DIVISION:
The Psalm divides itself naturally at the refrain which occurs three times "Turn us again, O God," etc.
Verses 1 to 3 is an opening address to the Lord God of Israel. From verses 4 to 7 we have a lamentation over the national woe: and from verses from 8 to 19 the same complaint is repeated, the nation being represented in a beautiful allegory as a vine. It is a mournful psalm, and its lilies are lilies of the valley.
Verse 1. "Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth." The prophet does not nakedly begin his prayer, but mingles with it certain titles by which he most aptly addresses God, and urges his cause. He does not say, O thou who sustainest and governest all things etc., but, Thou who art the Shepherd of Israel, Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock, Thou that dwellest between the cherubims. Let us learn from this example to feed and fortify our confidence in praying to God, with the marks of that divine and paternal kindness revealed to us in Christ, our Shepherd and propitiation.
Verse 3. "Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved." Convert our rebellious wills to thee, and when we are converted, show thy countenance that we may know thee; show thy power that we may fear thee; show thy wisdom that we may reverence thee; show thy goodness that we may love thee. Show them once; show them a second time, show them always, that through tribulation we may pass with a happy face, and be saved. When thou dost save, we shall be saved; when thou withdrawest thy hand, we cannot be saved.
Verse 4. "O Lord God of hosts, how long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people?" How strange and mysterious is the question of our prayers to God. When should I pray for a thing and when should I cease from praying? When should I realise that God's apparent failure to answer my request is, in fact, the best possible answer that I could ever be given? When should I acknowledge that God, in permitting my circumstances to remain unchanged, is not being "angry" against my prayers but in changing those circumstances He would be?
The story is told of an old woman who was setting off to take her produce to market one day; as she climbed into her cart, a storm blew into her face, and she prayed the Lord that it would stop, or, at least, be turned into her back. She prayed for the first mile of her ten-mile journey, but with no apparent success, for the wind still beat in her face. She prayed the second mile, and the third, and the fourth, and so on, until she was only one mile from the marketplace she was heading for. Suddenly the wind changed, and began to blow in her back, increasing her speed and greatly delighting her heart that she had "prevailed" in her request. She transacted her business, climbed back into her cart, and turned around to make her journey home again. To her great consternation, of course, the storm was now in her face again for the ten-mile journey back to her cottage. Thus, whereas she might have had ten miles of wind in her face and ten in her back, she concluded that day with only one mile of wind to help her on her way out of that whole twenty-mile ride to and fro. Surely, the greatest prayer of all, and the prayer that should cover all our praying, is "Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done."
Verse 7. "Turn us again, O God of hosts ..." Ejaculations are short prayers darted up to God in emergency occasions. They are the artillery of devotion, and their principal use is against the fiery darts of the devil. When we are time-bound, place-bound, or person-bound, so that we cannot compose ourselves to make a large solemn prayer, this is the right instant for ejaculations, whether orally uttered or only poured forth inwardly in the heart.
Verse 14. "Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts; look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine," Still it has roots, still some branches are living. Visit, then, this vine, for thy visitation preserves her spirit. Visit by thy grace, by thy presence, by thy Holy Spirit. Visit with thy rod and with thy staff, for thy rod and thy staff comfort her. Visit with thy scourge that she may be chastened and purified, for the time of pruning must come. Cast out the stones, gather up the dry branches, and bind them in bundles for burning. Raise her up, cut off the superfluous shoots, make fast her support, enrich the soil, build up the fence, and visit this vine.