Slices
Prepare
Do you have a friend whose face ‘lights up’ when they smile? Think of God’s shining, smiling face communicating his love, goodness and grace to your friend… then to others you love. Pray for God’s blessing on them today.
Bible passage
For the director of music. To the tune of ‘The Lilies of the Covenant’. Of Asaph. A psalm.
1 Hear us, Shepherd of Israel,
you who lead Joseph like a flock.
You who sit enthroned between the cherubim,
shine forth 2 before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.
Awaken your might;
come and save us.
3 Restore us, O God;
make your face shine on us,
that we may be saved.
4 How long, Lord God Almighty,
will your anger smoulder
against the prayers of your people?
5 You have fed them with the bread of tears;
you have made them drink tears by the bowlful.
6 You have made us an object of derision to our neighbours,
and our enemies mock us.
7 Restore us, God Almighty;
make your face shine on us,
that we may be saved.
8 You transplanted a vine from Egypt;
you drove out the nations and planted it.
9 You cleared the ground for it,
and it took root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shade,
the mighty cedars with its branches.
11 Its branches reached as far as the Sea,
its shoots as far as the River.
12 Why have you broken down its walls
so that all who pass by pick its grapes?
13 Boars from the forest ravage it,
and insects from the fields feed on it.
14 Return to us, God Almighty!
Look down from heaven and see!
Watch over this vine,
15 the root your right hand has planted,
the son you have raised up for yourself.
16 Your vine is cut down, it is burned with fire;
at your rebuke your people perish.
17 Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand,
the son of man you have raised up for yourself.
18 Then we will not turn away from you;
revive us, and we will call on your name.
19 Restore us, Lord God Almighty;
make your face shine on us,
that we may be saved.
Explore
This psalm is a prayer for spiritual revival and blessing from God. The people pictured here have lost God and therefore their security and hope. They feel torn apart, grief-stricken and vulnerable to attack from their enemies. It’s an urgent cry for God’s mercy and renewal.
In 1979 archaeologists excavating a tomb near Jerusalem discovered the priestly blessing (Numbers 6:25) written on two small silver scrolls dating from the seventh century BC – the oldest written Scriptures ever found. It’s a blessing still used today. Three times in this psalm (vs 3,7,19) it is echoed as they call on God to shine his face on them.
Many people see God as harsh and unyielding, rather than smiling (vs 4–6,16). However, there is a wider perspective in the Psalms, ‘For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favour lasts a lifetime’ (Psalm 30:5). While it’s true that God is displeased by our sin, he also made us, loves us and delights in us. William Cowper’s hymn reminds us that ‘behind a frowning providence He hides a smiling face’ (‘God moves in a mysterious way’, 1774).
Respond
How could you remind yourself of God’s ‘shining, smiling face’ wanting to bless you every day? Why not write out Numbers 6:25 and pin it up somewhere prominent?
Deeper Bible study
‘The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord … give you peace.’1
Previous readings call us to prayer. Psalm 80 yearns for our great, faithful Shepherd to hear our prayers. It is set when the walls are broken down, razed to the ground (vs 12,16). Israel is the laughing stock of her enemies (v 6). This was when the northern state of Israel was plundered by Assyria and many were exiled (722 BC). The call to Benjamin suggests it is before Judah’s later exile (587 BC). Israel cries for God’s help.
The psalm’s prayer is threefold: ‘Restore (šûḇ) us, O God; let your face shine on us, that we may be saved!’ (see vs 3,7,19). This calls for the God of heaven’s armies to hear Israel’s cries, as in Egypt,2 when he then led Israel to the Promised Land. Then, he established them like a vine, covering the whole land (vs 8–11). The psalmist pleads that God will hear, turn (šûḇ), will see them weeping (vs 5,14) and will arise (v 2) to defeat Assyria. He prays that God will again tend to his vine, Israel (vs 14,15). Verse 17 speaks of God’s hand laid on ‘the man at your right hand, the son of man’ – Israel’s Davidic king in Judah – that God’s anointed would bring deliverance to the north.
We read this through the lens of Jesus. He is the ‘man of God’s right hand, the Son of Man’.3 He is the vine, we are the branches.4 He is God’s salvation! We cry to God, yet he has already heard us and sent Jesus to save us! Again, his vine, his church, is in ruins. We join the psalmist praying that God will shine his face on us and restore us by the Spirit of the Son of Man. This restoration comes with God’s saving grace raising us to do the works of love and justice throughout the world.
Pray that God will shine his face upon us and that the Son of Man will prune us and restore us.
1 Num 6:24–26 2 Exod 2:23–25 3 Eg Luke 5:24; 6:5; 9:22 4 John 15:1–17
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Amos 1,2; Revelation 6
Pray for Scripture Union
SU New Zealand is running two wilderness journeys for school leavers from 7–18 December. Please pray for safety, fun, growing relationships with God and awareness of his creation as these young people prepare for life after school.
