TRV
Translation
King James Version
¶ To the chief Musician upon Shoshannimeduth, A Psalm of Asaph. Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth.
KJV (with Strong's)
Complete Jewish Bible
For the leader. Set to "Lilies."A testimony. A psalm of Asaf: Shepherd of Isra'el, listen! You who lead Yosef like a flock, you whose throne is on the k'ruvim, shine out!
Berean Standard Bible
Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel, who leads Joseph like a flock; You who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth
American Standard Version
Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; Thou that sittest above the cherubim, shine forth.
World English Bible Messianic
Hear us, Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock, you who sit above the cherubim, shine out.
Geneva Bible (1599)
To him that excelleth on Shoshannim Eduth. A Psalme committed to Asaph. Heare, O thou Shepheard of Israel, thou that leadest Ioseph like sheepe: shewe thy brightnes, thou that sittest betweene the Cherubims.
Young's Literal Translation
To the Overseer. --`On the Lilies.' A testimony of Asaph. --A Psalm. Shepherd of Israel, give ear, Leading Joseph as a flock, Inhabiting the cherubs--shine forth,
In the KJVVerse 15,200 of 31,102
Study This Verse
Commentary on Psalms 80 verses 1–7
1 ¶ To the chief Musician upon Shoshannimeduth, A Psalm of Asaph. Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth.
2 Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh stir up thy strength, and come and save us.
3 Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.
4 O LORD God of hosts, how long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people?
5 Thou feedest them with the bread of tears; and givest them tears to drink in great measure.
6 Thou makest us a strife unto our neighbours: and our enemies laugh among themselves.
7 Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.
The psalmist here, in the name of the church, applies to God by prayer, with reference to the present afflicted state of Israel.
I. He entreats God's favour for them (Psa 80:1, Psa 80:2); that is all in all to the sanctuary when it is desolate, and is to be sought in the first place. Observe, 1. How he eyes God in his address as the Shepherd of Israel, whom he had called the sheep of his pasture (Psa 79:13), under whose guidance and care Israel was, as the sheep are under the care and conduct of the shepherd. Christ is the great and good Shepherd, to whom we may in faith commit the custody of his sheep that were given to him. He leads Joseph like a flock, to the best pastures, and out of the way of danger; if Joseph follow him not as obsequiously as the sheep do the shepherd, it is his own fault. He dwells between the cherubim, where he is ready to receive petitions and to give directions. The mercy-seat was between the cherubim; and it is very comfortable in prayer to look up to God as sitting on a throne of grace, and that it is so to us is owning to the great propitiation, for the mercy-seat was the propitiatory. 2. What he expects and desires from God, that he would give ear to the cry of their miseries and of their prayers, that he would shine forth both in his own glory and in favour and kindness to his people, that he would show himself and smile on them, that he would sir up his strength, that he would excite it and exert it. It had seemed to slumber: "Lord, awaken it." His cause met with great opposition and the enemies threatened to overpower it: "Lord, put forth thy strength so much the more, and come for salvation to us; be to thy people a powerful help and a present help; Lord, do this before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh," that is, "In the sight of all the tribes of Israel; let them see it to their satisfaction." Perhaps these three tribes are named because they were the tribes which formed that squadron of the camp of Israel that in their march through the wilderness followed next after the tabernacle; so that before them the ark of God's strength rose to scatter their enemies.
II. He complains of God's displeasure against them. God was angry, and he dreads that more than any thing, Psa 80:4. 1. It was great anger. He apprehended that God was angry against the prayer of his people, not only that he was angry notwithstanding their prayers, by which they hoped to turn away his wrath from them, but that he was angry with their prayers, though they were his own people that prayed. That God should be angry at the sins of his people and at the prayers of his enemies is not strange; but that he should be angry at the prayers of his people is strange indeed. He not only delayed to answer them (that he often does in love), but he was displeased at them. If he be really angry at the prayers of his people, we may be sure it is because they ask amiss, Jam 4:3. They pray, but they do not wrestle in prayer; their ends are not right, or there is some secret sin harboured and indulged in them; they do not lift up pure hands, or they lift them up with wrath and doubting. But perhaps it is only in their own apprehension; he seems angry with their prayers when really he is not; for thus he will try their patience and perseverance in prayer, as Christ tried the woman of Canaan when he said, It is not meet to take the children's bread and cast it to dogs. 2. It was anger that had continued a great while: "How long wilt thou be angry? We have still continued praying and yet are still under thy frowns." Now the tokens of God's displeasure which they had been long under were both their sorrow and shame. (1.) Their sorrow (Psa 80:5): Thou feedest them with the bread of tears; they eat their meat from day to day in tears; this is the vinegar in which they dipped their morsel, Psa 42:3. They had tears given them to drink, not now and then a taste of that bitter cup, but in great measure. Note, There are many that spend their time in sorrow who yet shall spend their eternity in joy. (2.) It was their shame, Psa 80:6. God, by frowning upon them, made them a strife unto their neighbours; each strove which should expose them most, and such a cheap and easy prey were they made to them that all the strife was who should have the stripping and plundering of them. Their enemies laughed among themselves to see the frights they were in, the straits they were reduced to, and the disappointments they met with. When God is displeased with his people we must expect to see them in tears and their enemies in triumph.
III. He prays earnestly for converting grace in order to their acceptance with God, and their salvation: Turn us again, O God! Psa 80:3. Turn us again, O God of hosts! (Psa 80:7) and then cause thy face to shine and we shall be saved. It is the burden of the song, for we have it again, Psa 80:19. They are conscious to themselves that they have gone astray from God and their duty, and have turned aside into sinful ways, and that it was this that provoked God to hide his face from them and to give them up into the hand of their enemies; and therefore they desire to begin their work at the right end: "Lord, turn us to thee in a way of repentance and reformation, and then, no doubt, thou wilt return to us in a way of mercy and deliverance." Observe, 1. No salvation but from God's favour: "Cause thy face to shine, let us have thy love and the light of thy countenance, and then we shall be saved." 2. No obtaining favour with God unless we be converted to him. We must turn again to God from the world and the flesh, and then he will cause his face to shine upon us. 3. No conversion to God but by his own grace; we must frame our doings to turn to him (Hos 5:4) and then pray earnestly for his grace, Turn thou me, and I shall be turned, pleading that gracious promise (Pro 1:23), Burn you at my reproof; behold, I will pour out my Spirit unto you. The prayer here is for a national conversion; in this method we must pray for national mercies, that what is amiss may be amended, and then our grievances would be soon redressed. National holiness would secure national happiness.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 1–7. Public domain.
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Augustine of HippoAD 430
Confessions 4.10
“O God of hosts, restore us to our own; smile on us, and we shall find deliverance.” For wherever the soul of a person may turn, unless it turns to you, it clasps sorrow to itself. Even though it clings to things of beauty, if their beauty is outside God and outside the soul, it only clings to sorrow.Yet these things of beauty would not exist at all unless they came from you. Like the sun, they rise and set. At their rise they have their first beginning; they grow until they reach perfection; but, once they have reached it, they grow old and die. Not all reach old age, but all alike must die. When they rise, therefore, they are set on the course of their existence, and the faster they climb toward its zenith, the more they hasten toward the point where they exist no more. This is the law they obey. This is all that you have appointed for them, because they are parts of a whole. Not all the parts exist at once, but some must come as others go, and in this way together they make up the whole of which they are the parts. Our speech follows the same rule, using sounds to signify a meaning. For a sentence is not complete unless each word, once its syllables have been pronounced, gives way to make room for the next. Let my soul praise you for these things, O God, Creator of them all; but the love of them, which we feel, through the senses of the body, must not be like glue to bind my soul to them. For they continue on the course that is set for them and leads to their end, and if the soul loves them and wishes to be with them and finds its rest in them, it is torn by desires that can destroy it. In these things there is no place to rest, because they do not last. They pass away beyond the reach of our senses. Indeed, none of us can lay firm hold of them even when they are with us. For the senses of the body are sluggish, because they are the senses of flesh and blood. They are limited by their own nature. They are sufficient for the purposes for which they were made, but they cannot halt the progress of transient things, which pass from their allotted beginning to their allotted end. All such things are created by your word, which tells them, “Here is your beginning, and here your end.”
Augustine of HippoAD 430
LETTER 130
For whatever other words we may say, whatever words the fervor of the suppliant utters at the beginning of his petition to define it or follows up afterward to intensify it, we say nothing that is not found in this prayer of the Lord, if we pray properly and fittingly. But whoever says anything in his prayer that does not accord with this Gospel prayer, even if his prayer is not of the forbidden sort, it is carnal, and I am not sure it ought not to be called forbidden, since those who are born again of the Spirit ought to pray only in a spiritual manner. For instance, he who says, “Be sanctified among all people, as you have been sanctified among us,” and, “May your prophets be found faithful,” what else does he say but “Hallowed be your name”? And he who says, “O God of hosts, convert us and show your face, and we will be saved,” what else does he say but “Your kingdom come”? He who says, “Direct my steps according to your word, and let no iniquity have dominion over me,” what else does he say but “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”? He who says, “Give me neither poverty nor riches,” what else does he say but “Give us this day our daily bread”? He who says, “O Lord, remember David and all his meekness,” or “Lord, if I have done this thing, if there be iniquity in my hands, if I have rendered to them that have repaid me evils,” what else does he say but “Forgive us our debts as we also forgive our debtors”? He who says, “Take from me the greediness of the belly and let not the lusts of the flesh take hold of me,” what else does he say but “Lead us not into temptation”? He who says, “Deliver me from my enemies, O God, and defend me from them that rise up against me,” what else does he say but “Deliver us from evil”? And if you were to run over all the words of holy prayers, you would find nothing, according to my way of thinking, that is not contained and included in the Lord’s Prayer. Hence when we pray, it is allowable to say the same things in different words, but it ought not to be allowable to say different things.
Gregory the DialogistAD 604
Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 34
It should also be known that often the very orders of blessed spirits take on the names of orders neighboring them. For we have said that the Thrones, that is, the seats of God, are a special order of blessed spirits, and yet it is said by the Psalmist: "You who sit upon the cherubim, appear," because, evidently, since in those very distinctions of hosts the cherubim are joined to the thrones, the Lord is said to sit even upon the cherubim by equality with the neighboring host. For thus in that highest city certain things are special to each, yet they are common to all; and what each one has in part within himself, this he possesses fully in another order. But they are not commonly reckoned by one and the same name for this reason: that order ought to be called by the private name of each thing which has received this more fully as a gift. For we have said that seraphim means burning, and yet all burn equally with love of the Creator. Cherubim indeed means fullness of knowledge, and yet who there is ignorant of anything where all together see God himself, the fountain of knowledge? Those hosts also over which the Creator presides are called thrones, but who can be blessed unless his Creator presides over his mind? Therefore what are possessed in part by all have been given as a private name to those who have received these more fully as a gift.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
Psalm 80:1 initiates a fervent communal lament, directly appealing to God as the compassionate and guiding Shepherd of Israel and the transcendent Sovereign enthroned above the cherubim. This opening verse establishes the psalm's urgent tone, expressing a desperate plea for divine attention ("give ear") and a powerful manifestation of God's saving presence and glory ("shine forth"), particularly on behalf of the northern tribes, represented by "Joseph," who are enduring significant national distress and are in dire need of God's restorative intervention.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Psalm 80:1 is rich in Metaphor, primarily evident in the depiction of God as the "Shepherd of Israel" who "leadest Joseph like a flock." This powerful imagery evokes tenderness, protection, guidance, and provision, contrasting sharply with the nation's current state of vulnerability and distress. The verse also employs Apostrophe, a direct address to an absent or personified entity, as the psalmist speaks directly and passionately to God: "O Shepherd of Israel," and "thou that dwellest between the cherubims." This creates a profound sense of immediacy and intimacy in the desperate plea. Furthermore, vivid Imagery is used, including the serene yet powerful pastoral scene of a shepherd and his flock, the sacred and awe-inspiring vision of God enthroned above the cherubim, and the dynamic request for God to "shine forth," which implies a radiant and powerful manifestation of divine glory and saving power. The entire verse functions as an initial Lament and Plea, setting the tone for the psalm's earnest cry for divine intervention and national restoration.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Psalm 80:1 profoundly establishes God's identity and His relationship with His people, Israel, through the dual imagery of a compassionate Shepherd and an enthroned, sovereign King. The appeal to God as "Shepherd" taps into a deep well of biblical theology, portraying Him as the faithful caregiver who leads, protects, and provides for His flock, even in times of severe distress. This understanding of God's character underpins the hope for restoration and deliverance. Simultaneously, the reference to God dwelling "between the cherubims" underscores His transcendent holiness and immanent presence, reminding the supplicants that the God to whom they pray is the sovereign Lord of all, whose power is absolute and whose dwelling is sacred. The urgent plea to "shine forth" is a theological cry for God to break into their reality, to manifest His glory and saving power, transforming their circumstances through His visible intervention. This verse thus lays the groundwork for understanding God as both intimately involved in the lives of His people and supremely powerful to deliver them from their national crisis.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Psalm 80:1 serves as a timeless model for prayer, particularly in seasons of profound personal or communal hardship. It teaches us to approach God with both intimacy and reverence, recognizing Him as our faithful Shepherd who intimately knows our needs and our sovereign Lord who possesses all power and authority. When we feel lost, confused, or overwhelmed by life's challenges, we can confidently appeal to Him as our "Shepherd," trusting in His compassionate guidance and unwavering provision. When circumstances seem bleak and hope appears to wane, we can remember that He "dwells between the cherubims," meaning He is ever-present, enthroned, and actively engaged in our world, even when His presence feels hidden or His intervention delayed. Our prayer, like that of the psalmist, should be a fervent cry for Him to "give ear" to our pleas and to "shine forth" – to reveal His power, wisdom, and love in our specific situations, bringing light into darkness and demonstrating His saving presence. This verse encourages us to move beyond mere requests to a deep, abiding reliance on God's character and His active intervention, believing that our hope for restoration, whether personal or societal, ultimately rests in His manifest glory.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What is the significance of "Shoshannimeduth" in the psalm's title?
Answer: "Shoshannimeduth" is a musical or liturgical direction found in the superscription of Psalm 80, as well as Psalms 45, 60, and 69. While its precise meaning is debated among scholars, the most common interpretation connects it to the Hebrew word for "lilies" (shoshannim) and "testimony" or "law" (eduth). Thus, it is often understood as "lilies of testimony" or "lilies of the law." This suggests that the psalm was to be sung to a particular tune or melody associated with a solemn, perhaps mournful, or didactic theme, possibly related to divine instruction or a covenantal witness. It indicates the psalm's formal liturgical use in ancient Israelite worship, setting a specific mood for the lament that follows.
Why is "Joseph" mentioned instead of "Israel" or "Judah" in this verse?
Answer: The specific mention of "Joseph" (referring to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, Joseph's sons) highlights the particular focus of this communal lament on the northern kingdom of Israel. After the division of the kingdom following Solomon's reign (1 Kings 12), the northern kingdom was often referred to by the name of its dominant tribe, Ephraim, or by the patriarch Joseph, as he was the progenitor of its two largest tribes. By addressing God as the one who "leadest Joseph like a flock," the psalmist emphasizes God's historical care for these northern tribes, even as they now face severe distress. This specificity underscores that the psalm is a prayer for the entire nation, but with a particular emphasis on the suffering and urgent need for restoration of the northern tribes, who were often the first to experience invasion and exile (2 Kings 15). It broadens the scope of the lament beyond just Judah to encompass all of God's people.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Psalm 80:1, with its urgent plea to the "Shepherd of Israel" who "dwellest between the cherubims" to "shine forth," finds its ultimate and most profound fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ. He is the quintessential Good Shepherd, who not only leads and guides His flock but lays down His very life for them, fully embodying the tender care and ultimate sacrifice implied in the Old Testament imagery of divine shepherding (John 10:11). The psalmist's desperate cry for God to "shine forth" is definitively answered in Christ, who is the "light of the world" (John 8:12), the very "radiance of God's glory and the exact imprint of his nature" (Hebrews 1:3). While the Old Testament cherubim guarded the sacred presence of God in the Holy of Holies, Christ, as Emmanuel, "God with us" (Matthew 1:23), embodies God's dwelling among humanity in a new and perfect way. He is the true and living Temple, through whom direct and eternal access to God's presence is now fully and eternally granted (John 2:19-21). The restoration sought by the psalmist for a distressed Israel is ultimately realized in the spiritual restoration and salvation offered to all who believe in Christ, who gathers His scattered flock (John 11:52) and brings them into His eternal kingdom, where His light forever shines.