Christ our Restorer - Psalm 80

Can you think of a time when you were truly desperate? Desperation arises when we are unable to solve the problems before us. Perhaps you’ve experienced a financial crisis, sought to mend a relationship that felt irreconcilable, or pleaded for the care of a loved one. Desperation grips our emotions and begs for our attention — and yet, we are naturally more desperate than we might realize.

On Sunday, Austin preached on Psalm 80, showing us that God has shone His face through His Son to save and restore His desperate people. Through Jesus, God provides salvation, restoration, and life.

Psalm 80 reveals the psalmist’s longing for Israel to be restored. The context of the psalm was likely following the destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians. The psalmist recognized Israel’s desolate state — its inhabitants lamented, its fortifications were destroyed, and its enemies laughed in mockery.

While the psalmist knew all these things could have been prevented by the Lord, it was not out of careless neglect that God allowed these things to happen. Israel had stubbornly rebelled against God. Rather than see the Lord’s patience as a prompt for repentance, many of the Israelites became hard-hearted in their sin. They rejected God’s statutes and worshiped false gods, sinning persistently in their rampant idol worship. God treated Israel righteously by allowing it to be defeated by the Assyrians in its persistent idolatry and refusal to repent.

The psalmist remembered God’s kindness to Israel and longed for reconciliation with God. The repeated line of the psalm involved the request that God would let His face shine, that Israel may be saved (see vv. 3, 7, 19). The psalmist longed for Israel to once again enjoy God’s favor. 

Like Israel, humans cannot improve their sinful condition or fix their standing before God by their own effort. In order for sinful man to enjoy right relationship with God, God must intervene.

Amazingly, Jesus has intervened. He gave His life to rescue people who would have deserved His wrath, and He rose victoriously from the dead. In Him is divine forgiveness, salvation from God’s wrath, and eternal life. Reconciliation with God comes only through Jesus.

This Advent, let all of us who love Christ remember how He provided for us in our desperate condition. Let us praise our righteous and gracious Savior and Lord!

Resources:

Reflection Questions:

  • How does the psalmist’s language in Psalm 80 point to God’s past faithfulness?

  • How were God’s justice and grace displayed in the gospel?

  • How can you faithfully respond to this psalm?

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