Restore Us, O God

To the choirmaster: according to (A)Lilies. A Testimony. Of (B)Asaph, a Psalm.

80 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
    you who lead (C)Joseph like (D)a flock.
You who are (E)enthroned upon the cherubim, (F)shine forth.
    Before (G)Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh,
(H)stir up your might
    and (I)come to save us!

(J)Restore us,[a] O God;
    (K)let your face shine, that we may be saved!

O (L)Lord God of hosts,
    (M)how long will you be angry with your people's prayers?
You have fed them with (N)the bread of tears
    and given them tears to drink in full measure.
(O)You make us an object of contention for our (P)neighbors,
    and our enemies laugh among themselves.

(Q)Restore us, O God of hosts;
    let your face shine, that we may be saved!

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 80:3 Or Turn us again; also verses 7, 19

80 1-2 Listen, Shepherd, Israel’s Shepherd—
    get all your Joseph sheep together.
Throw beams of light
    from your dazzling throne
So Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh
    can see where they’re going.
Get out of bed—you’ve slept long enough!
    Come on the run before it’s too late.

    God, come back!
    Smile your blessing smile:
    That will be our salvation.

4-6 God, God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
    how long will you smolder like a sleeping volcano
    while your people call for fire and brimstone?
You put us on a diet of tears,
    bucket after bucket of salty tears to drink.
You make us look ridiculous to our friends;
    our enemies poke fun day after day.

    God-of-the-Angel-Armies, come back!
    Smile your blessing smile:
    That will be our salvation.

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17 But (A)let your hand be on the man of your right hand,
    the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!
18 Then we shall not turn back from you;
    (B)give us life, and we will call upon your name!

19 (C)Restore us, O Lord God of hosts!
    Let your face shine, that we may be saved!

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8-18 Remember how you brought a young vine from Egypt,
    cleared out the brambles and briers
    and planted your very own vineyard?
You prepared the good earth,
    you planted her roots deep;
    the vineyard filled the land.
Your vine soared high and shaded the mountains,
    even dwarfing the giant cedars.
Your vine ranged west to the Sea,
    east to the River.
So why do you no longer protect your vine?
    Trespassers pick its grapes at will;
Wild pigs crash through and crush it,
    and the mice nibble away at what’s left.
God-of-the-Angel-Armies, turn our way!
    Take a good look at what’s happened
    and attend to this vine.
Care for what you once tenderly planted—
    the vine you raised from a shoot.
And those who dared to set it on fire—
    give them a look that will kill!
Then take the hand of your once-favorite child,
    the child you raised to adulthood.
We will never turn our back on you;
    breathe life into our lungs so we can shout your name!

19     God, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, come back!
    Smile your blessing smile:
    That will be our salvation.

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23 (A)And who is like your people Israel, the one nation on earth whom God went to redeem to be his people, making himself a name (B)and doing for them[a] great and awesome things by driving out before your people,[b] whom (C)you redeemed for yourself from Egypt, a nation and its gods? 24 (D)And you established for yourself your people Israel to be your people forever. And you, O Lord, became their God. 25 And now, O Lord God, confirm forever the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, and do as you have spoken. 26 And your name will be magnified forever, saying, ‘The Lord of hosts is God over Israel,’ and the house of your servant David will be established before you. 27 For you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have made this revelation to your servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house.’ Therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. 28 And now, O Lord God, you are God, and (E)your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant. 29 Now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you. For you, O Lord God, have spoken, (F)and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever.”

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 7:23 With a few Targums, Vulgate, Syriac; Hebrew you
  2. 2 Samuel 7:23 Septuagint (compare 1 Chronicles 17:21); Hebrew awesome things for your land, before your people

22-24 “This is what makes you so great, Master God! There is none like you, no God but you, nothing to compare with what we’ve heard with our own ears. And who is like your people, like Israel, a nation unique in the earth, whom God set out to redeem for himself (and became most famous for it), performing great and fearsome acts, throwing out nations and their gods left and right as you saved your people from Egypt? You established for yourself a people—your very own Israel!—your people permanently. And you, God, became their God.

25-27 “So now, great God, this word that you have spoken to me and my family, guarantee it permanently! Do exactly what you’ve promised! Then your reputation will flourish always as people exclaim, ‘The God-of-the-Angel-Armies is God over Israel!’ And the house of your servant David will remain sure and solid in your watchful presence. For you, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, Israel’s God, told me plainly, ‘I will build you a house.’ That’s how I was able to find the courage to pray this prayer to you.

28-29 “And now, Master God, being the God you are, speaking sure words as you do, and having just said this wonderful thing to me, please, just one more thing: Bless my family; keep your eye on them always. You’ve already as much as said that you would, Master God! Oh, may your blessing be on my family permanently!”

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31 (A)He who comes from above (B)is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and (C)speaks in an earthly way. (D)He who comes from heaven (E)is above all. 32 (F)He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, (G)yet no one receives his testimony. 33 Whoever receives his testimony (H)sets his seal to this, (I)that God is true. 34 For he whom (J)God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit (K)without measure. 35 (L)The Father loves the Son and (M)has given all things into his hand. 36 (N)Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; (O)whoever does not obey the Son shall not (P)see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

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31-33 “The One who comes from above is head and shoulders over other messengers from God. The earthborn is earthbound and speaks earth language; the heavenborn is in a league of his own. He sets out the evidence of what he saw and heard in heaven. No one wants to deal with these facts. But anyone who examines this evidence will come to stake his life on this: that God himself is the truth.

34-36 “The One that God sent speaks God’s words. And don’t think he rations out the Spirit in bits and pieces. The Father loves the Son extravagantly. He turned everything over to him so he could give it away—a lavish distribution of gifts. That is why whoever accepts and trusts the Son gets in on everything, life complete and forever! And that is also why the person who avoids and distrusts the Son is in the dark and doesn’t see life. All he experiences of God is darkness, and an angry darkness at that.”

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