Psalms 80:8–18

Asaph appeals to God again. He bases his appeal on God's sovereign grace and power in bringing Israel out of Egypt and settling them in a land that He Himself had fully prepared for them. The vine stands for Israel — a vine God planted after He drove nations out of their land, so that Israel might have her own place to grow and bear fruit for God (v. 8).

The vineyard was the circumcision, the nation generally. It was planted to produce fruit, but it failed. What marks the true vine is that fruit is the test. It is not a question of religious rites.

Other trees may be useful apart from their fruit; with the vine it is not so. Ezekiel, speaking of the vine, asks, "Is wood taken from it to make anything? Do people take a peg from it to hang any vessel on it?" (Ezekiel 15:3). If the vine produces no fruit it is useless.

The extent of the territory promised by God was reached in the days of Solomon, David's son. Israel achieved its greatest prosperity at that time. Those verses point to the borders of the land. The sea means the Mediterranean, and the river means the Euphrates.

The great thought of the vine is that it gives wine, which cheers the heart of God and man. Its special meaning is cheer for God as well as for man — man's response to God, more than God's blessing to man. Psalm 80:8-19 tells us that the Lord planted a vine in His own land, a vine brought from Egypt, from among the nations. Sadly, the boar out of the wood wasted it, and the wild beast devoured it. In other words Israel failed to bring joy to God, and to be blessed themselves in serving Him. They turned aside to idolatry, and were deaf to the calls of repentance from the lips of one prophet after another. Last of all God sent His Son. This was the last and final test. Sadly, they rejected Him and cast Him out.

The vine brought out of Egypt was laid waste; its hedge was broken down, as Isaiah had indeed warned them. Tears were the drink of Jehovah's people. They beg God to look down from heaven and visit the vine, the vineyard, and the branch made strong for God Himself. It is God's rebuke. But it also looks for God's own hand of power to rest on the man of that power — the Son of Man whom God had made strong for Himself.

When the Lord spoke of Himself as the Vine, He took up a picture the Old Testament had already used for Israel, above all in Psalm 80:8-18 and Isaiah 5:1-7. The Psalm declares that the vine lies desolate, yet it also speaks of "the Branch" and "the Son of Man," whom "You made strong for Yourself." Isaiah makes the reason for that desolation plain. Israel as the vine brought forth nothing but wild and worthless grapes. There was no fruit for God. Jesus Himself was the Branch made strong for Jehovah, and He now presents Himself as the real Source of all fruit for God on the earth.

He had brought a vine out of Egypt — and He brought it out, as the figure implies, to yield Him fruit: shall it not yield Him fruit? He had dispossessed nations, to make way for it; and He having made room, it rooted itself and filled the land.

The vine is good for nothing else but fruit, and with its trailing branches is the very image of dependence... Here the appeal is to God on the ground of what He had done for them, that that work should not be in vain.

The vine here stands for Israel. God planted it after casting nations out of their land, so that Israel might have her own place to grow and bear fruit for God. For the vine is good only for bearing fruit, as Ezekiel 15 bears witness... Fruit, speaking from a scriptural viewpoint, is for God, not for people's enjoyment.

But God caused Israel to take deep root and fill the land. Its shadow even covered the hills and the mighty cedar trees. The cedar is the total opposite of the clinging vine. Yet Israel once prospered so greatly that the greatest men on earth submitted to it... Now this was all past.

Israel reached the full extent of the territory God promised in the days of Solomon, David's son. That was the time of Israel's greatest prosperity. These verses refer to the borders of the land. The sea refers to the Mediterranean, and the river refers to the Euphrates.

It was not possible that the failure could be in God. He could appeal to themselves whether He could have done anything for His vineyard that He had not done. Yet when He looked for His vine to bring forth grapes, it brought forth wild grapes... It is this action of God which the psalmist sees, and which he laments. He says nothing directly of the moral causes... his argument goes back of all this, to the Immutable God and His purposes. He leaves out the people, as if they were of no account.

Verses 8-13 contain a touching recital of God's past dealings with the vine of His own planting. The psalm credits the nation's prosperity to the One who brought them out of Egypt. It traces their distress to the same hand... This is a remarkable example of how boldly and urgently faith pleads, when it has its true object clearly in view.

The Psalm declares that the vine is desolate, but it also mentions "the Branch" and "the Son of Man," the one "You made strong for Yourself." Isaiah makes the reason for that desolation plain. Israel as the vine brought forth nothing but wild and worthless grapes. There was no fruit for God. Jesus Himself was the Branch made strong for Jehovah. He now presents Himself as the real Source of all fruit for God on the earth.

He had brought a vine out of Egypt — brought it out, as is implied, to yield Him fruit: shall it not yield Him fruit? He had dispossessed nations, to make way for it; and He having made room, it rooted itself and filled the land. Next, we see its glory: it rose, shadowing the mountains, with a growth as solid as the mighty cedars. Lastly, we see it spread to the sea and to the River (Euphrates) — the boundaries God gave it in those directions.

The extent of the territory promised by God was reached in the days of Solomon, David's son. Israel achieved its greatest prosperity at that time.

But God caused Israel to take deep root and fill the land, even covering the hills with its shadow, and the mighty cedar trees. The cedar stands in total contrast to the clinging vine. Yet Israel's prosperity at one time was such that the greatest men of earth were subdued before it. Israel's influence had reached the nations (the sea), and the river, the Euphrates, her eastern border. Now this was all past.

The vine is good for nothing else but fruit, and with its trailing branches is the very image of dependence.

Jehovah had brought a vine out of Egypt, and had cast out the heathen and planted it. He had given it much patient care and had granted many privileges; but where was the fruit? "When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes?" (Isaiah 5:4). Israel — man in the flesh — failed. Privileges and favours developed no good where everything was evil and corrupt.

Verses 8-13 contain a touching account of God's past dealings with the vine of His own planting. They credit the nation's prosperity to Him who brought them out of Egypt. They trace their distress to the same hand too: "Why then have you broken down its walls?" This is a remarkable example of the bold urgency of faith's pleading, when its true object is in plain view.

In speaking of Himself as the Vine the Lord took up a figure that the Old Testament had applied to Israel. The Psalm declares the desolation of the vine, but it also mentions "the Branch" and "the Son of Man," whom "you have made strong for yourself." Jesus Himself was the Branch made strong for Jehovah, and He now presents Himself as the real Source of all fruit for God on the earth.

Israel reached the full extent of the territory God promised in the days of Solomon, David's son. That was the time of Israel's greatest prosperity. These verses point to the borders of the land. The sea is the Mediterranean, and the river is the Euphrates.

Lastly, we have its extension to the sea and to the River (Euphrates) — in these directions its divinely-given boundaries.

But God caused Israel to take deep root and fill the land, even covering the hills with its shadow, and the mighty cedar trees. The cedar is the complete opposite of the clinging vine. Yet Israel's prosperity at one time was so great that it subdued the greatest men of earth. Verse 11 shows that the nations (the sea) had felt Israel's influence, and that it reached the river, the Euphrates, her eastern border. Now this was all past.

They go back to the deliverance out of Egypt, in which He had separated them to Himself for fruit. The vine is good for nothing else but fruit, and with its trailing branches is the very image of dependence. The prophet Isaiah uses the same picture in the same way, but he speaks from God's side, while the psalmist speaks from the human side. Here the appeal is to God on the ground of what He had done for them, that that work should not be in vain.

The psalmist sees this action of God, and he mourns over it. He says nothing about the moral causes. They are implied, no doubt, in the very need they now have of Him. But his argument goes behind all of this, to the unchanging God and His purposes. He leaves out the people, as if they were of no account. Of course, when God took them up, He knew what was in man. He could not be deceived. He had brought this vine out of Egypt; He had taken abundance of pains with it. He had tied Himself to this people of His choice in front of the whole world. After all, could He be defeated?

This is a striking example of how boldly and urgently faith pleads, when it has its true object clearly in view.

When God first gave the word to Joshua, the Euphrates was the outer boundary. The Jordan was the proper one. Some of the tribes coveted what was on the other side, and so much the worse for them. They did not gain by it, but lost. But the Euphrates is the extreme limit, and that awaits the Lord Jesus.

Israel in the Old Testament is likened to a vine, and to a vine brought by God out of Egypt. One branch of it stood for the royal family, and from that family the Lord would come as a man — the Man of God's right hand, the Son of Man whom He made strong for Himself. But the Lord presents Himself as the true vine, not as Messiah, the Son of David, a branch. He is the stem. The apostles He was speaking to were the branches, and the Father was the gardener who tends it.

Verses 8–13 contain a touching account of God's past dealings with the vine of His own planting. These verses credit the nation's prosperity to the One who brought them out of Egypt, and trace its distress to the same hand: "Why have you broken down her hedges?" and so on. This is a remarkable example of the bold urgency of faith's pleading, when its true object is clearly in view.

Israel is compared to a vine brought out of Egypt and planted in a land from which the nations had been driven out. Hedged in and cared for by the divine Gardener, it should have borne fruit for Him. But we know His verdict: "it yielded wild grapes." Because of this He allows it to be overrun by the nations… In the past the enclosure had separated the garden of the Lord from the Gentiles around it. The Lord Himself broke it down.

The answer is plainly stated in Isaiah 5:2: "he looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes." It was not true to its character, for the wild grapes speak of rebellion, like that of a wild animal.

What was the result of these dealings with the people? Sadly, it proved that they would not listen to the voice of the Lord. They turned aside to strange gods — they would have none of Jehovah. So Jehovah gave them up to their own stubbornness of heart and allowed them to walk in their own plans. Here, then, is the answer to that question raised by the godly in the last psalm.

"I will remove its hedge," He says, "and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. I will make it a waste." It is this action of God which the psalmist sees, and which he laments. He says nothing directly of the moral causes. No doubt they are implied in the very need they now have of Him. But his argument goes back behind all this, to the unchanging God and His purposes. He leaves out the people, as if they counted for nothing. Certainly, when God took them up, He knew what was in man: He could not be deceived. He had brought this vine out of Egypt; He had taken great pains with it… After all, could He be defeated? It is the argument Moses used in the wilderness. God proposed to destroy the people for their stubbornness and to make a great nation of Moses himself. No, said Moses — the Egyptians will hear of it, and the nations will say that Jehovah was not able to bring this people into the land He promised them, and so killed them in the wilderness.

When the Lord spoke of Himself as the Vine, He took up a picture which the Old Testament had applied to Israel, in passages such as Psalm 80:8–18 and Isaiah 5:1–7. The Psalm declares the ruin of the vine, but it also names "the Branch" and "the Son of Man," whom "You made strong for Yourself." Isaiah makes the reason for the ruin plain. Israel as the vine produced nothing but wild and worthless grapes. There was no fruit for God. Jesus Himself was the Branch made strong for Jehovah, and He now presents Himself as the real Source of all fruit for God on the earth.

The well-known animal in its wild state. They are still found in Palestine, and live among the long reeds in the Jordan valley and marshy places. They are very destructive to cultivated land.

Isaiah 5:2 answers this plainly: "He looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes." The vine was not true to its character. Wild grapes speak of rebellion, like the rebellion of a wild animal.

It is this action of God which the psalmist sees, and which he laments. He says nothing directly about the moral causes. Their very need of Him no doubt implies them. But his argument reaches back behind all this, to the unchanging God and His purposes. He leaves out the people, as if they were of no account. When God took them up, He knew what was in man. No one could deceive Him. He had brought this vine out of Egypt; He had taken great pains with it. He had linked Himself openly, before the eyes of men, with this people of His choice. After all, could anything defeat Him?

Josiah was the last instrument God raised up in grace. After him God let the boar out of the wood waste His vineyard, and the wild beast of the field devour it (Ps. 80:13). That terrible disaster upset the whole order of nations that the Most High had set up. Since then the people of Israel have not held the land. They have forfeited all claim to it, whatever Jewish pride and self-will may say in our time. They will not hold the good land again until He comes whose right it is to reign. Then grace will give what righteousness now refuses.

The attack of the Assyrian, or northern power, comes onto the scene first in Psalm 79. That attack leaves Jerusalem and Jacob in ruins. Psalm 80 follows, presenting the vine brought out of Egypt, but laid waste by the boar out of the forest.

With respect to the imagery used in this Psalm, it is familiar in Scripture. The Christian does well to remember how the Holy Spirit pictures Gentile rule while Israel lies low under judgment: as a ravenous wild beast. This applies to Christianized Gentile power just as forcefully as it did to the old idol-worshipping heathenism. Such power is not the same thing as the living Church of God. Also, as Christ is the true Vine, so there is another plant that claims the same name but bears only fruit that provokes God — fruit that will fill the winepress of the wrath of God (Revelation 14:18-20).

The Psalm declares the desolation of the vine, but it also mentions "the Branch" and "the Son of Man," whom "you have made strong for yourself." Isaiah makes the reason for the desolation plain. Israel as the vine brought forth nothing but wild and worthless grapes. There was no fruit for God. Jesus Himself was the Branch made strong for Jehovah, and He now presents Himself as the real Source of all fruit for God on the earth.

Here the appeal is to God on the ground of what He had done for them, that that work should not be in vain.

Here is the same powerful argument. It leaves out the sin of the people, and pleads with God about the undoing of His own acts — as if the Unchangeable One could change, or the Almighty could be powerless.

The vine is good for nothing else but fruit, and with its trailing branches is the very image of dependence.

For the vine is good only for bearing fruit, as Ezekiel 15 bears witness. Indeed, if it does not bear fruit, it is thrown in the fire (John 15:6). Fruit, from a scriptural viewpoint, is for God, not for people's enjoyment.

They beg God to look down from heaven and visit His vine — the vine that God had planted and the branch that God made strong for Himself. Could the branch be a reference to David and his family, the line from which Christ came as a man?

So he cries now to God as the all-powerful one, "the God of hosts," always ready to carry out His will. He asks Him to return and visit this vine. Only His power had ever made it what it was — "the stock which Your right hand has planted, and the branch that You made strong for Yourself." Here the Targum renders it, "and upon the King Messiah, whom You have established for Yourself." The word literally means "the son," but in relation to a vine it would mean a branch, following Hebrew usage.

Surely "the Son of man, whom You made strong for Yourself" is meant to remind us of the earlier "branch" or "son, whom You made strong for Yourself." But the argument can work the other way too. God does, as we know, call Israel His son, so the first passage could be explained of the nation. Yet "the Son of man" and "the Man of God's right hand" cannot be applied to the nation according to Scripture. The first title clearly applies to Christ, and the second applies to Him by the easiest inference. He is just as clearly the "Branch" that God strengthens for Himself. And here is Israel's hope, and the hope of anyone.

The Psalm declares the ruin of the vine, yet it also mentions "the Branch" and "the Son of Man," whom "You made strong for Yourself." Isaiah makes the reason for the ruin plain. Israel as the vine brought forth nothing but wild and worthless grapes. There was no fruit for God. Jesus Himself was the Branch made strong for Jehovah, and He now presents Himself as the real Source of all fruit for God on the earth.

This is a remarkable example of how boldly and urgently faith pleads, when it has its true object clearly in view.

All seems to be over: "it is burned with fire, it is cut down: they perish at the rebuke of Your face." God seems to be against Himself, undoing the work He has done. But it is the sense of man's ruin that, after all, lifts the soul to grasp God's thoughts, and the psalmist ends with renewed confidence.

There is the sense of belonging to God, of being God's people, and of God's rebuke resting on them — "they perish at the rebuke of your face." This is God dealing with His people, or with a believer in his testimony today, when God deals with him in it. They feel they are His; yet God's work, looked back over as God carried it out in blessing, now looks foiled and a witness to the enemy's power. That power is not what faith rests on, but the rebuke of God. Faith turns to Him, to Him as the original source of the blessing and of the power that did the work.

The answer is stated plainly in Isaiah 5:2: "He expected it to bring forth good grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes." It was not true to character, for the wild grapes speak of rebellion, like that of a wild animal... This branch is the line of David, which God had made strong. Human failure left it open to the burning flame, and it was perishing at the rebuke of God's face.

"The Son of man, whom You made strong for Yourself," is surely meant to remind us of the earlier "branch" or "son, whom You made strong for Yourself"... God does call Israel His son, so the first passage could be explained of the nation. But "the Son of man" and "the man of God's right hand" cannot be applied that way according to Scripture. The first title directly, and the second by the easiest inference, apply to Christ. He is just as plainly the "Branch" that God strengthens for Himself. And here is Israel's hope, as well as the hope of anyone.

When the Lord spoke of Himself as the Vine, He took up a picture the Old Testament had already applied to Israel, in passages such as Psalm 80:8-18 and Isaiah 5:1-7. The Psalm declares the vine's desolation, yet it also mentions "the Branch" and "the Son of Man," whom "You made strong for Yourself." ... Jesus Himself was the Branch made strong for Jehovah, and He now presents Himself as the real Source of all fruit for God on the earth.

It looks, too, for God to return and visit the vine. But it does not look for the original state of things to be restored — that is not God's way. It looks for the setting up of the branch God had made so strong for Himself. And so with us now: we look for Christ to be exalted, even in the details. If we have failed, it is not fitting for us to ask God to set things right as before, as if nothing had happened. That could not be for His glory. We look instead for God Himself to come in and show His goodness in what displays His own grace.

When brought into blessing through Christ, the people will not go back from Jehovah. So for the third time they repeat the refrain, asking God to restore them and save them. Their first plea is that God is the Shepherd of Israel. Their second plea is that God cannot be indifferent to their sufferings. Their last plea is Christ, the Man of God's right hand.

God does, as we know, call Israel His son; and the first passage could in that way be explained of the nation. But Scripture will not let us apply "the Son of man" and "Man of God's right hand" that way. The first title says in so many words that this is Christ. The second points to Him by the easiest possible inference. He is also just as clearly the "Branch" that God strengthens for Himself. And here is Israel's hope, as well as the hope of anyone.

A man with large business interests may have someone of great ability acting for him and carrying out his wishes. He will often speak of that person as "my right-hand man." The Lord Jesus is indeed the "Man of Your right hand" the Psalmist spoke of (Ps. 80:17), and we have come under His authority. To Him all angels and authorities and powers are subject.

The psalm also looks for the divine hand of power to rest on the man of that power — the Son of man whom God had made strong for Himself. This, and not only Daniel 7, shows us why the Lord so often gives Himself the title of Son of man. Daniel 7 does no more than give the Son of man a special place. He is the One indeed rejected, but upon whom God's right hand is to rest in power. The Lord points to this in Luke 22:69. He had come down in grace, but that mission was now closed; from that hour they would know Him only in exalted power to judge.

When the Lord called Himself the Vine, He took up a picture the Old Testament had used for Israel, as in Psalm 80:8-18 and Isaiah 5:1-7. The Psalm declares the ruin of the vine, but it also speaks of "the Branch" and "the Son of Man" that "You made strong for Yourself." Isaiah makes the reason for the ruin plain. Israel as the vine brought forth nothing but wild and worthless grapes. There was no fruit for God. Jesus Himself was the Branch made strong for Jehovah, and He now presents Himself as the real Source of all fruit for God on the earth.

In this Psalm Israel suffers at the hand of God for turning away from Him. Their hope of being restored to God's favour rests on the Man of God's right hand. When the Son of man comes again it will indeed be for the recovery of Israel, and to deliver them from the power of their enemies. But they will then discover who their deliverer is. He is the One they crucified and killed when He first came to them in lowly grace as Jesus of Nazareth.

One very marked feature of this Psalm is how clearly and fully the need of personal new birth is recognised. National salvation is the general burden of their desire. But the necessary means of it is felt to be their own conversion of heart to the Lord. Nor do they underrate how deep their spiritual need is. Their speech is the cry of those who have no strength. What their hearts desire can be brought about only by the power of God. "Turn us again" and "Quicken us, and we will call upon your name" strikingly express this feeling.

Here they make their highest appeal: "But let your hand be on the man of your right hand, the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!" This is surely a reference to Christ. He is the resource of God, available for the need of man and for the upholding of the glory of God.

Power is in His hands for them. It is in His hands only — the hands of the One who has made atonement in the Manhood He has taken. In Him, too, is security for the future, which nothing else could give. Saved by such a wonderful salvation, they may now say without self-confidence, "Then we shall not turn back from you." And, knowing they need the Spirit's work, they add, "Give us life, and we will call upon your name."

chayah. In the Old Testament this word has the force of "to revive, or give new life" in a moral sense. So we read, "you will revive me again." In Psalm 119 the psalmist asks nine times to be revived — according to God's word, or His righteousness, or His judgements, and so on. The term clearly involves the principle of divine sovereignty. God makes alive according to His will.

One very marked feature of this Psalm is the clear and full way it recognises the need of personal new birth. National salvation is the general burden of their desire. But they feel that the way to it is their own conversion of heart to the Lord. Nor do they underrate the measure of their spiritual need. Their words are the cry of people who have no strength… "Restore us" and "Give us life, and we will call upon your name" express this feeling in a striking way.

It looks to God returning and visiting the vine. But it does not look for God to restore the old state of things — that is not God's way. It looks for the setting up of the branch God had made so strong for Himself… "Let your hand," says the faith of Israel, "be on the man of your right hand." Here they see their strength and safety — what keeps them right. "Then we shall not turn back from you." This will be true in full for Israel in the last day, and true in practice for us. His presence is what keeps us.

Dullness and death come from turning away from God and going our own way. So when they are turned back, they need to be given life — the reviving, life-giving power that calls the heart back to God. Then, with deeper seriousness and new confidence, the heart calls upon Him. In Israel it is really life from the dead. It is more than a prayer that cries out in trouble. It is the heart calling on God with confidence, now turned back to Him.

Once Christ brings them into blessing, the people will not go back from the Lord. So for the third time they repeat the refrain, "Restore us, O LORD God of hosts! Let your face shine, that we may be saved!" Their first plea is that God is the Shepherd of Israel. Their second plea is that God cannot be indifferent to their sufferings. The last plea is Christ, the Man of God's right hand.