Psalm 80 is another song of the exile, the poet struggling to make sense of Israel and Judah's fall and desolation. God's people are fed "the bread of tears" and are given "tears to drink."
It's an appropriate psalm to contemplate this Friday the Second Week of Advent. The hymns of Advent speak to the condition of exile:
O come, O come, Immanuel,
and ransom captive Israel
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.
I was visiting recently with a pastor from a mainline congregation. I mentioned my envy that mainline denominations have a greater repertoire of Advent hymns in contrast to Christmas carols. But the pastor responded, "Oh, we still have to sing Christmas carols before the 25th. Plus, if we don't sing those carols before Christmas we won't ever get a chance to sing them." All that to say, everyone seems to struggle to consistently adopt an exilic posture for the four weeks of Advent.
And yet, while this might be a liturgical struggle, it's not an experiential problem. During Advent we don't just look "forward" to Christmas. Historically, the Incarnation is in our past. Advent--from the Latin adventus which means "coming" or "arrival"--is looking forward to Christ's Second Coming. Seen this way, we're living in the season of exile, the agonized period of waiting. Today we eat the bread of tears. Lamentation is our lived experience. Consequently, Psalm 80 expresses our Advent lament and hope. With the psalmist, we cry out:
Restore us, O Lord God of hosts;
let your face shine, that we may be saved.
