Restoration- Psalm 80 Sermon, October Prayer Service, 2018

Sermon – September 5th, 2018

Mount Olive Lutheran Church, Regina, SK

Text: Psalm 80
Theme: Restoration
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Intr –  When you see something undergoing restoration, which of these two things you think is it that is going to happen:

_They are destroying the original and doing everything from scratch
_They trying to restore the piece/ to its original state.

          Of course, we would think of the second. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be restoration. It would be renovation, or rebuilding, or even starting everything over again.

          Psalm 80 is a cry for restoration. Not renovation; not starting from scratch. Restoration.

We may follow it using the following sequence:

1 – Appeal to the Shepherd of Israel

          This is a recurrent theme in the at least the last 5 Psalms we have studied this year, and also in many others. Again, it is not about “re-doing” things, or starting from the scratch. It means going back to the original Shepherd, the only One that can lead Israel. Restoration.

2 – Refrain of restoration

3  Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved!

          The psalmist resorts to:
_The same Yahweh;
_The same face that shines upon His people (Numbers 6);
_The same salvation He has provided in the past and that He still provides, every day.

3 – Full of tears

          Listen again to this strong metaphor about the suffering of the people:
5  You have fed them with rthe bread of tears and given them tears to drink in full measure.

          Have you ever felt like that? Like your days are so full of sorrows that you seem to be having tears for breakfast and lunch, and some more crying for supper?

          The psalmist says that Yahweh gave it tp them. Is it God that is the cause of the evil? Of course, not. It comes from sin. What God sort of “gives us” it’s just the consequence of our own sin, the consequences of breaking God’s law. Our life would be nothing but a bread of tears.

5 – Refrain again

          Restoration. That is the prayer, the request, the cry from the people. Restoration.

6 – Israel as a vine; the prayer for the vine (8-18)

          The comparison here is vivid for the people of then. They had vines all over. They were totally familiar with the idea of a vine that needs to be protected, and what happens when the walls are not there to do the protection.

          Our sin breaks the wall of God’s love and we are left open to all sorts of boars that come to wreak havoc inside us.

          We need our vine to be restored. We need the Good Shepherd – We need Christ, who took the image of the Good Shepherd to Himself. On His Cross he restores our souls and builds the wall of God’s love and protection against sin and death.

          He restores our soul. The Good Shepherd restores my soul. Have you heard this before? Yes, Psalm 23. - That’s why the Psalmist prays to the Lord for Him to restore the vine.

          This is important, crucial: God is never willing to renovate, to start from the scratch. He has called his people through faith, he has redeemed His people through His Son. We belong to him. Whenever we fall into sin again, He is willing, through our repentance and forgiveness, to RESTORE us. He restores us to Himself. The very same us, the original us. Us – the ones in the place of whom Christ gave His own life. It is not something else, something new. IT is you and me. It is restoration.

Cc – At the end, the refrain of restoration again:  neRestore us, O Lord God of hosts! Let your face shine, that we may be saved!

_The same Yahweh;

_The same face that shines upon His people (Numbers 6);

_The same salvation He has provided in the past and that He still provides, every day. Amen.[1]

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[1] Sources

-BRUG, John. A commentary on Psalms 73-150.
-www.esv.org