God Implored to Rescue His People from Their Calamities.

To the Chief Musician; set to [the tune of] “Lilies, a Testimony.” A Psalm of Asaph.

1Hear us O Shepherd of Israel,

You who lead Joseph like a flock;

You who sit enthroned above the cherubim [of the ark of the covenant], shine forth!

2Before [a]Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up Your power

And come to save us!

3Restore us, O God;

Cause Your face to shine on us [with favor and approval], and we will be saved.

4O LORD God of hosts,

How long will You be angry with the prayers of Your people?

5You have fed them the bread of tears,

And You have made them drink [bitter] tears in abundance.

6You make us an object of contention to our neighbors,

And our enemies laugh [at our suffering] among themselves.

7Restore us, O God of hosts;

And cause Your face to shine on us [with favor and approval], and we will be saved.

8You uprooted a vine (Israel) from Egypt;

You drove out the [Canaanite] nations and planted the vine [in Canaan].

9You cleared away the ground before it,

And it took deep root and filled the land.

10The mountains were covered with its shadow,

And its branches were like the cedars of God.

11Israel sent out its branches to the [Mediterranean] Sea,

And its branches to the [Euphrates] River.

12Why have You broken down its [b]walls and hedges,

So that all who pass by pick its fruit?

13A boar from the woods eats it away,

And the insects of the field feed on it.

14Turn again [in favor to us], O God of hosts;

Look down from heaven and see, and take care of this vine,

15Even the stock which Your right hand has planted,

And [look down on] the son that You have reared and strengthened for Yourself.

16It is burned with fire, it is cut down;

They perish at the rebuke of Your [angry] appearance.

17Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand,

Upon the son of man whom You have made strong for Yourself.

18Then we shall not turn back from You;

Revive us and we will call on Your name.

19Restore us, O LORD God of hosts;

Cause Your face to shine on us [in favor and approval], and we shall be saved.

[a] 2 It is believed that these three tribes represented all twelve tribes of Israel, Benjamin being incorporated into Judah, Manasseh inhabiting the country beyond the Jordan, and Ephraim the remainder of the land. It was natural for the Israelites to think of the three in one group, for they had camped together on the west side of the tabernacle during the years in the wilderness, and they were also the only descendants of Jacob’s wife Rachel.
[b] 12 I.e. dry-stone walls, built without mortar from loose stones in the fields.