In this psalm, Israel has suffered affliction and destruction and now seeks the help of God her Shepherd. Israel is as a vine which once filled the land in prosperity but has been burned and cut down. The psalmist pleas with God to visit this vine and cause His face to shine on them once again.

What Does It Say?

1. God is asked, How long wilt thou be angry against the _________ of thy people?
2. God had fed them with the bread of _________.
3. For the vine, God had prepared ________ before it and had caused it to take deep ________.
4. In His displeasure, God had broken down her ___________ so that all who pass by do __________ her.
5. “So will not we go back from thee: __________ us, and we will ________ upon thy name.” 

What Does It Mean?

1. The psalm begins, “Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel” (v.1). God is the shepherd of Israel (Psalm 23:1-2 [1] The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. [2] He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
   See All...; Isaiah 40:11He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.
   See All...). Jesus Christ is also pictured as a shepherd (John 10:14I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
   See All...; Hebrews 13:20Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
   See All...; 1Peter 2:25For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.
   See All...; 1Peter 5:4). Look at these passages and consider the work and duties of a shepherd. List a number of ways in which God is like a shepherd.
2. In verses 8-16, Israel is compared to a vine. Compare this with the same picture in Isaiah 5:1-7 [1] Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: [2] And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. [3] And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. [4] What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? [5] And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: [6] And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. [7] For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.
   See All.... Why do you think God used a vine to picture Israel? What are the aspects of a vine that compare to the nation? How is this different from the picture of Christ as the vine in John 15:1-7 [1] I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. [2] Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. [3] Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. [4] Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. [5] I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. [6] If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. [7] If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
   See All...?
3. Verse 17 states, “Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself.” To whom is this referring? Who is the man of God’s right hand (see Psalm 110:1The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
   See All...; Ephesians 1:20Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
   See All...)? How does the last half of this verse compare with the last half of verse 15 (see also Zechariah 6:12And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD:
   See All...)? Who is “the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself” (see Matthew 28:18And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
   See All...; John 17:2As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.
   See All...)? 

What Does It Mean to Me?

1. Verses 3, 7, and 19 are identical except for the names used for God after the phrase, “turn us again.” At this point, verse 3 has “O God;” verse 7 has “O God of hosts;” and verse 19 has “O LORD God of hosts.” After God is addressed, each verse concludes, “and cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved.” What do these verses mean in context of the entire psalm? What is their spiritual application to our lives? How do these verses compare with Jeremiah 31:18I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God.
   See All... and Lamentations 5:21Turn thou us unto thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old.
   See All...?
2. Verse 14 states, “Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine.” What is the meaning of this verse? How could we apply the teaching of this verse to our own lives?

Suggested Memory Verses

Psalm 80:1Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth.
See All..., 14, 19