Psalm 80:1-7 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 80:1-7 on biblegateway.com
Verse 1Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock! You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth
Verse 2before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh. Stir up your might, and come to save us!
Verse 3Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
Verse 4O Lord God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people's prayers?
Verse 5You have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in full measure.
Verse 6You make us the scorn of our neighbors; our enemies laugh among themselves.
Verse 7Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
Devotion
Advent approaches after the national elections. I am writing about 40 days before the election. Obama and Romney are about even in the polls. The three television debates have not taken place. But, whoever sits in the oval office will generate both hope and fears for our nation. We live in a great nation, but we are besieged by a host of crises both here and abroad.
We should have no difficulty identifying with the Psalmist. The Northern Kingdom had been thoroughly defeated and would come to be known as the “10 lost tribes of Israel.” Judah, the residence of the psalmist, was also under siege. The psalmist alternates between hope and despair. He cries out, “Restore us, O God,” and “O Lord God of Hosts, how long will you be angry?”
Our theme for these Advent devotions is “waiting with a sure and certain hope.” We alternate between hope and despair. That is reality. But we pray that we will be given the faith to believe: “Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.”
Prayer
Give wisdom and courage to our President, and the members of Congress, that they might be instruments of restoration and peace. Amen!