Open-ended, Life-centred,
Gospel-Focussed Explorations of Australian Prayer Book Psalms.
Psalm 80:7-15...PENTECOST PLUS 21 (A)
.... (For the
Gospel, please scroll)
INTRODUCTION: 1]PSS
used here are
alternatives for SS. after
Pentecost. 2]
Psalms
are poetry for singing;
personal; not rhyming, but developing an idea,
contrasting it, etc., dating from pre-1000 BC (David)
to mid 400s
BC. 3] Being of their day, we
may
find attitudes in some PSS abhorrent. 4]
PS80 stems from the threat to the Northern kingdom's (Israel's)
imminent invasion & destruction by Assyria (the 'boar' &
'locusts' of v.13) in 721BC. 5]
'Vine' imagery is also used by the Prophets Isaiah, Hosea,
& Jeremiah. 6] vv 3, 7,
& 19 are a chorus. 7] In
v.11, the sea is the Mediterranean, & the river the Euphrates.
WARMING UP: Do grape
vines grow well where we live? Do we grow them? With success?
TREASURES OLD & NEW:
Identify God at work in anything this week?
ENTERING INTO THE STORY:
7-11 Might the chorus (v.7) be a useful
constant prayerto have 'up our sleeve' (or better
still, in our heart!) for use all day every day? As well as reminding
us of our dependence on, & confidence in, God, what else could it
keep us mindful of? How often do we recognize we need 'restoring'?
Restoring to what? Are we always conscious of God's light in our life?
What do we ourselves need saving from? Saving for what?
Are we at all conscious of
having been brought from
anywhere to anywhere? As an
individual, a family, a part of God's people, etc.? If we think of
ourselves as God's vine, are we less likely to think of ourself being
our own farmer / gardener doing our own thing & more likely to
understand God is cultivating us for His
own purposes? Is our own growth as a person, & as a
Christian, as flourishing as the vine described in vv.10-11? If we
aren't flourishing, what's stopping our growth as a person of God? Is
any lack of flourishing exactly why we need the 'restoring' spoken of
in v.7? Where v.10 speaks of the growth of the vine, & v.11 speaks
of its spread, how much does our influence for God grow & spread?
Or is it pretty confined within the limited growth we're settling for?
If we're neither growing in faith nor spreading God's influence, what
is the imagery of a 'vine' saying to us?
12-15 Do we ever feel as exposed to 'enemy
elements' as the PSt feels here? Do we ever feel our defences are being
broken down? Who or what is doing that? In one sense of that
expression, might having 'our defences broken down' be exactly what we
need? What about feeling picked over, picked off, uprooted, devoured?
Are there other expressions we'd apply to ourself to express our
situation today? If we were to paint a word picture of our life story,
would any of the PSt's imagery speak of any part of our journey?
Can
we expect God to 'turn to us' if we aren't at the same time turning to
God? Do we grasp, have we experienced, that conversion to Faith is more
than a one-off event; that faith needs renewing; that we need to be
'returning' constantly for spiritual growth to continue & God's
purpose for us to be achieved? Is God really looking down from any
heaven up there somewhere, or have we still not grasped that in Jesus,
heaven came down to earth - & is meant to stay here?
Does the poetic imagery of v.15 speak to us at all? What does it say to
us? Might thinking of ourself as 'the stock which your right hand has
planted' be a helpful, different way of understanding our spiritual
journey?
PLUS: Does what the PST wants to teach us here throw any
light on the Gospel (MT 21:33-46)?
