Many people who own their own homes have fences around their property. Perhaps if they have a garden, they will have a fence around that. They might have a picket fence made of wood, or a chain-link fence. A very elegant, though more costly fence is one made of wrought-iron. Some people use thick hedges to fence in their property. One thing in common, though, is that these fences are used to keep trespassers and criminals out, and pets and young children in. Garden fences are to keep hungry, scavenging animals out. Another thing in common is that all of these fences need to be maintained. Wooden fences need to be painted, and the wood treated so it won’t rot as easily. The metal fences have to be checked for rust and other damage. The hedges need to be clipped and cared for. In our psalm for today, the psalmist speaks about a figurative fence that surrounded his country, and what happened to it.
Like many Old Testament passages, the Psalmist Asaph has pictured the nation of Israel as a vine that God had brought out of Egypt, and planted in the Promised Land (vs. 8-11). The vine prospered and grew, and Asaph pictured the Lord putting a hedge around the garden, like a fence, to keep it safe from any harm or danger. However, now Asaph sees the country being ravished by enemy nations, as if the hedge has been broken down, and wild animals can come in and destroy the vine and garden (vs. 12-13). This whole psalm is a prayer that Asaph makes. He pleads with the Lord God, that He would restore the people, replant the vine, and let His face shine again upon them.
If we take a walk through our neighborhoods we might see some people’s fences that are falling apart due to lack of care and maintenance. There might be some holes or gaps, and perhaps the gate is falling off. The owner of the property has failed to take care of his fence, and now it is falling apart. In the case of Israel the figurative fence symbolized the care that the Lord God put around His people. When the people fell away from God, and instead turned to worship the false pagan gods, the Lord removed His protection, and the figurative fence was torn down.
Unlike fences around our property which might fall apart due to our own lack of care, the fence of God’s protection and care did not fall apart due to any fault of His. God’s people had removed themselves from His favored protection through their apostasy. The people needed to be restored and revived. When that happened, God would turn again to the people, and shine His face upon them again in love and care (vs. 3, 7, 19).
It’s not just the people of Israel that need restoration with the Lord. In a broader sense, we all need restoration to God, both initially when we get saved, and then for forgiveness from our daily or periodic sins. Before restoration is possible, we must have repentance from our sins. Repentance involves humbling ourselves, turning away from our sins, and instead turning to God, and receiving His forgiveness. Then we will see ourselves and our sin more clearly. When we do, we will be restored to God’s favor and there can be spiritual revival.
We each need to take a look at our life. Have our spiritual fences been broken down? Have we neglected to take care of them through daily reading of God’s Word, and fellowship with Him in prayer? Just as our literal fences keep out enemies or those who seek us harm, our spiritual fences can help to keep the enemy of our soul at bay. When those fences become weak or damaged, the devil and his minions will come and make havoc in our lives. A broken down fence will allow sin and the devil to come and draw us away from God. Let’s be sure that our spiritual fence is strong and in good order, and that God’s face will shine down upon us.
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