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Today we are moving on into verse 13 of Psalm 80: “Boars from the forest ravage it, and insects from the fields feed on it.” This is a part of the paragraph that I have titled, “Broken Walls.”

“Boars from the forest ravage it,” “The boar, out of the woods, uproots it.” Asaph is using highly figurative language here. The Enduring Word Commentary has an interesting note:

Wild boars are noted for their destruction, and can quickly lay waste to a vineyard. The enemies of God are pictured as such wild, destructive beasts.
i. “No image of a destructive enemy could be more appropriate than that which is used. We have read of the little foxes that spoil the vines, but the wild boar is a much more destructive enemy, breaking its way through fences, rooting up the ground, tearing down the vines themselves, and treading them under its feet. A single party of these animals will sometimes destroy an entire vineyard in a single night.” (Wood, cited in Spurgeon)
ii. In 1520, as Martin Luther rose in prominence as a reformer, Pope Leo X published a condemnation of Luther and his work known as Exsurge domini. In the opening paragraph, he used this image from Psalm 80: “At thy ascension into heaven thou hast commanded the care, rule and administration of this vineyard to Peter as head and to thy representatives, his successors, as the Church triumphant. A roaring boar of the woods has undertaken to destroy this vineyard, a wild beast wants to devour it.”

Ellicott adds his thoughts:

This is the sole mention of the wild boar in Scripture. But it must not therefore be inferred that it was rare in Palestine. (See Tristram’s Nat. Hist. Bib., p. 54.) The writer gives a sad picture of the ravage a herd of them will make in a single night. Comp.—
“In vengeance of neglected sacrifice,
On Oencus’ fields she sent a monstrous boar,
That levell’d harvests and whole forests tore.”
HOMER: Iliad (Pope’s Trans.).

The Pulpit Commentary provides this insight: “The "boar out of the wood," i.e. the wild boar - is probably Tiglath-pileser (2 Kings 15:29), or the Assyrian power generally.”

And Barnes gives this insight:

Men come in and ravage the land, whose character may be compared with the wild boar. The word rendered boar means simply swine. The addition of the phrase "out of the wood" determines its meaning here, and shows that the reference is to wild or untamed swine; swine that roam the woods - an animal always extremely fierce and savage.
Doth waste it - The word used here occurs nowhere else. It means to cut down or cut off; to devour; to lay waste.

Keil and Delitzsch, with their usual scholarship, adds this interesting note:

The untractable, lively wild beast, devours it. Without doubt the poet associates a distinct nation with the wild boar in his mind; for animals are also in other instances the emblems of nations, as e.g., the leviathan, the water-serpent, the behemoth (Isaiah 30:6), and flies (Isaiah 7:18) are emblems of Egypt. The Midrash interprets it of Ser-Edom, and זיז שׂדי, according to Genesis 16:12, of the nomadic Arabs.

“And insects from the fields feed on it.” “And the wild beast of the field devours it.” Barnes suggests,

Of the unenclosed field; or, that roams at large - such as lions, panthers, tigers, wolves. The word here used - זיז zı̂yz - occurs besides only in Psalm 50:11; and Isaiah 66:11. In Isaiah 66:11, it is rendered abundance.
Doth devour it - So the people from abroad consumed all that the land produced, or thus they laid it waste.

Gill adds this lengthy note:

As Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, who carried the two tribes captive, and who for a while lived among and lived as the beasts of the field; both these, in their turns, wasted and devoured the people of Israel; see Jeremiah 50:17. Jarchi interprets this of Esau or Edom, that is, Rome; and says the whole of the paragraph respects the Roman captivity; that is, their present one; but rather the words describe the persecutors of the Christian church in general, comparable to wild boars and wild beasts for their fierceness and cruelty; and perhaps, in particular, Rome Pagan may be pointed at by the one, and Rome Papal by the other; though the latter is signified by two beasts, one that rose out of the sea, and the other out of the earth; which have made dreadful havoc of the church of Christ, his vine, and have shed the blood of the saints in great abundance; see Revelation 12:3, unless we should rather by the one understand the pope, and by the other the Turk, as the Jews interpret them of Esau and of Ishmael.

And what may we derive from this paragraph. As Israel was surrounded and persecuted on every side, due to their disobedience and unbelief, so today’s church experiences somewhat of the same thing in terms of persecution. In every area of the globe, the church of Jesus is being attacked like the boars and wild beasts of the field. Many seem to be satisfied in the darkness of their unbelief and run from the light when the gospel truth is shined upon them. However, the good news is that some do turn to the Light, receive the Lord Jesus with his healing and delivering power, and seek to live before him and others under his protection. All that we can do it to claim our relationship with the Lord Jesus, delight in him, and seek to serve him faithfully wherever he has placed us and in spite of whatever persecution comes our way. To Him be glory and power now and forevermore!

Not sure where the time has gone, but I have not forgotten you all. Today we are moving on into Psalm 80 verse 9: “You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land.”

“You cleared the ground for it.” “You prepared room for it.” The main noun is “You” and that refers to Father God. He caused Israel to take root and then Israel filled the land. Those are the three major points we look at today.

First a note from the Enduring Word Commentary:

In Canaan, God planted it, making room by casting out the Canaanite nations.
i. Many passages of the Old Testament speak of Israel as a vine: Deuteronomy 32:32-33, Isaiah 5:1, Jeremiah 2:21, Ezekiel 17:5-6, Hosea 10:1, and Joel 1:7. The New Testament also applies the figure to Israel (Matthew 20:1, Matthew 21:33, Mark 12:1), and then more broadly to the people of God in general.
ii. “The vine is a plant weak and lowly, and needing support; when supported, wild and luxuriant, unless restrained by the pruning-knife; capable of producing the most valuable fruit, but if barren, the most unprofitable among trees, and fit only for the flames.” (Horne)

God is the main actor here and regardless of how others may be feeling about this, he was the one who planted Israel in the land. If any of us have a problem with that, we need to take it up with Father God. Believe it or not, he knows what he is doing!

And the Cambridge Bible,

As the vinedresser prepares the ground for his vine by clearing away the stones and thorns and all that would hinder its free growth (Isaiah 5:2), so God prepared Canaan for Israel by the expulsion of its old inhabitants.

The Pulpit Commentary provides further insight:

“The "room" was made by the removal of the heathen inhabitants, who were first greatly weakened by Rameses III., and then driven out by Joshua.

Barnes additionally suggests,

The Hebrew word used here means properly to turn; to turn the back; then, to turn in order to look at anything; to look upon; to see; then, in Piel, to cause to turn away; to remove. Then it comes to mean to remove, or to clear from impediments so as to prepare a way Isaiah 40:3; Isaiah 57:14; Isaiah 62:10; Malachi 3:1, and hence, to remove the impediments to planting a vine, etc.; to wit, by clearing away the trees, brush, stones, etc. Compare Isaiah 5:2. Here it means that the hindrances in planting the vine were taken out of the way; that is, God removed the pagan so that there was room then to establish his own people.

Keil and Delitzsch add a bit more as they say,

Here God made His vine a way and a place (פּנּהּ, to clear, from פּנה, to turn, turn aside, Arabic fanija, to disappear, pass away; root פן, to urge forward)

Matthew Poole provides a little more insight as he says,

Didst purge or cleanse the soil; taking out stones or sticks, or other roots or plants, which might hinder its growth or fruitfulness. Thou didst root out those idolatrous and wicked nations which might either corrupt or destroy them.

Gill explains generally what God did:

By sending the hornet before the Israelites, and driving the Canaanites out of the land, Exodus 23:28 and so the Targum,
"thou didst remove from before thee the Canaanites;''

The former inhabitants of the land certainly did not like what was happening and do not now like what happened. They continue to squabble among themselves to correct the problem, but they are looking in the wrong place to do it. First of all, like all the rest of us, they must bow their knee to the Redeemer and commit their lives to him before they may be able to understand what he is doing. However, as history has shown us, they may be unwilling or unable to do that. And that is where we come in. We do not need to apologize on God’s behalf for what HE did. Remember, we are in sales, not management.

K and D have an additional informative note, but we must wait until verse 13 to consider it.

“And it took root.” “And caused it to take deep root.” First, the Enduring Word:

The vine of Israel was blessed in the Promised Land. Under God’s blessing they took deep root and filled the land in a way that the variety of Canaanite tribes had not. It grew so strong and secure in the land that it did what was botanically impossible in a literal sense: the vine grew big as the mighty cedars and cast its shadow upon the hills.
i. “The figure is carried out with much beauty in detail. The Exodus was the vine’s transplanting; the destruction of the Canaanites was the grubbing up of weeds to clear the ground for it; the numerical increase of the people was its making roots and spreading far.” (Maclaren)

And the Cambridge Bible: “Rather, and it struck deep its roots, and filled the land.”

Then Barnes, “that is, Its roots struck deep into the soil, and the plant became firm.”

“And filled the land.” “And it filled the land.” The Pulpit Commentary provides its insight:

Possession was taken of the whole land, not at once (Judges 1:27-36), but slowly and surely; the furthest limits being reached in David's time (1 Kings 4:21, 24).

Then Gill, “who, in the days of Solomon, were as the sand of the sea, 1 Kings 4:20.”

You and I, as believers in the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, are to be doing the very same so that all may see our good works and then glorify Father God who is in Heaven.

Today we are moving into the third paragraph of Psalm 80 and that it verses 4-6 which I have titled, “We are mocked.” Verse four says: “How long, Lord God Almighty, will your anger smolder against the prayers of your people?” There are two phrases for our consideration:

“How long, Lord God Almighty.” “How long, Yahweh, God of Hosts.” In verse three he speaks of God as “Elohim.” In this verse he describes the Lord God further by saying: “Yahweh. Elohim Sabaoth.” Is there a difference? Throughout the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, it is Elohim who is doing the work of creation. Elohim means “divine, God, mighty.” In verse four he uses the proper name for the God of Israel–Yahweh, and further defines it with “God Almighty.” At this beginning of this verse, I quote an important explanatory note from the Cambridge Bible:

This great title Jehovah Tsebâôth or ‘Lord of hosts’ was characteristic of the regal and prophetic period. Originally it may have designated Jehovah as “the God of the armies of Israel” (1 Samuel 17:45), Who went forth with His people’s hosts to battle (Psalm 44:9; Psalm 60:10). But as the phrase “host of heaven” was used for the celestial bodies (Genesis 2:1), and celestial beings (1 Kings 22:19), the meaning of the title was extended to designate Jehovah as the ruler of the heavenly powers, the supreme Sovereign of the universe. Hence one of the renderings of it in the LXX is Κύριος παντοκράτωρ, Lord Almighty, or rather, Lord All-Sovereign. See add. note on 1 Sam., p. 235. The title is a favourite one with Isaiah, and its use here is significant. He whose command all the hosts of heaven obey is Israel’s ally.

When you and I call Jesus, “Lord,” we unknowingly but rightfully so are calling him the “Sovereign of the Universe.” He is the Lord God Almighty without reservation!

The Cambridge Bible continues with this note:

There is a special significance in the repeated appeals to Jehovah (4, 14, 19) by the title which denotes His universal sovereignty, and therefore His ability to help Israel in its humiliation, and also recalls the days when He went forth with Israel’s armies to victory.

Barnes adds even further to our understanding:

Yahweh, God of armies. That is either
(a) the God who rules among the hosts of heaven - the inhabitants of that holy world; or
(b) God of the hosts of the sky - the worlds above - the stars, that seem marshalled as hosts or armies, and that are led forth each night with such order and grandeur; or
(c) God of the hosts on earth - the armies that are mustered for war. The phrase is one which is often applied to God. See the notes at Psalm 24:10; and at Isaiah 1:24.

Gill explains even further:

Aben Ezra and Kimchi observe, that the word "Elohe" is here understood, and the words to be read, "O Lord God, the God of hosts"; of the armies above and below, against whom there is no standing, nor any before him when he is angry.

“Will your anger smolder?” “Will you be angry?” Ellicott’s scholarship comes into play here as well as he says,

A pregnant construction combining two clauses. Thou hast been long angry; how long wilt thou continue to be angry? (Comp. Psalm 13:2, Note, and Exodus 10:3.) Others say the preterite here has the sense of a future perfect, which comes to the same thing: “How long wilt thou have fumed?

And the Pulpit Commentary suggests:

Literally, how long wilt thou smoke? (comp. Psalm 74:1). "Against the prayer" means "in spite of the prayer," or "notwithstanding the prayer." Ordinarily, God forgives, and ceases from his anger, as soon as the afflicted one makes earnest prayer to him. But this is not always so. A time comes when his wrath cannot be appeased - when "there is no remedy" (2 Chronicles 36:16). Evil has been persisted in too long.

And for the scholars among us, Keil and Delitzsch bring their usual scholarship to bear:

In the second strophe there issues forth bitter complaint concerning the form of wrath which the present assumes, and, thus confirmed, the petition rises anew. The transferring of the smoking (עשׁן) of God's nostrils equals the hard breathing of anger (Psalm 74:1, Deuteronomy 29:19), to God Himself is bold, but in keeping with the spirit of the Biblical view of the wrath of God (vid., on Psalm 18:9), so that there is no need to avoid the expression by calling in the aid of the Syriac word עשׁן, to be strong, powerful (why art Thou hard, why dost Thou harden Thyself...). The perfect after עד־מתי has the sense of a present with a retrospective glance, as in Exodus 10:3, cf. עד־אנה, to be understood after the analogy of חרה בּ (to kindle equals to be angry against any one), for the prayer of the people is not an object of wrath, but only not a means of turning it aside. While the prayer is being presented, God veils Himself in the smoke of wrath, through which it is not able to pe*****te. The lxx translators have read בתפלת עבדיך, for they render ἐπὶ τὴν προσευχήν τῶν δούλων σου (for which the common reading is τοῦ δούλου σου).

The Treasury of David adds even further:

How long shall the smoke of thy wrath drown the smoking incense of our prayers? Prayer would fain enter thy holy place but thy wrath battles with it, and prevents its entrance.

Perhaps we should ask at this point, “How are we doing in our prayer lives? “Is there any problem that we need to address before we continue in the presence of God?”

“Against the prayers of your people?” “Against the prayer of your people?” The Cambridge Bible gives us a little more insight here:

As the punishment for the sins of their ancestors (Proverbs 1:28 ff.; Lamentations 3:8). Perhaps the smoke of the divine wrath is thought of as a thick cloud which interposes between them and God; see Lamentations 3:44. We might render in spite of the prayer, but the rendering of A.V. and R.V. is the more forcible. God’s indignation against His people is so intense, that even their prayers are an offence to Him.

Barnes adds,

That is, Thou dost not answer their prayer; thou seemest to be angry against them even when they pray; or in the act of calling upon thee. The earnest inquiry here is, how long this was to continue. It seemed as if it would never end.

And the Geneva Study Bible completes our study today as it says: “The faithful fear God's anger, when they perceive that their prayers are not heard immediately.”

We can be grateful to Father God that we have “two attorneys” working on our behalf in terms of intercession: the Lord Jesus in Heaven and the Holy Spirit on earth. Of course we need to mind our manners and be walking in fellowship with the Lord God so as not to allow anything to inhibit that fellowship or his available power in our lives.

Today we move into verse three of Psalm 80 which is repeated three times in this psalm. Remember, in terms of repetitions, if concepts are repeated, that means that they are very important. Let’s see!

“Restore us, O God.” God! Restore us!” The Enduring Word begins our study today:

This begins a refrain that is repeated three times in this psalm (Psalm 80:3, 7, and 19). It expressed trust and dependence upon God, and confidence that His favor (shown by His shining face) was all that was needed for Israel’s restoration and blessing.
i. “It is not so much said, ‘turn our captivity’ but turn ‘us.’ All will come right if we are right. The best turn is not that of circumstances but of character. When the Lord turns his people he will soon turn their condition.” (Spurgeon)
ii. Spurgeon saw in this line and the following a description of the factors in revival. First there is the restoration or turning of the people to God, and then there is the radiant face of God, shining in all the goodness of His presence. In those two combined we see the work of true revival happen.
iii. “I want to see those times again, when first the refreshing showers came down from heaven. Have you never heard that under one of Whitfield’s sermons there have been as many as two thousand saved? He was a great man; but God can use the little, as well as the great to produce the same effect; and why should there not be souls saved here, beyond all our dreams?” (Spurgeon)

The Cambridge Bible provides even more:

Usually taken to mean bring us back from exile, or more generally, restore us: repair our broken fortunes. Cp. Psalm 60:1. But is it not rather an allusion to Ephraim’s prayer in Jeremiah 31:18, interpreted in Lamentations 5:21 in a spiritual sense? National repentance is the condition of national restoration; and it must be God’s own work. Make us return to Thee, and return to us (Psalm 80:14) with Thy favour as of old; then and not till then shall we be saved.

Benson suggests a little greater overview:

Mudge reads, Restore us, which is equally agreeable to the original word, השׁיבנו, hashibenu. “There are evidently four parts in this Psalm; all of which conclude with this verse, or with one varying very little from it. In the first, the psalmist entreats God to assist them, as he formerly did their forefathers. In the second, he beseeches him to have compassion upon their miserable condition. In the third, not to forsake those now for whom he had already done so much; and in the fourth, concludes with a prayer for their king, and a promise of future obedience, as a grateful return for God’s favours.” — Dodd.

And for you Hebrew scholars, Keil and Delitzsch provide their usual thorough scholarship:

The construction with Lamed says as little against the accusative adverbial rendering of the ah set forth there as does the Beth of בּחרשׁה (in the wood) in 1 Samuel 23:15, vid., Bttcher's Neue Aehrenlese, Nos. 221, 384, 449. It is not a bringing back out of the Exile that is prayed for by השׁתבנוּ, for, according to the whole impression conveyed by the Psalm, the people are still on the soil of their fatherland; but in their present feebleness they are no longer like themselves, they stand in need of divine intervention in order again to attain a condition that is in harmony with the promises, in order to become themselves again. May God then cause His long hidden countenance to brighten and shine upon them, then shall they be helped as they desire (ונוּשׁעה).

“Make your face shine on us.” “Cause your face to shine.” The Cambridge Bible once more:

Shew us Thy favour as of old: words borrowed from the great Aaronic benediction, Numbers 6:25. Cp. Psalm 4:6.

Gill adds,

Llft up the light of thy countenance; favour with the manifestations of thyself, the enjoyment of thee, and communion with thee through Christ; indulge us with the discoveries of thy love, the joys of salvation, the comforts of the Spirit, and larger measures of grace:

“That we may be saved.” “And we shall be saved.” Ellicott states, “This verse constitutes the refrain.”

Barnes chimes in:

Saved from our dangers; saved from our troubles. It is also true that when God causes his face to shine upon us, we shall be saved from our sins; saved from ruin. It is only by his smile and favor that we can be saved in any sense, or from any danger.

We may see more on this repetition later in this psalm, but what has been said provides more than enough for us to “chew on” for a while. God bless you all today!

Or now, the next day. And today we reopen the first paragraph of Psalm 80 with the last phrase of verse two: “Before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh. Awaken your might; come and save us.” The first thing I see is that this doesn’t make sense. Or does it? Taken by itself, No! But let’s see what Asaph is saying in spite of the fractured way our translations have gone.

The entire sentence is “You who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh. Awaken your might; come and save us.” We are going to take this section by itself, but in reality, it takes verse three to make any sense as the Enduring Word Commentary opines in a lengthy explanation:

“You who sit enthroned between the cherubim.”
“Sshine forth before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.”
“Awaken your might; come and save us.”

We are going to take this section by itself, but in reality, it takes verse three to make any sense as the Enduring Word Commentary opines in a lengthy explanation:

This refers to two aspects. The lesser aspect is the presence of God as connected with the ark of the covenant and the institution of the tabernacle/temple. The greater aspect is the recognition that in heaven and its reality, God does dwell between the cherubim.
c. You who dwell between the cherubim, shine forth: Asaph asked that the God of this majesty and glory would shine forth on behalf of His people. When God does shine forth, darkness and gloom vanish and He is magnified.
d. Before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh: In the order of arrangement around the tabernacle and in the order of march, these three tribes were grouped together on the west side of the tabernacle (Numbers 2 and 10).
i. “These three tribes went next after the ark, when it removed, Numbers 2:18-24; Numbers 10:22-24.” (Trapp)
e. Stir up Your strength, and come and save us: The God mighty enough to shepherd Israel and bring the people from Egypt to Canaan was strong enough to deliver them in their present crisis – if His strength was stirred. This was a prayer of faith, understanding, and dependence.
f. Restore us, O God: This begins a refrain that is repeated three times in this psalm (Psalm 80:3, 7, and 19). It expressed trust and dependence upon God, and confidence that His favor (shown by His shining face) was all that was needed for Israel’s restoration and blessing.
i. “It is not so much said, ‘turn our captivity’ but turn ‘us.’ All will come right if we are right. The best turn is not that of circumstances but of character. When the Lord turns his people he will soon turn their condition.” (Spurgeon)
ii. Spurgeon saw in this line and the following a description of the factors in revival. First there is the restoration or turning of the people to God, and then there is the radiant face of God, shining in all the goodness of His presence. In those two combined we see the work of true revival happen.
iii. “I want to see those times again, when first the refreshing showers came down from heaven. Have you never heard that under one of Whitfield’s sermons there have been as many as two thousand saved? He was a great man; but God can use the little, as well as the great to produce the same effect; and why should there not be souls saved here, beyond all our dreams?” (Spurgeon)
g. Cause Your face to shine: This goes back to the blessing the priests were commanded to proclaim to the people of Israel (Numbers 6:24-26). It has the idea of God’s presence, pleasure, and favor.
i. “The psalmist must have heard this blessing a thousand times. So he prays here, ‘Make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.’” (Boice)
ii. “Our greatest dread is the withdrawal of the Lord’s presence, and our brightest hope is the prospect of his return. In the darkest times of Israel, the light of her Shepherd’s countenance is all she needs.” (Spurgeon)
iii. We shall be saved: “To be ‘saved’ means here to be rescued from the assaults of hostile nations. The poet was sure that Israel’s sole defence was God, and that one gleam of His face would shrivel up the strongest foes.” (Maclaren)

We could stop here and send it to Facebook, but we won’t!

“Shine forth before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.” From the Cambridge Bible comes more information for us to understand:

Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh were united by the tie of common descent from Jacob’s beloved wife Rachel, who is regarded by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:15) as the mother of the Northern Kingdom, and they are named as representatives of that Kingdom. According to Numbers 2:17 ff. these tribes encamped to the West of the Tabernacle, and marched immediately behind it (Numbers 2:24). Before Ephraim &c. therefore means, ‘placing Thyself at their head as a victorious leader, as Thou didst go before them of old in the journeyings of the wilderness.’ At first sight it may seem strange that Benjamin is reckoned among the Northern tribes, for partially at any rate it sided with Rehoboam (1 Kings 12:21; 2 Chronicles 11:3; 2 Chronicles 11:23; 2 Chronicles 15:8-9); but the one tribe remaining to David was Judah (1 Kings 11:13; 1 Kings 11:32; 1 Kings 11:36), and Benjamin must be reckoned to the Northern Kingdom to make up Ten tribes, for Simeon had become merged in Judah and is not counted. The principal Benjamite towns of Bethel, Gilgal, and Jericho belonged to the Northern Kingdom. [Underscoring, mine.]

Benson provides even more:

These three, indeed, in some sense included the whole, Benjamin being incorporated with Judah, and the greatest part of Jerusalem, and the temple being in its lot, Manasseh comprehending the country beyond Jordan; and Ephraim, which was the head of the ten tribes, including all the rest. Some think, however, that these three are named in allusion to their ancient situation in the wilderness, where these tribes were placed on the west side of the tabernacle, in which the ark was, which, consequently, was before them: and they followed it immediately in their marches. So that, as before them the ark of God’s strength arose to scatter their enemies, with a reference thereto, the sense here is, O thou who didst of old go forth before those tribes, do so again at this time. Perhaps, also, these tribes had a greater share of the calamities here referred to than the others, though this be not mentioned in the sacred history: and therefore the psalmist prays that God would appear particularly on their behalf.

Having important commentaries before us is important for our understanding; other- wise we would easily gloss over this phrase and move on. I am trying to share “study habits” with you as well as content.

The Pulpit Commentary add its bit:

"Ephraim" and "Manasseh" form a natural expansion of the "Joseph" of the preceding verse; but it is difficult to understand the mention of "Benjamin" here. Hengstenberg suggests, and both Canon Cook and Professor Cheyne seem to accept the suggestion, that it was only a small portion of Benjamin which adhered to Judah at the division of the kingdoms, the greater part attaching itself to the rival power.

Amazingly, Barnes provides another lengthy explanation:

Ephraim and Manasseh were the two sons of Joseph, and their names were given to two of the tribes of Israel. See the notes at Psalm 78:67. They seem to have been particularly mentioned here, because Joseph, their father, had been referred to in the previous verse; and it was natural, in speaking of the people, to mention his sons. Benjamin is mentioned because, in the encampment and march through the wilderness, these three tribes always went together, as the descendants of the same mother. Genesis 46:19-20; Numbers 2:18-24; Numbers 10:22-24. It is probable that they were always especially united in the great operations of the Hebrew people, and that when one was mentioned it was customary to mention the others, as being of the same family, or descended from the same mother. There does not appear, from the psalm itself, any particular reason why the prayer is offered that God would manifest himself especially to these three tribes; and nothing in regard to the occasion on which the psalm was composed, can be argued from the fact that they are thus mentioned.
Hengstenberg indeed supposes that the common idea that the tribe of Benjamin adhered to Judah in the revolt of the ten tribes is erroneous, and that Benjamin was one of the ten tribes which revolted; and that Simeon was not included in the number because he had no separate territory, but only certain towns and places within the limits of the tribe of Judah. Prof. Alexander, embracing this opinion, supposes that the psalm refers to the calamities which came upon the ten tribes at the time of their captivity. But this supposition seems to me to be improbable. The obvious and fair interpretation of the narrative on the subject is, that the tribe of Benjamin adhered to that of Judah at the time of the revolt, for it is said 1 Kings 12:21 that "when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to right against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam, the son of Solomon." Besides, even on the supposition that Benjamin was one of the ten revolted tribes, the fact that these three tribes are particularly mentioned together would not prove that the psalm referred to the carrying away of the ten tribes into Assyria, for still the question would arise why these are particularly mentioned rather than any other of the ten. It seems to me, therefore, that the fact that these are specified can be explained on the suppositions above suggested.

I regard the psalm, therefore, as referring to the entire Hebrew people, and the names of these three tribes as representatives of the whole nation. The prayer is, that God would manifest; himself in the presence of his people. [Underscoring mine.]

Translators of God’s Word can sometimes appear like sheep, following each other in previous verse separations instead of looking at the thrust of the paragraph. This is not a criticism, but my own observation.

“Awaken your might; come and save us.” The Cambridge Bible says,

Put in action thy might (Psalm 20:6) which seems to be dormant. come and save us] R.V., come to save us: lit. come for salvation or deliverance for us.

Barnes adds, “Margin, as in Hebrew, come for salvation to us. That is, Come and deliver us from our enemies and our dangers.”

And Matthew Poole comments, “which seems now to be asleep, or idle and useless.”

From a seemingly innocuous appendage, i.e., verse two, comes much information to add to our understandings!