“Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved”
We come now to the repeating request of the prayer of Psalms 80: Turn us again!
I’ve already covered this passage on the commentary on Psalms 80:3. Today let’s look at the expanding portion of this request which is repeated three times in the prayer, word for word with an addition each time (the bold shows the additions to the original request):
Verse 3 Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved
Verse 7 Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.
Verse 19 Turn us again, O LORD God of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.
There are two additions in the repetitions of the request, ‘of hosts’ & ‘LORD’. Let’s examine them before we look at the larger picture.
“Of hosts”
The original word for “hosts” translates to “masses”. Almost always used in the Old Testament in regards to armies. It is also a term commonly attached to God. When attached to God, it seems to be a reference to the heavenly multitudes that constitute the force of Heaven. It’s a hyperbole in a sense, because the one true God who spoke the worlds into existence needs no armies to enforce His will. Perhaps its for us to comprehend the sheer awesomeness of His power that we have used in times past the description: God of armies.
The phrase brings to mind the story of Elisha in 2 Kings 6:15-17, where he states emphatically to his servant: They that be with us are more than they that be with them. That is to say, the armies of our God outnumber the armies arrayed against us.
It is a fitting addition to Elohiym (the word we translate God from). Elohiym being plural, its literal translation is gods, however, it was also used in the superlative term to reference to a god who was greater than all other gods, for if god is word relating to the greatest being we can fathom, then to address Him in the plural is the greatest possible word in a sense that we can use. Hence we often see God in the Bible described in a plural sense, that is to say, He is the God of gods. (there are many good arguments/proofs for why this is the correct reading of the plural use of god in relation to the one God of the Bible, one day I will tackle it, suffice to say, the Jews are strictly monotheistic which should provide important bearing on the correct reading of the plural use)
Thus we can read this as such: O God of gods, the God of armies, cause Thy face to shine! Both are superlative. They are calling on the greatest that ever was. They go past all others to the true God with such awesome power that we call Him truly and rightly: the God of armies!
“LORD”
In the final repetition of this request we have the most important addition of all: the name of God. (Whenever you see Lord capitalized as LORD that means that Lord in this passage has been used instead of the actual name of God which is what was in the original)
God (Elohiym) is used in reference to other gods such as Baal (Jdg6:31, 1Ki 18:21). And there are other gods who are so called, gods of war, but there is one God who goes by the name, Jehovah/YWEH. This name means ‘the existing One’. It’s the identity of the God in Genesis who before all else, He is. When He announces Himself to Moses, He declares, I am that I am.
At this point in history, it was epitome of the revelation of the name of God (in the NT, we see that Jehovah becomes our salvation, Jesus. That is literally, the name of God expands as it were from the existing One to the existing One saves) This brings to the big picture.
What do we take away from the repetition of the request?
1. Knock and keep on knocking. It’s the central theme of this prayer: the people are waiting for God to return to them. There is no hope outside of Him, and because of its urgency and utmost importance, it is repeated again and again and again. If there is something important, don’t leave it to the side, bring it forward again and again and again. If there truly is no living outside of Christ, don’t leave an important plea such as for His presence to go out unanswered. Wait and keep on knocking. This point was made by Jesus in his story of the judge and the widow in Luke 18:1-8.
2. There ought to be a deepening revelation in our walk with God. Notice that as we get further into the prayer, the addition is always to do with who God is. It speaks of a deepening revelation and an increasing faith.
The first time around, we find God being addressed, then it’s the God of armies, finally, the Existing One, God of armies. If there could have been doubt before, there is none now. If one didn’t fully comprehend to whom they were speaking, they do now.
So ought our life in Christ to be. As Paul speaks in Ephesians 3:17-19, that we may know the width, the length, the depth, and the height.
There’s a beautiful song, Let Me Rediscover You that speaks of this:
As we live in Christ, may we find a deepening revelation of the wonder, power, and majesty of who He is.
Talking Bible 