R. (4b) Let us see your face, Lord, and we shall be saved.
O shepherd of Israel, hearken.
From your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth.
Rouse your power.
R.Let us see your face, Lord, and we shall be saved.
Once again, O LORD of hosts,
look down from heaven, and see:
Take care of this vine,
and protect what your
right hand has planted,
the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
R. Let us see your face, Lord, and we shall be saved.
REFLECTION
Let us see your face, Lord, and we shall be saved.
What do you do when your faith starts to wither? When you are in the middle of a physical or mental crisis, when our best efforts don't bring about any good results, when we think we have discerned but then are not happy with what we thought was what God wanted us to do? Even when we are the cause of all our problems, what do we do?
You can name more situations and we can emote feelings of despair, all is lost and fearfulness of the present and the future.
Psalm 80 was written during a time of deep national crisis. The Northern Kingdom of Israel was destroyed by the Assyrians in 722 BC ( the Babylonian exile). After the kingdom split, the ten northern tribes symbolized by the tribes of Joseph, Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh were overrun and exiled.
As children we wander off at the store, in the playground, or in a crowded room and as long as we can see our mother or father or a familiar face, we continue with our sojourn of exploration. As pilgrims we wander off from our tour guide, but as long as we can see the hand held flag or the other pilgrims' t shirts we feel safe and at ease.
When we wander from God ( many times this happens daily) and we are all alone, we long to see His face. There are times He seems distant or we make poor decisions, or we don't feel that "tug" or that comfort that He is around. We do not stop praying but ask even more that He draw us back to Himself.
To see God's face is to experience His loving presence. He will never abandon us.
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