I. THE PRAYER (1-2). INVOCATION. "Give ear." REFRAIN ( ) "T hin " "O G d" urn us . . . s e. o . II. THE PLAINT (4-6). EXPOSTULATION. "How longr" REFRAIN (7). "Turn us . . . shine." "O God ofHosts." III. THE PRAYER (8-18). REPRESENTATION. Israel a Chosen Vine. 1. The Vine Rooted (8-II ). Transplantation. National Prosperity. 2. The Vine Ravaged (12-13). Devastation. National Adversity. 3. The Vine Revived (14-18). Restoration. National Recovery. REFRAIN (19 ). "Turn us . • shine." "0 Jehovah, God of Hosts." SUPERSCRIPT.-A Psalm of (oi:, for) Asaph. SUBSCRIPT.-For the Chief Musician; upon Gittith ( = winepresses ). PRIMARY AssocIATION.-Written possibly by a poet of the southern kingdom after the northern kingdom had been deported to Assyria and before the Babylonian exile. Subscript shows that the temple was still standing. "Upon Gittith" relates to the autumn festival of Tabernacles, hence the allusion to the vine and vineyard. PROPHETIC ANncIPATION.-The scene is- the same as in the preceding psalms,. Here the suffering remnant lament the national disaster but hope for the speedy revival to be brought in by the advent of Messiah the Branch, the predicted "shoot" from the house of David. They recognise that there is no true turning to God 'without the operation of the Spirit of God in their ·hearts. PERSONAL APPUCATION .-Repentance is an essential condition to restoration and. it must be God's own work. The wrath of God is a manifestation of His holiness. In the light of God's countenance is salvation (3). Our Lord is the true Benjamin (=Son of the right hand, c£ Ps. ex.) and Son of Man (17). He is the True Vine (John xv.). God gives a gleam of glory through the gloom ( 19). · Christians should pray for Israel, '·'Visit this Vine," (14). VERSE NOTES 1. "Shepherd of Israel," alludes to Gen. xlviii. 15; xlix. 24. (c) hr. ''Thou that sittest enthroned upon . . "; "shine forth," i.e. manifest Thyself in power and glory for our deliverance: blaze out as from behind a cloud. 2. These three were of common descent from Rachel, regarded inJer. xxxi. 15 as mother of the northern kingdom. All encamped west of the tabernacle and
marched in the immediate rear of the ark, Num. ii. 17Jf.; x. 21-24. The principal Benjamite towns belonged to the northern kingdom. 4. Title used denotes universal sovereignty; (b) see margin; perhaps= the "smoke" of divine wrath interposes as a thick cloud between their prayers and God; Lam. iii. 44. 6. "strife," i.e. a contending for the spoil among the petty states round about. 8. " a vine" ; c£ Isa. v. 1-7 ; xxvii. 2-6 ; J er. ii. 2 I ; xii. Io, etc. A vine is good for nothing else but fruit, and its trailing branches make a striking image of dependence; so Israel. The vine was the emblem of the nation on the coins of the Maccabees. A colossal sculptured cluster of golden grapes overhung the porch of the second temple, and grapes of Judah still mark tombstones of the race in certain ancient cemeteries of Europe. n. See note at lxxii. 8. 12. The causes of such dire distress are only hinted at in 18. 13. Remorseless enemies lay waste to Israel's land .. It is of prophetic interest to note t.hat the boar was the military ensign of the Roman power. 15. (b) i.e. tended it with loving care till it grew a sturdy vine. Note the repetition of the phrase and its connection (17). The psalmist here uses an argument similar to that of Moses, Num. xiv. 13-16. 16. (b) Fig. ·of the vine now dropped. 17. Though its primary-reference was to Israel, yet the words undoubtedly point to Messiah, the True Virie. Many Jewish scholars have so explained it. 18. Note the virtual acknowledgment of backsliding.
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