Psalms 81

Psalms 81:1

Psalm 81: The Feast of TrumpetsUnger describes this Jewish holiday as follows: [The Feast of Trumpets] was observed as a feast day, in the strict sense, by resting from all work, and as a memorial of blowing of horns, by a holy convocation. In later times, while the drink offering of the sacrifice was being poured out, the priests and Levites chanted Psalms 81, while at the evening sacrifice they sang Psalms 29. Throughout the day trumpets were blown at Jerusalem from morning to evening. . . . The rabbins [rabbis] believed that on this day God judges all men, and that they pass before him as a flock of sheep pass before a shepherd. The Feast of Trumpets is a type of the regathering of Israel to its homeland after the out-gathering of the Church. 81:1-5a In the opening verses, the people of Israel are called to join in singing the praises of God who is the source of their strength, and to make a joyful shout to the God of Jacob, that is, the God of all grace. The Levites are invited to join the happy chorus with their musical instruments, and the priests mark the arrival of the seventh New Moon by blowing the shophar. It is a holiday instituted by God for the nation of Israel (Lev_23:23-25; Num_29:1). He established it in Joseph (here Joseph stands for all Israel) when He went throughout the land of Egypt. Here the meaning seems to be that God ordained this feast after the confrontation with Egypt and after His people came out of that land. 81:5b At the end of verse 5, we read, “I heard a language I did not understand,” and we must consider whether the speaker is the psalmist, Israel, or God. If it is the psalmist or Israel speaking, the language may refer to:

1. The foreign language of the Egyptians (Psa_114:1).
2. God speaking to Israel in the redemption from Egypt, a new revelation of God to their souls.
3. The oracle of God which is found in the remaining verses of the Psalm. If God is the Speaker, then the thought may be: I heard a language (of the Egyptians) that I did not know (in the sense of “acknowledge”). As Williams puts it, “He did not acknowledge the Egyptians as His sheep.” In favor of the latter is the fact that the pronoun “I” in the rest of the Psalm always refers to God. 81:6, 7 God had relieved the shoulders of the people from the burden of servile work under the Egyptians. Their hands were freed from having to carry baskets filled with clay and bricks. From all their trouble He delivered them when they called. He answered them in the secret place of thundera reference to the cloud which guided and protected them, or to the giving of the law at Mt. Sinai. He tested them at the waters of Meribah where Moses struck the rock and incurred God’s displeasure. 81:8-10 He had warned them that the pathway of blessing lay in faithfulness to Him as the one true God. His prohibition of idolatry was unmistakable. After reminding them how He had brought them out of the land of Egypt, He made the marvelous promise that if they would open their mouth wide, He would fill it. This promise has sometimes been wrongly used by lazy preachers to justify any lack of preparation; all they have to do is open their mouth and the Lord will give them a message. But that is not the meaning at all! The thought is that if they came to God with great petitions, He would grant them. There is nothing good that He would not do for an obedient people. Gaebelein puts it well: Who is able to grasp the full meaning of the sentence! He is the omnipotent Lord; there is nothing too hard for the Lord. Open thy mouth, He says, as wide as you can, and I will fill it. Ask anything in My Name, He says in the New Testament, and I will do it. All He asks is obedience to Him, the yielding of the heart and will. 81:11-16 But God’s people turned a deaf ear to His voice, and Israel would not obey Him. So He let them have their own way, and gave them over to the misery of following their own advice. But this abandonment was not without a pang in the heart of God. He mourns their continued folly and stubbornness. If only they would listen to Him, He would soon subdue their enemies. Their adversaries would come cringing in fear before Him, and Israel’s prosperity would know no interruption (AV). He would feed His people with the finest of wheatthat is, the best spiritual and physical nourishment, and with the delicious honey that comes from beehives in the rocks of Palestine.