Psalms 80:1

Psalms 80:1 says,To the chief Musician upon ShoshannimEduth, A Psalm of Asaph.  After the introduction and instructions, verse one says, Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth.  God is referred to as the Shepherd of Israel, which made them His sheep.  We often look down on people and refer to them as sheep, but we are called to be the sheep of God's pasture as Christians. Verse two adds, Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh stir up thy strength, and come and save us.  The psalmist calls on God to display His great strength in the presence of all His people.  God's power should be evident today to all His people, those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.  God is never asleep or slumbering, so we never have a need to believe that we have to wake Him up.  Verse three continues, Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.  Asaph called on God to turn to them again, but he should have called on the people of Israel to turn to God again.  God never deserts His people, so if we are feeling that He has, we need to ask what we have allowed to come between Him and us.  Verse four states, O LORD God of hosts, how long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people?  Asaph felt that God was angry at the prayers of His people, but we can be certain that as long as we pray for God's will to be done in our lives and in the world that He will never be angry.  If we pray simply asking God for what we want and for His blessings or if we pray without any conviction that God does hear and answer our prayers, the we should not be surprised if He is upset with us.  Verse five adds, Thou feedest them with the bread of tears; and givest them tears to drink in great measure.  Asaph said that God had given His people bread that they ate with tears and that they drank tears in great measure.  I believe their sorrow was due to their own lack of faith though.  If we live in sorrow today as followers of Christ, I believe it is because we do not put all our faith in God, but instead allow material things to determine our happiness.  Verse six continues, Thou makest us a strife unto our neighbours: and our enemies laugh among themselves.  Asaph said the people of Israel had become a strife and a source of amusement to their neighbors.  As Christians, we may become a source of strife to those who do not believe in God, and they may even find our faith amusing, but it should not be because we profess to live for God while following the standards of the world.  Verse seven concludes, Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.  Asaph then asked that God turn them again so that they might be saved.  As followers of Christ, if we have lost the joy of our salvation and maybe even allowed sin back into our life, we need to turn again to God, but once we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we have everlasting salvation.  We do not have to be saved again.  Verse eight says, Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it.  Asaph said that God had rescued the people of Israel, bringing them out of Egypt and giving them the promised land.  As Christians, God has brought us out of the sinful world spiritually and gives us a place in the promised land of Heaven.  Verse nine adds, Thou preparedst room before it, and didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land.  Asaph said that God planted Isreal in the land that He gave them and that He gave them plenty of room to grow.  One day, we will be planted in the promised land, where there is room for everyone who accepts the salvation of Jesus Christ.  Verse ten continues, The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars.  Asaph said that the vine of Israel, God's people who were brought out of Egypt, had covered the land that He promised them.  As Christians, we are to be the branches of the Vine, Jesus Christ, and are to spread His word into all the world.  Verse eleven concludes,  She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river.  Asaph said that God's people were victorious even over people across the sea and the rivers, and as God's people today, we should reach out to all the world with the message of Christ so that those who accept Him can be a part of His kingdom.