Psalm 80:7-15 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 80:7-15 on biblegateway.com
Verse 7Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
Verse 8You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it.
Verse 9You cleared the ground for it; it took deep root and filled the land.
Verse 10The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches;
Verse 11it sent out its branches to the sea, and its shoots to the River.
Verse 12Why then have you broken down its walls, so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?
Verse 13The boar from the forest ravages it, and all that move in the field feed on it.
Verse 14Turn again, O God of hosts; look down from heaven, and see; have regard for this vine,
Verse 15the stock that your right hand planted.
Devotion
This Psalm was written when everything was going wrong for God's people. So, understandably, they cry out: "Restore us, O God; Let your face shine so that we may be saved." There will always be days when we just feel like crying. Some of us cry at the drop of a hat, while others never seem to shed a tear. What parts of your world are dark and broken? What parts of your world make you feel like crying? Turn to the hymn "O Little Town of Bethlehem"(ELW 279). Read through verses 1, 3 and 4. Notice the reference to turmoil and trouble—and the hope that God will rescue us.
Prayer
Restore me, O God; Let your face shine so that I may be saved. Amen.