Deacon Susan Erickson

Hear, O Shepherd of Israel, leading Joseph like a flock; *
shine forth, you that are enthroned upon the cherubim.

In the presence of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, *
stir up your strength and come to help us.

Restore us, O God of hosts; *
show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.

O Lord God of hosts, *
how long will you be angered
despite the prayers of your people?

You have fed them with the bread of tears; *
you have given them bowls of tears to drink.

You have made us the derision of our neighbors, *
and our enemies laugh us to scorn.

Dear Siblings in Christ,

These are the opening verses of Psalm 80, the psalm appointed for today’s Morning Prayer.  In the remaining verses, the line “show us the light of your countenance” is repeated several times.

Whoever wrote Psalm 80 must have been feeling that the “Shepherd of Israel” had turned His face from His flock and wandered away. Indeed, the Psalmist believes that God is angry, despite the people’s prayers.

Psalm 80, in turn, made me think of Job. We have been reading the book of Job in Tuesday morning Bible study; in the course of our reading, we’ve been forced to confront very human situations in which God seems deaf to our suffering.

“Why do You hide Your face,/and count me Your enemy?” Job asks (Job 13:24; trans. Robert Alter). “Look, to the east I go, and He is not there,/to the west, and I do not discern Him … .”  (Job 23:8)

What can we do in those times when we cannot sense God’s presence, or at least, God’s help?

One answer may be to imitate both the Psalmist and Job and keep talking to God, keep seeking Him.

In the face of what seems to be God’s anger, the Psalmist nevertheless persists in asking God to root out Israel’s enemies. That may not be the right thing to bring to God in prayer, but at least it is a communication.

For his part, Job may rail against the suffering God has brought upon him—but he complains … to God (in the presence of his three, rather clueless friends). 

“Give us life that we may call upon your name,” the Psalmist finally says. 

Let us ask God for life, for faith and energy, to continue to call upon His name.

In Christ,

—Deacon Susan