Psalm 81

“To the chief musician, upon the Gittith, Asaph. Sing aloud unto God our strength, shout aloud unto the God of Jacob. Raise a song and strike the timbrel, the pleasant harp with psaltery. Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the set time, on our feast day. For this [was] a statute for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob. He appointed it a testimony in Joseph when he went forth over the land of Egypt, [when] I heard a language (lip) I knew not. I removed his shoulder from the burden; his hands were freed from the basket. In the distress thou didst call, and I delivered thee, I answered thee in the secret place of thunder; I proved thee at the waters of Meribah. Selah. Hear, O my nation, and I will testify unto thee, O Israel, it thou wouldest hearken unto me. There shall no strange god be in thee, neither shalt thou worship any foreign god. I [am] Jehovah thy God who brought thee up from the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. But my people hearkened not to my voice, and Israel would none of me. So I gave them up to the revolting of their heart, that they might walk in their own counsels. Oh that my people would hearken unto me, that Israel would walk in my ways! I should soon have subdued their enemies and turned my hand against their adversaries. The haters of Jehovah should have submitted to him, but their time would have been forever. And he would have fed them with the finest (fat) of wheat, and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee” (vers. 1-17).
The psalm that follows meets another difficulty of that day in particular. God is seen arising to judge the judges. How long His poor people had suffered oppression! Alas, Jewish rulers were no more righteous than Gentile! The rejection of Messiah proved His people inexcusably and excessively hostile to God. Judgment is at the door.