Psalm 80

Well, thank you, Johnny, and thank you to all the band for leading us in worship this morning,

and thank you to all of you for being here today. I wonder, have you ever sort of had a nightmare

whereby you suddenly are told that you have to get up and speak to potentially a fairly large

audience of people, and you are utterly unprepared to do so, and you sort of wake up

from that nightmare with a startle, and you're very relieved that it wasn't actually real?

Has anybody else had that? You know, I've had it from time to time.

Unfortunately, the reality, the nightmare became real when I walked into the church this morning

and asked the people in the welcome team whether there was a newsletter available.

There was only one left. Casually scanned it, thinking, I wonder who we'll be hearing from today.

Looked and thought, no, I've definitely got the date wrong. Looked again and thought, no, it really is the 9th of October,

and checked with Graham. There's been a mix-up. Somebody swapped, didn't they, and the newsletter's just not up to date,

and Graham looked at me and said, no, Paul.

Yeah, so here we are, here we are, here we are.

And I'm sorry, genuinely sorry, because you've come today here to meet with God and here to listen to God's voice,

and generally those who are here are exceptionally well prepared and have spent the week in prayer and preparation,

and that's what you're entitled to expect when you come.

So my apologies.

So all I can do, as we've been singing to God, is share with you some of what's been on my heart and mind.

I'm not going to try and pretend that I'm going to be speaking from the passage that we had in Luke 5.

All I can do is share stuff that's been in my mind,

and indeed a passage that I was reading this morning and that I was talking a bit to Sam about,

and that led us to be singing a particular song,

and that led Sam to go upstairs and get his guitar.

He can't play the guitar, but he got his guitar and he started singing and trying to play this,

and he seemed to be enjoying it, and then he got his accordion and started trying to play it in the accordion as well.

And so somehow or other, in God's mysterious ways, I trust that I just might,

in all my kind of failure and uncertainty and indeed trembling before you,

have something to say for some of you,

and I want just to speak to you about my sense of the heart of the Father God who we worship today.

The song that we started singing this morning was Good, Good Father.

I hope some of you know it.

I've heard a thousand stories of what they think you're like,

but I've heard the tender whispers of love in the dead of night,

and you tell me you're pleased and that I am never alone.

You're a good, good father.

It's who you are.

It's who you are, and I'm loved by you.

It's who I am.

It's who I am.

I've seen many searching for answers far and wide,

but I know we're all searching for answers only you provide,

because you know just what we need before we say a word.

You're a good, good father.

It's who you are.

It's who you are, and I'm loved by you.

It's who I am.

It's who I am, because you are perfect in all of your ways.

You are perfect in all of your ways.

You are perfect in all of your ways to us.

Let's pause and pray.

Father God, we come to you this morning, the good, good father,

perfect in all of your ways.

Father, we are loved by you.

You do not make any mistakes,

and so we are before you as your people and your church this morning,

inviting you to show yourself to us as the father,

who perhaps some of us today just need to know

is the father who loves us,

is the father who is drawing close.

So speak not through any of my words,

but through your words, God, this morning.

Speak to us, Father, because we are here,

a needy people needing to know more about who you are.

So reveal yourself to us, we pray, God.

Amen.

So here's the passage.

It's Psalm 80.

Psalm 80.

I invite you to turn to it or read it on the screen.

Part of a small number of Psalms where we see people who,

the people of Israel who had known what it was like to be really close to God,

but then through their own failure and sin and departure from God

had suddenly known separation from God.

They had no sense of nearness to God, their father, right?

And so we come to a point where they're calling out again to God as father

and God as shepherd, asking God to reveal himself to them.

And I suppose my starting point is just whether some of us might feel,

as we read these passages,

yes, we're here and we know God.

We've had some sort of experience of God in our lives in the past,

maybe through becoming a Christian when we were young children.

But for whatever reason,

I believe there'll be some of us here today and God seems distant.

We're not sure really whether he is hearing and responding to our cries,

in which case just maybe this Psalm has got something in it for us.

So let's read it together.

Hear us, Psalm 80 verse 1.

Psalms 80:1

O Lord God Almighty,

How long will your anger smolder against the prayers of your people?

You have fed them with the bread of tears.

You have made them drink tears by the bowl full.

You have made us a source of contention to our neighbours,

and our enemies mock us.

Restore us, O God Almighty.

Make your face shine upon us that we may be saved.

You brought a vine out of Egypt.

You drove out the nations and planted it.

You cleared the ground for it,

and it took root and filled the land.

The mountains were covered with its shade,

the mighty cedars with its branches.

It sent out its boughs to the sea.

It shoots as far as the river.

Why have you broken down its walls

so that all who pass by pick its grapes?

Bores from the forest ravage it,

and the creatures of the field feed on it.

Return to us, O God Almighty.

Look down from heaven and see.

Watch over this vine,

the root your right hand has planted,

the sun you have raised up for yourself.

Your vine is cut down.

It is burned with fire.

At your rebuke, your people perish.

Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand,

the son of man you have raised up for yourself.

Then we will not turn away from you.

Revive us, and we will call on your name.

Restore us, O Lord God Almighty.

Make your face shine upon us

that we may be saved.

What I'd like to do is just look at four of the real cries

that come from this passage,

and then look at just some of the ways in which I think,

the way in which we see God revealed to us

in the New Testament through Jesus Christ,

help us understand how these cries can become our cries,

but also give us perhaps a new confidence in Christ

that God does indeed come near,

that God does hear us,

that God does restore us,

that God does want to shine upon us,

and that God does want to watch over us.

Those are the four things

that have really struck me from this passage

that I'd like just to take a few minutes on.

And firstly, it's there in verse one.

Hear us, O shepherd of Israel,

you who lead Joseph like a flock.

Their cry at the very start is just that confidence

that God hears them.

Hear us, O Lord our God.

And my children this morning,

for some reason,

got into a discussion about how it is

that we can actually communicate with God

and be sure that he hears us.

And Ben, my son who's nine,

has just recently got a phone with a SIM card,

so he's really enjoying the whole experience

of texting and making phone calls.

And he started saying,

I wonder if sometimes you're trying to speak to Jesus,

and it's a bit like phoning

and getting the engaged tone,

and actually he's too busy to speak.

And there was a child just thinking through

and wondering whether sometimes

Jesus is too busy to actually hear us.

I wonder if we look at ourselves this week,

whether we've taken the time to actually speak to God,

and whether we've had the confidence

that God is hearing us.

Let's just look at the way in which Jesus

would speak to us about this,

the way in which Jesus would encourage us

to look at our Father

and to see in our Father

someone who always wants to hear us

and someone who will respond to us.

And so the words of Jesus himself

in Matthew chapter 7 and verse 9,

Matthew 7 · chapter mention

he says,

Which of you, if his son asks for bread,

will give him a stone?

Or if he asks for a fish,

will give him a snake?

If you then, though you are evil,

know how to give good gifts to your children,

how much more will your Father in heaven

give good gifts to those who ask him?

How much more will your Father in heaven

give good gifts to those who ask him?

Here is our Lord Jesus encouraging us

to ask our Father for all that we need

and to be absolutely sure

that unlike even,

well, even more than a good earthly father,

our heavenly Father is waiting

to listen, to answer, and to respond.

I know certainly as I think about myself

as an earthly father,

I am certainly not always ready to hear

and respond to my children.

Certainly not when I was through there in the room

in the last hour trying to prepare

and I heard Sam calling out,

Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, where is my teddy?

No, I don't have time.

I don't have time.

I can't listen and deal with you

and engage with you just now.

And here is our heavenly Father

who maybe just wants to assure

some of us this morning,

he's a good, good Father.

He's ready to hear us

and he's ready to respond.

Hear us, Father.

But then there seems to be a chorus

in this passage.

I don't know if you noticed it,

but it's repeated three times.

Psalm 80, verse 3,

Psalms 80:3

Restore us, O God.

Make your face shine upon us

that we may be saved.

Verse 7,

Restore us, O God Almighty.

Make your face shine upon us

that we may be saved.

Verse 19,

Restore us, O Lord God Almighty.

Make your face shine upon us

that we may be saved.

I wonder if some of us are here

knowing that our relationship

with the Father

is not as it should be.

Knowing that although we've come

and maybe we've been able to sing

and enter into it,

knowing that although we are pleased

to be here

and maybe meet some of our friends,

if we look deep into our hearts,

we know that the relationship

with our Father is broken.

And maybe the cry of our heart

as we pause,

as we just reflect this morning,

is,

Father,

restore me.

Maybe some feel

they have never really known

what it is

to have a relationship

with the Father.

And as I think of the Father

and my own understanding

built up over my years

of seeking to follow Jesus,

at the very heart of my faith

and my understanding

of who God is,

comes the picture

of the Father

that we see

in the Gospel of Luke,

Luke 15 · chapter mention

chapter 15.

And as I think of that

cry of the psalmist saying,

restore us,

O God.

I think of the cry

of the prodigal son

as he sits there

and looks at the pigs

eating those husks

and realizes

how far away

he has got

from his father.

And the cry of his heart there is,

I wonder if there's still

the possibility,

even the merest possibility,

of restoration

of relationship

with my father.

Is it too late

or is it still possible

that I could be restored

to some sort of relationship?

Not father, son.

That's impossible.

Maybe slave and master.

Maybe that might be possible.

And so let's pick it up

and remind our hearts

and souls

of these verses

in Luke 15.

And we see the son

and verse 20

getting up.

So he got up

and went to his father.

But while he was still

a long way off,

his father saw him

and was filled

with compassion for him.

He ran to his son,

threw his arms around him

and kissed him.

The son said to him,

Father,

I have sinned against heaven

and against you.

I am no longer worthy

to be called your son.

But the father said

to his servants,

Quick,

bring the best robe

and put it on him.

Put a ring on his finger

and sandals on his feet.

Bring the fattened calf

and kill it.

Let's have a feast

and celebrate.

For this son of mine

was dead

and is alive again.

He was lost

and is found.

So they began

to celebrate.

Praise God

that this passage

is captured here

in scripture

for all of us

to get this

marvelous insight

into the heart

of our father.

Jesus himself

presents the father

as the one

who longs

to have restored

relationship

with his children.

Presents the father

as the one

who isn't there

filled with grudges,

isn't there

ready to condemn

and rebuke,

but when he sees

his son

turn around,

turn away

from his sin

and his rebellion

and take those

tentative,

doubt-filled

steps

back towards

the father's house

is one

who then

runs

towards the son,

throws his arms

around him

and kisses him,

who says

to his servants,

quick,

let's have a feast.

Let's celebrate.

Is there a desire

in our hearts

this morning

not only

to know

what it is

for God

to hear us,

but to know

what it is

to have

restored

relationship

with our

father?

I believe

that in

Jesus Christ,

as the one

whom we've sung

about,

who makes

the way

open

between God

and man,

it is always

possible,

no matter where

we are,

no matter what

we've done,

to know what

it is to have

restored relationship

with God the

father.

And maybe

some of us

have been

messing around

in our own

equivalent of

eating the food

that the pigs

are eating.

And maybe

some of us

recognise how

deeply unsatisfactory

that is when

somehow or other

we've heard echoes

of the father's

love in our

hearts or in

all that we've

known and

heard about

in the past.

And the father

is calling us

to turn and

to take those

steps towards

him and he

wants to assure

us again of

his loving

embrace and

allow us

to know

the reality

of restored

relationship

with God.

Hear us,

restore us.

And then

the really

beautiful thing

in this

psalm which

captured my

mind as I

looked this

morning and

thought of

the sun

shining and

what a

beautiful morning

it really

was.

And then

three times

as part of

this chorus,

not just

hear us,

not just

restore us,

but shine

upon us.

Father God

shine upon

us that

we may be

saved.

Is it our

cry that as

we look at

the brightness

of the sun

we might know

the reality

of God

the Father

shining upon

us?

That was the

essence of

the priestly

blessing that

God gave to

Moses in

Numbers chapter

Numbers 6 · chapter mention

6 where he

said,

tell Aaron

and his

sons,

this is how

you are to

bless the

Israelites,

say to

them,

the Lord

bless you

and keep

you.

The Lord

make his

face shine

upon you

and be

gracious to

you.

The Lord

turn his

face towards

you and

give you

peace.

So they

will put

my name

on the

Israelites

and I

will bless

them.

Isn't it a

marvellous

thought that

we can

know what

it is to

have God's

face shine

upon us?

and in

Christ,

this is

exactly what

is offered

to us

this morning

because we

can turn

to our

New Testament

and we

can read

in 2nd

Corinthians

4 verse

6,

God who

said,

let light

shine out

of darkness

made his

light shine

in our

hearts to

give us

the light

of the

knowledge

of the

glory of

God

in the

face of

Christ.

But we

have this

treasure in

jars of

clay to

show that

this all

surpassing

power is

from God

and not

from us.

God,

the Father

who this

morning not

only says

he will

hear us,

not only

says he

will restore

us,

but the

God who

offers to

make his

face shine

upon us.

What a

blessed people

we are to

know the

reality of

God's light

shining in

our hearts,

allowing us

to know

God,

and as this

passage in

2 Corinthians

says,

to know

God in

the face

of Christ.

God,

please hear

us.

God,

please restore

us.

God,

please shine

upon us.

And then

finally,

the final

phrase that

has just

captured my

mind is

this verse,

watch over.

Let's look to

verse 14,

return to

us,

O God

Almighty,

look down

from heaven

and see,

watch over

this vine,

the root

your right

hand has

planted,

the sun

you have

raised up

for yourself.

And I love

that sense

of the

people of

Israel who

have wandered

away from

God,

almost calling

to God

and saying,

God,

remember that

you've done

great things

in us,

you've done

great things

among us,

we are your

people,

we are the

ones whom

you have

planted,

we are the

ones who

have been

taken and

you've been

turning us

into something

really amazing.

But without

you,

without the

light of

your face

shining on

us,

we will be

absolutely

nothing,

and so we're

calling on you,

God,

to watch

over this

vine,

to watch

over what

you have

planted,

because if

you don't,

then we know

we will

simply wither

and we'll

come to

absolutely

nothing,

so watch

over us,

God.

And again,

if I reflect

very,

very simply

on what

Jesus brings

to us and

how Jesus

reveals God

the Father

to us,

I'm turned

again to

his words

and to

John chapter

John 15 · chapter mention

15,

where again

we get

the image

of gardening,

where again

we get the

image of

the vine,

and in

John chapter

John 15:5

15,

verse 5,

we read this,

I am the

vine,

you are the

branches.

If a man

remains in

me and I

in him,

he will

bear much

fruit.

Apart from

me,

you can

do nothing.

If anyone

does not

remain in

me,

he is like

a branch

that is

thrown away

and withers.

Such branches

are picked

up,

thrown into

the fire

and burned.

If you

remain in

me,

and my

words remain

in you,

ask whatever

you wish

and it

will be

given you.

As the

Father has

loved me,

so I

have loved

you.

Now

remain in

my love.

Can we

just dwell on

verse 9

for a moment?

Can we

just reflect

on it?

Can we

just try and

let it sink

down into

our hearts

as we hear

so many

competing

voices about

what's

important,

as we

hear so

many things

about how

people value

us,

how they

see us,

as we

have so

many pressures,

perhaps from

all sorts of

angles,

and we hear

these words

from Jesus

as he speaks

about the

good,

good Father

and he

says this,

as the

Father has

loved me,

so have I

loved you.

Now

remain in

my love.

Can we

see ourselves

like those

branches,

like those

branches connected

to Jesus

the vine?

And can we

say to God,

God,

would you

watch over

us?

Please don't

leave us

because we

know that we

will wither

if we are

not subject

to your

constant loving

care.

And then we

hear Jesus

saying,

as the

Father has

loved me,

so have I

loved you

and remain

in my

love.

So,

I wonder

if there's

something for

us in Psalm

80.

I wonder

if this

morning,

we can

look to

God and

we can

say,

God,

please hear

us.

God,

please restore

us.

God,

please shine

upon us.

God,

please watch

over us.

For some

of you,

maybe it's

new to

Edinburgh,

maybe it's

involved in

a whole new

set of

experiences.

If you're

starting

student life

and there's

many temptations

with at

least the

perception

of new

found

freedom

to perhaps

just wander

away from

some of

that faith

that you

know of

and that

you've

heard of

and that

you've

experienced

through

childhood,

through teenage

years.

In which

case,

just maybe

there's a

word from

God,

the good,

good Father,

who says

he wants

to hear

you.

No matter

what you've

done in

the last

days or

weeks,

restoration

is possible.

that through

Jesus Christ

and his

sacrifice and

through making

a way,

he wants

to shine

upon you

and he

will watch

over you.

Maybe it's

a word not

just for

young people,

but maybe

it's a word

for those

who are

much older,

who maybe

in some

ways have

just given

up a little

bit,

maybe just

not really

thriving in

terms of

that relationship

with God,

in which

case,

please take

again,

despite my

weakness and

failure,

a word from

God which

says he

wants to

hear you,

he wants

to restore

you,

he wants

to make

his face

shine upon

you,

and he

will watch

over you

if you

just turn

to him

again.

Maybe it's

something for

us as a

church.

As we are

in this

period of

really looking

to God

for what

he wants

to do

with us

in the

future,

as we

prepare to

say goodbye

to John,

our pastor,

and we're

seeking God

together.

We say,

God,

our good,

good Father,

would you

hear us?

Would you

restore us?

Would you

shine your

face upon

us?

Imagine what's

going to go

on here if

we know the

reality of

God's face

shining upon

us.

And God,

as we face

difficult

decisions and

many uncertainties,

would you

watch over

us?

let's pause

and let's

pray together.

Father God,

we just

ask you to

draw so

close to

each one

of us.

And in

this moment,

as we just

pause,

would you

reveal yourself

to us as the

good,

good Father?

Maybe as we

reflect on

the words of

Jesus as he

talked about

how the

Father would

would be

ready to

respond.

Maybe as we

think about

Jesus telling

us that story

of the

prodigal son

and the

father who

was ready

to see

restored

relationship.

Maybe as we

think of how

you, Lord

Jesus, are

the one who

shines in

our hearts.

Maybe as we

remember that

you are the

vine and we

are simply the

branches and

we are told

to remain

in you and

to have real

assurance that

then we can

know what it

is to be

loved by you

and we can

know your

presence and

power and

peace.

So, Lord, I

just ask that

you would be

present with

each one of

us, draw near,

speak to us.

May we go

away more

assured that

we worship a

good, good

Father.

Amen.

Seventeen.

We

need

us

the

one

one

one

one

one