PSALM 80. TURN US AGAIN!. Three times Asaph uses the phrase which is our title. The request to be "turned again" is made to the only one who can turn our lives right around. The psalmist begins the song with, "O Shepherd of Israel, turn us again, and cause Thy Face to sine upon us." He refers to the Shepherd of Israel as, THOU WHO LEADEST. That is a phrase which can refer to past, present and future. God has always guided His people. In Israel of old, He was guide, supporter, and protector. He is the God of the Mercy Seat, and the psalmist requests a shining forth, for it was there that the Shekinah Glory shone. In the New Testament there is a fuller revelation as we discover the Glory of God in the person of His Son our Saviour Jesus Christ. In this psalm there is the application of the principle of turning the people again in restoration, renewal and reviving. Restoration is a returning again to a certain condition. What a state we were in when God came to us. Then He turned us again, and His face shined upon us, and we were restored. God has promised to restore to us more than the human race has lost in Adam "Turn us again O God!". In this psalm there is an application of this principle in the three experiences of restoration, renewal and reviving. We all need to be restored. Then from time to time we need a renewal, thorough and complete. We also, regularly, need reviving. As a cup of water on a blistering hot day revives our wilting body, so the blessing of God revives the whole man, body, soul, and spirit. The Apostle Paul says words which are very moving, "I beseech you brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice@. We are apt to think that these bodies belong to us. They belong to God. Everything belongs to God. There are times when we long for a reviving. Praise God, there is a water that flows from the throne of God. It belongs to God. In these days we are told that if we DEMAND pure water from our household taps, it will cost us a colossal sum of money. Our God calls the whosoever to freely drink of the water of life. The cry "Turn us Again" is a cry for RESTORATION. Restore or rescue us. Turn us again, and cause Thy face to sine upon us and we shall be saved. The prophet cries, "Lord, Look what is happening to us! Turn us again!" The process of restoration is threefold:- [1] TURNING TOWARD GOD. Over my lifetime some peculiar things have happened to me. By peculiar, I do not mean funny-peculair, but strange. They have been things which I have not understood at the time when God was doing them. The surprise came later when I learned the reason why God had done them. When we ask God to turn us, that turning to God is all important; so important that God will do anything to bring it about. There are times when folk try to turn away from God, and He brings something drastic into their lives, to turn them again. Tears and strife often turn us toward God. In the midst of the turmoil of many countries today, many hearts are crying out, "O God help me!" We forget Him in our happy times, but in our suffering and woe, we turn to Him. [2] HE CAUSES HIS FACE TO SHINE. The second part of the process of restoration is when God beams on us. His smile is our health. When God deals drastically with us, to turn us to Himself, He does not take out a big stick: He shines on us. There is a light from the Mercy Seat - The Shekinah - in Christ - is the smiling of the Father's Face. One dear saint commenting on the light from the Mercy Seat says, "That light strikes sinners with a blast of furious fire, and it blesses all those who present the Blood." That really does sum up the power of the Mercy Seat. the same fire from the Mercy Seat which struck down Aaron's sons when they presented strange fire before the Lord, was the fire which glowed and blessed the High Priest as he presented the blood of atonement on the Mercy Seat. O that God might cause His Face to sine upon us!. [3] AND WE SHALL BE SAVED. This is how Asaph described the third part of the process of turning us around. We will be revived in His Grace and restored in His Providence. The cry, "Turn us Again" is also a cry for RENEWAL. In verse eight to eleven there is a tenfold description of Israel as a vine. Reference is made to the prosperity of the vine, and also to the decline of the vine. Asaph pleads, "Look down from heaven and visit the vine." The renewal of the vine depends upon its proper planting, growing, pruning, and producing in Glorious Sunshine. The Lord Jesus Christ declares to those who believe in Him, "I am the true vine, and ye are the branches." We turn to God because He is the only source of our renewal and prosperity. We are renewed and life flows from the True Vine. The cry "Turn us again!" is a cry for REVIVING. "Let Thy hand be upon the man of Thy Right Hand, upon the son of man whom Thou makest strong for Thyself." Here is the reference to the Son of Man, a title our Lord used to describe Himself when on earth. On earth, the Vine is His Church. Its prosperity depends on Him looking down from heaven and visiting the vine. God turns us to Himself by pruning. The branches that bear no fruit are cut off. I am told by people who know a great deal about growing grapes that you have to prune the vine real hard. The better they are prunes the stronger they grow and the more luscious the fruit are. If there is one thing we do not like in our spiritual experience, it is when God begins to cut us back. He prunes real hard. He seems at times to take everything away. But from that experience of loss there comes a fruitfulness which makes us glad and makes others rejoice. Asaph sings, "Quicken us, and we will call on Thy Name." After the pruning, there comes new and luxurious life, in which we really enjoy God. Let us ever remember that our peak, our prosperity, our full religious liberty, is solely produced by the bounty of our God in our lives. Enjoy the faculties that God has given you. Turn again to Him. Rejoice in your youth, or in its renewal in old age. Enjoy your health and strength, your eyesight, your hearing, your speech. Turn to God with every faculty He has given you, and like a fruitful vine in a beautiful vineyard, in the glorious sunshine, give God all the Glory for every life giving faculty. Let praise flow from you as vibrant life from a fruitful vine. Put all your faculties into operation to the Praise of God. Copyright (c) 1996, Hedley Palmer. 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