy prey were they made to them that all the strife was who should have the stripping and plundering of them. Their enemies laughed among themselves to see the frights they were in, the straits they were reduced to, and the disappointments they met with. When God is displeased with his people we must expect to see them in tears and their enemies in triumph.

      III. He prays earnestly for converting grace in order to their acceptance with God, and their salvation: Turn us again, O God!Psalms 80:3; Psalms 80:3. Turn us again, O God of hosts! (Psalms 80:7; Psalms 80:7) and then cause thy face to shine and we shall be saved. It is the burden of the song, for we have it again, Psalms 80:19; Psalms 80:19. They are conscious to themselves that they have gone astray from God and their duty, and have turned aside into sinful ways, and that it was this that provoked God to hide his face from them and to give them up into the hand of their enemies; and therefore they desire to begin their work at the right end: "Lord, turn us to thee in a way of repentance and reformation, and then, no doubt, thou wilt return to us in a way of mercy and deliverance." Observe, 1. No salvation but from God's favour: "Cause thy face to shine, let us have thy love and the light of thy countenance, and then we shall be saved." 2. No obtaining favour with God unless we be converted to him. We must turn again to God from the world and the flesh, and then he will cause his face to shine upon us. 3. No conversion to God but by his own grace; we must frame our doings to turn to him (Hosea 5:4) and then pray earnestly for his grace, Turn thou me, and I shall be turned, pleading that gracious promise (Proverbs 1:23), Burn you at my reproof; behold, I will pour out my Spirit unto you. The prayer here is for a national conversion; in this method we must pray for national mercies, that what is amiss may be amended, and then our grievances would be soon redressed. National holiness would secure national happiness.