The Ultimate Restoration Project!

Psalm 80
3 Restore us, O God;
    make your face shine on us,
    that we may be saved.
4 How long, Lord God Almighty,
    will your anger smolder
    against the prayers of your people?
5 You have fed them with the bread of tears;
    you have made them drink tears by the bowlful.
6 You have made us an object of derision[b] to our neighbors,
    and our enemies mock us.
7 Restore us, God Almighty;
    make your face shine on us,
    that we may be saved.

In Psalm 80 we see the phrase “Restore us, O God; make your face shine upon us that we may be saved.”
   
“First there is the restoration or turning of the people of God, then there is the radiant face of God, shining in all the goodness of His presence. In those things combined we see the work of true revival happen.” (Charles Spurgeon)

The context was that the people of Israel were looking to God for deliverance from the Assyrians.  Like in yesterday’s psalm, God had poured out his anger on the people of God because of their unfaithfulness to the covenant he had made with Moses.  If they obeyed His commandments they would receive His blessing. If they disobeyed, God would withdraw His presence as a sign of judgment.

The psalmist prays for restoration.  Restoration is returning something to its previous condition.  We restore cars and antique furniture, and they become quite valuable again.  The psalmist wants to restore Israel to its previous relationship with God, where they were like a choice vine that provided for shade and shelter to all who dwelt in her midst. 

Finally, the process of restoration is God’s work. The phrase “make your face shine upon us”, comes from the Aaronic blessing, given to the Israelites in the desert.  

Specifically, God commanded Moses to have his brother Aaron bless the sons of Israel with these words in Numbers 6:24-26:

“The Lord bless you, and keep you;
25 The Lord make His face shine on you,
And be gracious to you;
26 The Lord lift up His countenance on you,
And give you peace.’

The psalmist knew that if God made His face to shine on them, they would be restored and God would rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.  I wonder how many times we cry out to God and ask Him to restore us and make His face shine upon us.  The ultimate restoration project came when Jesus restored us to a right relationship with God.  In the garden, Adam and Eve walked with God and were unashamed. When they blatantly disobeyed God’s only command to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they realized they were naked and hid in fear.  Jesus’ death on the cross for us restored us to have peace with God where we can walk in freedom not shame.


Where do you need to have God’s face shine on you? Where do you need to be restored?  Why not ask the only one who can do it!

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