SHEPHERD OF ISRAEL - We actually have two metaphors operating in this psalm; the first metaphor is God as Shepherd of Israel. This, according to Westermann, refers to the wandering of the people of Israel in the wilderness who follow God’s presence of cloud and fire.

INVOCATION OR ADDRESS? - Invocation gives psalms intensity and vividness. Such is the case in the opening-especially verse 3: "Bring us back, O God!" Invocation springs from situation of distress and usually carries the idea of "help, God!" On the other hand invocation loses its intensity when community is at rest and thus gives way to the more calm address as in the Babylonian psalms.

A WORD ABOUT METAPHOR IN THE PSALMS- don’t let the metaphor fool you, says Westermann. While a metaphor is a comparison, God’s actions are closely linked to reality and life. "Shepherd and vineyards form the reality in which those who hear and pray the psalm actually lived. What God has done, does and will do for His people are as real, as normal and as natural as what the shepherd does for his flock or the vine-grower with his vineyard." [1] So don’t brush off metaphor as mere decoration or illustration; they are part of real life of those who hear and speak the psalms.

How does the metaphor of Israel as a grapevine describe your own journey with God? What metaphor would you use to outline your life with God? Try it! Think about an image-a person, place or thing-that could serve as a metaphor to describe your lifelong journey with God.

When have you prayed "bring me back, O God"? Describe some of the turnings that your relationship with God has required.

This psalm is, according to John Calvin, "a sorrowful prayer, in which the faithful beseech God that he would be graciously pleased to succour his afflicted Church." The psalm might offer reflective metaphor for how our life journey with God requires the constant and continual care of the master shepherd and master gardener.

You could do a parallel track with this psalm by following the basic history of Israel as the grapevine, and then holding up a personal testimony of your journey with God.

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[1] Claus Westermann, The Living Psalms (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1984), page 34.