Psa 80:8 | KingComments | STEP | Asaph reminds God of His gracious action in delivering His people from Egypt. God has removes Israel from Egypt like “a vine” ( ; cf. ; ). The fruit of a vine, wine, represents joy. In Egypt, the people could not be a joy to Him. That they could only be in the land that He chose as His own. Therefore He “drove out the nations and planted it” (cf. ; ). Isaiah, singing a song about God’s people as a vineyard, puts it this way: He “removed its stones” ( ). We find here, summarized in a few verses, the long history of Israel presented in a parable. In it it is emphasized that Israel’s history is due to the actions of the LORD. He has removed. We find that in the book of Exodus. He drove out the nations. We find that in the book of Joshua. God did not plant the vine, His people, just anywhere, but on ground “cleared before it” ( ; ). He prepared a place for it. God always does that. Before He placed man in paradise, He prepared that place for him ( ). He prepared everything well. Because the Lord Jesus wants to bring us to the Father’s house, He went first to prepare a place for us there ( ). God made every effort to plant the vine so that it would bear rich fruit (cf. ). The vine “took deep root”. As a result, it “filled the land”. Everything speaks of His care for His vine, so that He might have the full enjoyment of it. He planted Israel in a place that He prepared. He blessed Israel, causing the people to take root and fill the land. He extended its branches. This brings us to the period of the governments of David and Solomon. The growth of the vine has been His work. That growth, that is the growth of population, has been abundant. “The mountains” in the south “were covered with its shadow” ( ). That indicates a numerous population. It has also become a mighty people, like “the cedars of God with its boughs” of the Lebanon in the north (cf. ; ). The growth is also visible from west to east. “It was sending out its branches to the sea” ( ), that is the Mediterranean Sea in the west and the Red Sea in the east. The same is true of “its shoots to the River”, by which is meant the Euphrates. These are the boundaries of the territory Israel will possess in the realm of peace, according to the promise God made to the fathers ( ; ). This population growth and territory expansion were present for a short time in the days of Solomon ( ). After God has done all this for His people, the question arises among the remnant as to why He has broken down its hedges, why He has broken down the wall He has built around His vineyard ( ; cf. ). We find the reason in the previous psalm ( ; cf. ). A hedge, a wall serves to protect. God breaks down that protection. He does so by means of the Babylonians who destroy Jerusalem. The city lies broken up. “All who pass [that] way” can plunder as much as they want. “A boar” is an unclean animal ( ) and represents the nations ( ). The nations have come “from the forest”, which is their own habitation, to tear Jerusalem loose from its foundation. The wild nations have come to take possession of anything they deem of any value. Thus Jerusalem has been “eaten” and there is nothing edible, nothing of value left. Many nations have trampled on Jerusalem. Assyria is the foreshadowing of what will happen in the future. From Nebuchadnezzar on, we find in the times of the Gentiles ( ) that many nations have ruled over Jerusalem and trampled on the city. Prophetically in the future, the prophetic Assyrian, the king of the North, will do this.

‏ Psalms 80:8

The Vine of Israel

Asaph reminds God of His gracious action in delivering His people from Egypt. God has removes Israel from Egypt like “a vine” (Psa 80:8; cf. Hos 10:1a; Eze 19:10). The fruit of a vine, wine, represents joy. In Egypt, the people could not be a joy to Him. That they could only be in the land that He chose as His own. Therefore He “drove out the nations and planted it” (cf. Deu 7:1; Exo 23:28). Isaiah, singing a song about God’s people as a vineyard, puts it this way: He “removed its stones” (Isa 5:1-2).

We find here, summarized in a few verses, the long history of Israel presented in a parable. In it it is emphasized that Israel’s history is due to the actions of the LORD. He has removed. We find that in the book of Exodus. He drove out the nations. We find that in the book of Joshua.

God did not plant the vine, His people, just anywhere, but on ground “cleared before it” (Psa 80:9; Jer 2:21). He prepared a place for it. God always does that. Before He placed man in paradise, He prepared that place for him (Gen 2:8). He prepared everything well. Because the Lord Jesus wants to bring us to the Father’s house, He went first to prepare a place for us there (Jn 14:2-3).

God made every effort to plant the vine so that it would bear rich fruit (cf. Isa 5:2a ; Isa 57:14). The vine “took deep root”. As a result, it “filled the land”. Everything speaks of His care for His vine, so that He might have the full enjoyment of it. He planted Israel in a place that He prepared. He blessed Israel, causing the people to take root and fill the land. He extended its branches. This brings us to the period of the governments of David and Solomon.

The growth of the vine has been His work. That growth, that is the growth of population, has been abundant. “The mountains” in the south “were covered with its shadow” (Psa 80:10). That indicates a numerous population. It has also become a mighty people, like “the cedars of God with its boughs” of the Lebanon in the north (cf. Num 24:6; Psa 104:16).

The growth is also visible from west to east. “It was sending out its branches to the sea” (Psa 80:11), that is the Mediterranean Sea in the west and the Red Sea in the east. The same is true of “its shoots to the River”, by which is meant the Euphrates. These are the boundaries of the territory Israel will possess in the realm of peace, according to the promise God made to the fathers (Gen 15:18; Deu 1:7-8 ; Deu 11:24). This population growth and territory expansion were present for a short time in the days of Solomon (1Kgs 4:20 ; 24).

After God has done all this for His people, the question arises among the remnant as to why He has broken down its hedges, why He has broken down the wall He has built around His vineyard (Psa 80:12; cf. Isa 5:5). We find the reason in the previous psalm (Psa 79:8; cf. Isa 5:1-7). A hedge, a wall serves to protect. God breaks down that protection. He does so by means of the Babylonians who destroy Jerusalem. The city lies broken up. “All who pass [that] way” can plunder as much as they want.

“A boar” is an unclean animal (Lev 11:3-4 ; 7) and represents the nations (Psa 80:13). The nations have come “from the forest”, which is their own habitation, to tear Jerusalem loose from its foundation. The wild nations have come to take possession of anything they deem of any value. Thus Jerusalem has been “eaten” and there is nothing edible, nothing of value left.

Many nations have trampled on Jerusalem. Assyria is the foreshadowing of what will happen in the future. From Nebuchadnezzar on, we find in the times of the Gentiles (Lk 21:24) that many nations have ruled over Jerusalem and trampled on the city. Prophetically in the future, the prophetic Assyrian, the king of the North, will do this.