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1 To the chiefe Musician vpon Shoshannim Eduth, A Psalme of Asaph. Giue eare, shepheard of Israel, thou that leadest Ioseph like a flocke, thou that dwellest betweene the Cherubims, shine forth.
2 Before Ephraim and Beniamin, and Manasseh, stirre vp thy strength: and come and saue vs.
3 Turne vs againe, O God: and cause thy face to shine, and we shall bee saued.
4 O Lord God of hosts, how long wilt thou bee angry against the prayer of thy people?
5 Thou feedest them with the bread of teares: and giuest them teares to drinke in great measure.
6 Thou makest vs a strife vnto our neighbours: and our enemies laugh among themselues.
7 Turne vs againe, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saued.
8 Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it.
9 Thou preparedst roome before it: and didst cause it to take deepe root, and it filled the land.
10 The hilles were couered with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars.
11 She sent out her boughs vnto the Sea: and her branches vnto the riuer.
12 Why hast thou then broken downe her hedges: so that all they which passe by the way, doe plucke her?
13 The boare out of the wood doth waste it: and the wild beast of the field doth deuoure it.
14 Returne, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: looke downe from heauen, and behold, and visit this vine:
15 And the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted: and the branch that thou madest strong for thy selfe.
16 It is burnt with fire, it is cut downe: they perish at the rebuke of thy countenance.
17 Let thy hand be vpon the man of thy right hand: vpon the sonne of man, whom thou madest strong for thy selfe.
18 So will not wee goe backe from thee: quicken vs, and we will call vpon thy Name.
19 Turne vs againe, O Lord God of hosts, cause thy face to shine, and wee shall be saued.
The psalmist complains of the miseries of the church. (1-7) Its former prosperity and present desolation. (8-16) A prayer for mercy. (17-19)
1-7 He that dwelleth upon the mercy-seat, is the good Shepherd of his people. But we can neither expect the comfort of his love, nor the protection of his arm, unless we partake of his converting grace. If he is really angry at the prayers of his people, it is because, although they pray, their ends are not right, or there is some secret sin indulged in them, or he will try their patience and perseverance in prayer. When God is displeased with his people, we must expect to see them in tears, and their enemies in triumph. There is no salvation but from God's favour; there is no conversion to God but by his own grace.
8-16 The church is represented as a vine and a vineyard. The root of this vine is Christ, the branches are believers. The church is like a vine, needing support, but spreading and fruitful. If a vine do not bring forth fruit, no tree is so worthless. And are not we planted as in a well-cultivated garden, with every means of being fruitful in works of righteousness? But the useless leaves of profession, and the empty boughs of notions and forms, abound far more than real piety. It was wasted and ruined. There was a good reason for this change in God's way toward them. And it is well or ill with us, according as we are under God's smiles or frowns. When we consider the state of the purest part of the visible church, we cannot wonder that it is visited with sharp corrections. They request that God would help the vine. Lord, it is formed by thyself, and for thyself, therefore it may, with humble confidence, be committed to thyself.
17-19 The Messiah, the Protector and Saviour of the church, is the Man of God's right hand; he is the Arm of the Lord, for all power is given to him. In him is our strength, by which we are enabled to persevere to the end. The vine, therefore, cannot be ruined, nor can any fruitful branch perish; but the unfruitful will be cut off and cast into the fire. The end of our redemption is, that we should serve Him who hath redeemed us, and not go back to our old sins.
Commentary by Matthew Henry, 1710.