Shepherd of Israel

Psalm 80 is the prayer of a broken people. Asaph, who mourned the ruin in the previous psalm, turns here to God by one tender name: shepherd — not a king and not a judge, but the one who leads a flock and abandons no sheep. The psalm names the tribes of Joseph — Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh — and carries the pain of the northern tribes taken from the land. One refrain returns three times and grows stronger: O God, restore us; let your face shine, that we may be saved. The plea opens with a call to the shepherd, passes through bread of tears and the neighbors mockery, and closes with the parable of the vine.

The central verse, chosen as the name of the song, is:

"Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock, you who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth"

There is a rare combination here: a shepherd walking behind his sheep, and the one seated in the highest place. The prayer asks the highest to act as a shepherd — to listen, and to shine his face on those with no strength left to call aloud.