Psalms 81

This psalm calls Israel to a joyful festival, then turns into a message from God himself. He reminds them how he rescued them from Egypt, pleads with them to listen and to worship him alone, and grieves that they refused. It ends with a tender picture of the blessing he longs to give an obedient people.

Psalms 81:1-2

The psalm opens with loud, glad worship. God is called our strength, so the singing is thankful dependence on him, not mere noise. Voices, tambourine, harp and lyre all join in. Worship here is joyful, shared and full of sound.

BSA: joyful noise (“shout for joy, cry aloud”): The worship is a loud, unrestrained shout of gladness, not quiet politeness.

Hebrew: הָרִיעוּ (hariʿu, H7321) — “shout, raise a cry.” This Hebrew word is used for the shout of a crowd, for a battle cry, and for a cheer at a king’s arrival. Here it is a shout of praise to God.

See also: Psalm 95:1-2.

Psalms 81:3

The ram’s horn is blown at the New Moon and at the full moon, when the Feast is held. These were fixed times in Israel’s calendar. The horn gathered the people and announced that God’s appointed time had come.

BSA: ram’s horn (“trumpet, a signal to gather”): The horn called the whole people together to worship.

See also: Numbers 10:10.

Psalms 81:4-5

The feast is no human invention. It is a statute and ordinance from God, given as a testimony to Joseph, a name here standing for all Israel. It looks back to when God went out against Egypt and set his people free. The speaker, Israel, says he heard a language he did not know in Egypt.

BSA: testimony (“a witness, a covenant”): The feast itself stands as a living witness to what God did for his people.

See also: Exodus 12:14.

Psalms 81:6

Now God speaks. He recalls lifting the load from Israel’s shoulder and freeing their hands from the work basket, the brick-carrying of slavery. Deliverance began with him, not with them. He is remembered first as the God who rescues.

BSA: burden (“heavy load, oppression”): The weight was more than physical labor. It was crushing oppression that God took away.

See also: Exodus 6:6.

Psalms 81:7

When Israel cried out in distress, God rescued them. He answered from the thundercloud, the sign of his presence at Sinai. He also tested them at Meribah, where they quarreled over water. God is both the one who saves and the one who searches the heart.

BSA: tested (“proved, tried”): The testing was meant to show what was really in their hearts. Meribah (“mercy, contention”): The name means quarreling, a reminder of the people’s complaint.

See also: Exodus 17:1-7; Exodus 19:16-19.

Psalms 81:8

God calls his people to hear, and he longs for it. His warning is not a threat but the loving appeal of a Father. His cry, if only you would listen, shows that he wants them to turn and live.

BSA: warn (“testify, give evidence”): God lays out the evidence plainly, like a witness, so they cannot say they were not told.

Hebrew: שְׁמַע (shemaʿ, H8085) — “hear, listen and obey.” The Hebrew word for hearing includes obeying. It is the same word that opens Israel’s great confession, Hear, O Israel.

See also: Deuteronomy 6:4.

Psalms 81:9-10

The heart of the warning is no other gods. The reason is the Lord’s own rescue: he brought them out of Egypt. Then comes a lovely promise. If they open wide their mouths, he will fill them. He is able and eager to supply all they need.

BSA: Open wide (“enlarge, stretch out”): The picture is of a hungry young bird, with mouth wide open, waiting to be fed.

See also: Exodus 20:2-3; Psalm 37:4.

Psalms 81:11-12

Sadly, the people would not listen. So God gave them up to their stubborn hearts. This is a sobering picture of judgment: he lets them walk in their own counsel and bear the result. Refusing God again and again can leave us to our own way.

BSA: gave them up (“to their own desires, letting them go”): God does not force them. He lets them have what they chose. stubborn (“hardened, unyielding”): Their hearts had set like stone against his voice.

See also: Romans 1:24.

Psalms 81:13-14

God’s sorrow shows again in the words, if only. Obedience would have brought quick help against Israel’s enemies. His power is on the side of those who follow his ways. The failure was never his lack of willingness.

BSA: follow (“walk, obey”): Obedience is a daily walk along his way, not a single act.

Psalms 81:15

In that case, those who hate the Lord would only pretend to submit, and their doom would last. The verse shows how completely he would put down opposition. It also shows that his enemies’ obedience would be forced and false, not heartfelt.

BSA: feign (“pretend, cringe in”): The enemies would cringe in forced submission, not offer real loyalty.

Psalms 81:16

The psalm ends with a feast of God’s giving. He would feed his people the finest wheat and satisfy them with honey from the rock. This is a picture of rich provision for body and soul. God longs to satisfy those who will listen to him.

BSA: satisfy (“fill to the full, with abundance”): God’s provision does not just meet need. It fills to overflowing.

See also: Deuteronomy 32:13-14; Psalm 107:9.