Matthew Henry on Psalms 80:8–end
The psalmist is here presenting his suit for the Israel of God, and pressing it home at the throne of grace, pleading with God for mercy and grace for them. The church is here represented as a vine (Psa 80:8, Psa 80:14) and a vineyard, Psa 80:15. The root of this vine is Christ, Rom 11:18. The branches are believers, Joh 15:5. The church is like a vine, weak and needing support, unsightly and having an unpromising outside, but spreading and fruitful, and its fruit most excellent. The church is a choice and noble vine; we have reason to acknowledge the goodness of God that he has planted such a vine in the wilderness of this world, and preserved it to this day. Now observe here,
I. How the vi…
Read the whole note in the consoleJohn Gill on Psalms 80:10
The hills were covered with the shadow of it,.... Alluding to the land of Canaan, which was a mountainous and hilly country, at least some part of it; hence we read of the hill country of Judea, Luke 1:39 and to the nature of vines, which delight to grow on hills and mountains (p): in a figurative sense this may denote the subjection of kings and kingdoms, comparable to hills, to the Israelites in the times of David and Solomon, 2 Samuel 8:1 and the exaltation of the church of Christ, in the latter day, over the hills and mountains, Isaiah 2:2. The Targum is,
"the mountains of Jerusalem were covered with the shadow of the house of the sanctuary, and of the houses of the schools:''
and the…
Read the whole note in the consoleJohn Calvin on Psalms 80:8-13
Psalm 80:8-13
8. Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast expelled the heathen, and planted it. 9. Thou hast cleansed the ground before it: thou hast rooted its roots, and it hath filled the land. 10. The mountains were covered with its shadow, and its branches were like the cedars of God. [389] 11. It extended its branches to the sea, and its shoots to the river. [390] 12. Why then hast thou broken down its hedges, so that all who pass by the way pluck [or tear] it in pieces? 13. The boar out of the forest [391] hath wasted it; [392] and the wild beast of the field hath eaten it up.
8 Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt. Under the figure of a vine, the singular grace which God w…
