Advent 4 Year A 12/21/2025
Isaiah 7:10-16; Psalm 80:1-7, 16-18; Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-25
Rev. Mark A. Lafler
Today is the fourth Sunday in Advent…
And we will look at the final Psalm given in our Advent season wrapping up the Psalms of Advent Series.
As we have talked about over the last few weeks…
There are different genres of Psalms that have a different historical context…
They have different functions in the worship and life of ancient Israel…
In the first week of Advent, we read Psalm 122…
A Song of Ascent as the Jews travelled up to Jerusalem for worship.
In the second week of Advent, we had Psalm 72…
A Royal Psalm connected with the inauguration of the kings in Israel.
Last week, we had Psalm 146…
A Psalm of Praise that was used in the Temple to worship God despite the difficulties and troubles of rebuilding life among the ruins of Jerusalem.
Today we have Psalm 80…
Now, there is uncertainty about the historical context…
The timeframe that it was written in…
What specific role it played in the ancient Jewish community…
There just isn’t enough information out there to know the historical context of Psalm 80.
But one thing is clear…
And that is… It is a Psalm of Lament.
A psalm of sorrow and grief.
And it serves as a corporate lament…
Describing the troubles that have been placed upon the people of Israel.
Pain, suffering, and grief have been the journey of this Psalm and the writer spells out a lament to God.
And they are not just momentary tribulations…
The Psalmist cries out:
O Lord God of hosts,
how long will you be angered
despite the prayers of your people?
And more specifically, the Psalmist gives the sorrow that they experience:
You have fed them with the bread of tears;
you have given them bowls of tears to drink.
You have made us the derision of our neighbors,
and our enemies laugh us to scorn.
Whether the infliction was brought by the harassment of enemies…
Or the troubles of a famine…
Whatever it was…
The psalmist knew that the one who was powerful to save them was the one and only God…
The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
The lament is a cry to God to come and deliver them from the agony…
Asking God to be their shepherd and save them from the pain and sorrow that is before them.
The main thrust of the Psalm is repeated three times with the refrain:
Restore us, O Lord God of hosts;
show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.
This refrain is repeated in verses 3, 7, and in verse 18 at the end.
At the very least, Psalm 80 was used as a prayerful lament whenever the people of God go through the troubles of history…
It was used as a cry to God in the midst of difficulty asking God for restoration and salvation.
So why is this Psalm appointed during the season of Advent?
This season of expectation and preparation…
This season of journey and waiting?
Well, liturgically, there is a Messianic flavor to the Psalm…
Specifically in verse 16…
The Psalmist wrties:
Let your hand be upon the man of your right hand,
the son of man you have made so strong for yourself.
This verse is pointing toward the One who is to come and save…
The One who God sends…
Titles such as the man of your right hand and
the son of man…
Are pointedly messianic.
And that savior…
That Messiah… is Christ Jesus our Lord.
He is strong to save…
And “to save people” is just what Christ Jesus came and did…
Born a baby into poverty…
Growing up in a town that doesn’t even make the map.
He grew in stature and wisdom…
He healed the sight of the blind,
He made the lame walk,
He cleansed the lepers,
He opened the ears of the deaf,
He raised the dead,
and He brought good news to the poor.
He upset the power of the religious authorities and was arrested…
He was crucified…
He died and yet, He rose again…
He ascended into heaven…
And now sits in the position of power…
As our creed says:
[He] is seated at the right hand of the Father…
Just as the Psalm says.
And he will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.
It is Christ Jesus who has the power to save…
And by his ministry on the cross…
This work of salvation…
By His grace…
We are saved by faith alone.
And receive the forgiveness of sins.
So, liturgically, the psalm makes sense for Advent because of this messianic flavor… the savior undertones…
pointing to the coming of Jesus.
Just as the refrain of the Psalm declares:
Restore us, O Lord God of hosts;
show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.
Jesus is the light…
The light of the world…
In him we shall be saved.
The Psalmist cries out for a savior…
The over-arching answer to the Psalmist cry is the coming of the redeemer of the world, Jesus Christ, who came on that first Christmas.
And yet, I believe there is another reason that this Psalm of Lament is chosen for this season.
I’m sure I don’t have to remind any of us that life can be hard and difficult… sometimes overwhelming.
At one moment we can be on top of the world, enjoying the beautiful weather we have in Central Florida…
And within moments a phone call, a text, an email, a tragic experience changes the day, the future, our entire outlook.
The journey of life is full of moments of joy and moments of sadness, grief, and sorrow.
And to this second part speaks the words of the lament.
The seasons of Advent and Christmas are not always holly and jolly.
For many…
Sadness increases…
Loneliness rises…
Pain grows…
We remember the ones that are no longer with us…
Perhaps it’s our first year without our spouse, our mom, our dad, or a grandparent…
And their memories during the season of festivities can hit really hard.
In this journey we have suffered loss.
We grieve, we struggle, we lament.
Part of the preparation of Advent is acknowledging the difficulties of waiting for Christ to come.
Our Psalmist talks about
..the bowls of tears… and the derision of our neighbors…
Perhaps we don’t use those words…
But we do know the feeling of tears of sadness…
And the loneliness of watching others celebrate while we just want to hide.
And we certainly can say with the Psalmist:
O Lord God of hosts, how long…?
How long O’ Lord?
How long until you restore all things?
How long until you make things right?
How long until you make all things new?
How long are we to wait for the coming of our Savior?
Advent is a season of waiting, preparing, getting ready…
A season of hope, longing, and desire…
A season of journey…
And it also recognizes the pain and loss we have in the waiting.
And in this waiting, even in the pain and sorrow…
Advent declares: Jesus is coming!
Even if we can only hear it in a whisper.
And it’s in Jesus that we find comfort…
We find peace…
We find the patience and faithfulness to continue forward.
We find the hope that sustains us.
Advent and Christmas won’t take away the pain…
But they do promise that the Savior has come and will come again to set the world at rights.
Let us hear the words of the Psalmist again in the lament…
In faith and trust and hope proclaim:
Restore us, O Lord God of hosts;
show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.
This is why Psalm 80 is the appointed psalm for today in the season of Advent.
Amen.
