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Psalm Eighty-one
New King James Version (NKJV)
YLT
To the Overseer. -- `On the Gittith.' By Asaph.
INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 81
To the chief Musician upon Gittith
A cf15I Psalm of Asaph. Of
"gittith"
See Gill on Psalm 8:1. The Targum renders it
"upon
the harp which came from Gath;'
and
so Jarchi says it was a musical instrument that came from Gath. The Septuagint
and the versions which follow that
render it
"for the winepresses".
This psalm
according to Kimchi
is said concerning the going out of the
children of Israel from Egypt; and was composed in order to be sung at their
new moons and solemn feasts
which were typical of Gospel things in Gospel
times; see Colossians 2:16 and so the Syriac version
"a
psalm of Asaph
when David by him prepared himself for the solemnities.'.
Psalm 81:1 Sing aloud to
God our strength; Make a joyful shout to the God of Jacob.
YLT
1Cry aloud to God our
strength
Shout to the God of Jacob.
Sing aloud unto God our strength
.... The strength of
Israel
who
by strength of hand
and a mighty arm
brought Israel out of
Egypt
protected and upheld them in the wilderness
and brought them to
and
settled and established them in the land of Canaan; and who is the strength of
every true Israelite
from whom they have both their natural and spiritual
strength; so that they can exercise grace
perform duty
bear afflictions
withstand temptations
fight with and conquer enemies
and hold on and out unto
the end; and therefore have reason to sing the praises of God with great
fervour
zeal
and affection:
make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob; or Israel
being the God that had made a covenant with them
had chosen them for his
peculiar people
and had redeemed them out of the house of bondage
and
bestowed peculiar favours upon them; and therefore were under obligation to
show forth his praise vocally and audibly
and with strong expressions of joy;
and the spiritual Israel of God much more so
who have an interest in the
covenant of grace
and share in electing
redeeming
and calling grace
by all
which he appears to be their God and Father
in a special sense.
Psalm 81:2 2 Raise a song and strike
the timbrel
The pleasant harp with the lute.
YLT
2Lift up a song
and give
out a timbrel
A pleasant harp with psaltery.
Take a psalm
.... Or "lift one up"F25שאן "attollite"
Piscator; "tollite"
Cocceius
Amama
Gejerus. ; hold up the book
and read and sing it; or rather
lift up the voice in singing a psalm:
and bring hither the timbrel; or "give one"F26תנו "date"
Pagninus
Montanus
&c.
put the
hand to one:
the pleasant harp with the psaltery; make use of all these
musical instruments in singing
and so make an agreeable melody: these were
used in the times of the Old Testament
and were typical of the spiritual joy
and melody in the heart
expressed by vocal singing
under the New Testament;
see Revelation 5:8.
Psalm 81:3 3 Blow
the trumpet at the time of the New Moon
At the full moon
on our solemn feast
day.
YLT
3Blow in the month a
trumpet
In the new moon
at the day of our festival
Blow up the trumpet in the new moon
.... Either in every new
moon
or first day of the month
which was religiously observed by the Jews
2 Kings 4:23 or rather the new moon
or
first day of the seventh month
the month Tisri
which day was a memorial of
blowing of trumpets
Leviticus 23:34
and so the Targum
"blow
the trumpet in the month of Tisri
'
when
their new year began
and was typical of the year of the redeemed of the Lord
of the acceptable year of our God
of the famous new year
the Gospel
dispensation
when old things passed away
and all things became new. The Jews
say this blowing of trumpets was in commemoration of Isaac's deliverance
a ram
being sacrificed for him
and therefore they sounded with trumpets made of
rams' horns; or in remembrance of the trumpet blown at the giving of the law;
though it rather was an emblem of the Gospel
and the ministry of it
by which
sinners are aroused
awakened and quickened
and souls are charmed and allured
and filled with spiritual joy and gladness:
in the time appointed; so Aben Ezra
Jarchi
and Kimchi
interpret the word of a set fixed time; see Proverbs 7:20
the wordF1בכסה "quum tegitur luna"
Piscator; "ad
verbum in obtectione"
i. e. "eum obtegatur luna a sole"
Amama.
used has the signification of covering; and the former of these understand it
of the time just before the change of the moon
when it is covered
which falls
in with the former phrase; and so the Targum
"in
the moon that is covered;'
though
the Latin interpreter renders it
"in
the month which is covered with the days of our solemnities
'
there
being many festivals in the month of Tisri; the blowing of trumpets on the
first day of it
the atonement on the tenth
and the feast of tabernacles on
the fifteenth. But De Dieu has made it appear
from the use of the word in the
Syriac language
that it should be rendered "in the full moon"
and so
directs to the right understanding of the feast next mentioned;
on our solemn feast day
which must design a
feast which was at the full of the moon; and so must be either the feast of the
passover
which was on the fourteenth day of the month Nisan
and was a type of
Christ our Passover
sacrificed for us
on which account we should keep the
feast
Exodus 12:6
or else the feast of
tabernacles
which was on the fifteenth of the month Tisri
kept in
commemoration of the Israelites dwelling in booths
Leviticus 23:34 and which is called the
feast
and the solemn feast
emphatically; see 1 Kings 8:2
and was typical of the state
of God's people in this world
who dwell in the earthly houses of their
tabernacles
and have no continuing city; and of the churches of Christ
which
are the tabernacles in which God and his people dwell
and will abide in this
form but for a time
and are moveable; and also of Christ's tabernacling in
human nature
John 1:14.
Psalm 81:4 4 For this is a
statute for Israel
A law of the God of Jacob.
YLT
4For a statute to Israel it
[is]
An ordinance of the God of Jacob.
For this was a statute for Israel
.... It was not a piece
of will worship
or device of the children of Israel
but was of divine
institution; that the passover should be kept at the time it was; and that the
trumpets should be blown on the new moon
or first of Tisri; and that the feast
of tabernacles should be kept on the fifteenth of the same month:
and a law of the God of Jacob; and therefore to be
observed by Jacob's posterity: the law for the one is in Exodus 12:18 and for the other is in Leviticus 23:24 and so all the ordinances
of Christ
and of the Gospel dispensation
are to be regarded on the same
account
because they are the statutes and appointments of God; and the feast
of tabernacles is particularly put for them all
Zechariah 14:16.
Psalm 81:5 5 This He established in
Joseph as a testimony
When He went throughout the land of Egypt
Where
I heard a language I did not understand.
YLT
5A testimony on Joseph He
hath placed it
In his going forth over the land of Egypt. A lip
I have not
known -- I hear.
This he ordained in Joseph for a testimony
.... That is
this law concerning the blowing of trumpets on the new moon
and the keeping
the solemn feast at the full of the moon
was made to be observed by all
Israel
who are meant by Joseph
for a testimony of God's good will to them
and of their duty and obedience to him:
when he went out through the land of Egypt
or "over
it"F2בצאתו על
ארץ "in ipsum exeundo"
Montanus; "cum
exiret ipse super terram"
Pagninus. ; which some understand of Joseph
who is said to go over all the land of Egypt
to gather in provision against
the seven years of famine
Genesis 41:45 and Jarchi says that his
deliverance from prison was at the beginning of the year
and was advanced in
Pharaoh's court: and the meaning is
either "when he"
the Lord
"went out against the land of Egypt"
so Arama
in order to slay
their firstborn; and when he passed over Israel
and saved them; marched
through the land in his indignation
and went forth for the salvation of his
people
Exodus 11:4 then was the ordinance of the
passover appointed: or when Israel went out of Egypt
designed by Joseph
some
little time after
while in the wilderness
and dwelling in tents
the feast of
tabernacles was instituted; but rather this shows that the feast of passover is
before meant
which was instituted at the time of Israel's going out of Egypt
and was the solemn feast day ordained for a statute
law and testimony in
Israel; and that the new moon
or month rather
on which the trumpet was to be
blown
was the month Abib
the beginning of months
by an ordinance of God
Exodus 12:2.
where I heard a language that I understood not; here the
prophet represents the people of Israel in Egypt; though the Septuagint
Vulgate Latin
Syriac
and Arabic versions
read
he heard
and he understood not and the language is
either the voice of God out of the fire
which before was never heard in this
unusual manner
nor understood
Deuteronomy 5:24 or the speech of Moses
who had Aaron for his mouth and spokesman; or rather the Egyptian language
which was not understood by the Israelites without an interpreter
Genesis 42:23 which sense is confirmed by Psalm 114:1
and this is mentioned as an
aggravation of their affliction in Egypt; see Jeremiah 5:15.
Psalm 81:6 6 “I removed his shoulder
from the burden; His hands were freed from the baskets.
YLT
6From the burden his
shoulder I turned aside
His hands from the basket pass over.
I removed his shoulder from the burden
.... These are
the words of God
declaring how he had delivered the Israelites from the
oppression and cruelty of the Egyptians; who made their lives bitter in hard
bondage
and obliged them to carry heavy loads of bricks upon their shoulders:
his hands were delivered from the pots
or
"baskets"F3מדוד "a sporta
a cophino"
Gejerus
Amama
Michaelis. ; into which the bricks were put
when made
and carried on their shoulders; or from making of pots
as Kimchi
who thinks the Israelites were employed in making pots of clay as well as
bricks; see Psalm 68:13
the Targum is
"his
hands withdrew themselves from casting clay into the pots:'
the
whole is typical of the saints' deliverance by Christ from the bondage of sin
Satan
and the law.
Psalm 81:7 7 You called in trouble
and
I delivered you; I answered you in the secret place of thunder; I tested you at
the waters of Meribah. Selah
YLT
7In distress thou hast
called and I deliver thee
I answer thee in the secret place of thunder
I try
thee by the waters of Meribah. Selah.
Thou calledst in trouble
and I delivered thee
.... That is
when Israel were in trouble in Egypt
as the Targum adds
and they cried unto
the Lord in their distress
he heard them
and answered them
and sent them a
deliverer
and brought them out of all their troubles
Exodus 3:7.
I answered thee in the secret place of thunder; by bringing the
plague of thunder and lightnings upon the Egyptians
when the Israelites were
hidden from them; a sense given by some
as Kimchi observes: or rather this was
done when the Lord looked out of the pillar of cloud at the Red sea upon the
Egyptian host
and troubled them; at which time the voice of his thunder was
heard in heaven
Psalm 77:16. Some think this has reference
to the thunder at the giving of the law on Mount Sinai; but the sense before
given is best:
I proved thee at the waters of Meribah; by
withholding water from them to try them
and see whether they would behave
patiently
and put their trust and confidence in the Lord
or not; see Exodus 17:4.
Selah. See Gill on Psalm 3:2.
Psalm 81:8 8 “Hear
O My people
and I will
admonish you! O Israel
if you will listen to Me!
YLT
8Hear
O My people
and I
testify to thee
O Israel
if thou dost hearken to me:
Hear
O my people
and I will testify unto thee
.... Of
himself
his being
and perfections; what he was unto them
had done for them
and would do for them
as in the following verses: or "testify in
thee"F4אעידה בך
"testificabor in te"
Gejerus.
bear witness to their spirits
that
they were his people
and he was their God; this is a witness which the people
of God have in themselves; it is the inward testimony of the Spirit; besides
which
there is the outward testimony of the word
and which also may be here
meant; for it may be rendered
I will give a testimony to thee: the law is a testimony
of the will of God to his people
what he would have done
or not done; and the
Gospel is a testimony of his grace
and the whole word testifies of Christ
his
person
offices
obedience
sufferings
and death: some render it
"testify against thee"F5"Ut testificer contra
te"
Schmidt.
for their murmurings
rebellion
and idolatry
as in Psalm 50:7 and they are called upon to hear
the voice of God in his word
and in his providences
being his people; and as
such he addresses them
which bespeaks interest in them
affection to them
and
an acknowledgment of them
and carries in it a reason why they should hear him:
O Israel
if thou wilt hearken unto me; this explains
who are meant by the Lord's people
Israel
the posterity of Jacob
a chosen
and special people
who are exhorted not only to hear
but to hearken and to
obey; suggesting
it would be well with them
if they did as in Psalm 81:13
and someF6So
Michaelis
and Gussetius
and Genevenses
in ib. Comment. Ebr. p. 431. take
these words to be a wish
as there; "Israel
O that thou wouldest hearken
unto me": see Isaiah 48:18.
Psalm 81:9 9 There shall be no foreign
god among you; Nor shall you worship any foreign god.
YLT
9There is not in thee a
strange god
And thou bowest not thyself to a strange god.
There shall no strange god be in thee
.... Or in the
midst of thee
owned and worshipped as God; or in thine heart
for whatever
engrosses the affection
or a man puts his trust and confidence in
that he
makes his god
and is a strange one: thus
if any friend or relation
father or
mother
wife or children
are loved more than God
they are set up as such in
his place; thus the epicure
that seeks the gratification of his carnal lusts
makes his belly his god; and the covetous man his money
in which he trusts
and therefore is called an idolater; and the self-righteous man his righteousness
on which he depends for salvation: hence we read of idols set up in the heart
from which they are disengaged in conversion
and kept from
Ezekiel 14:7.
neither shall thou worship any strange god; only the Lord
God is to be worshipped
Matthew 28:19 and there is but one God;
though this is to be understood not to the exclusion of the Son and Spirit
who
are with the Father the one God
and to be worshipped equally with him
and
are; see Matthew 28:19.
Psalm 81:10 10 I am the Lord your God
Who
brought you out of the land of Egypt; Open your mouth wide
and I will fill it.
YLT
10I [am] Jehovah thy God
Who
bringeth thee up out of the land of Egypt. Enlarge thy mouth
and I fill it.
I am the Lord thy God
.... The true Jehovah
the Being of beings
in whom all live and move and have their beings
the
covenant God of his people; and is a reason why they should hear him
and
worship him
and no other:
which brought thee out of the land of Egypt; this
with
what goes before
is the preface to the ten commands
the first and principal
of which is urged in the preceding verse; and this is another reason why the
Lord God should be had and worshipped
and not a strange god; and redemption
from worse than Egyptian bondage
from the bondage of sin
Satan
and the law
and a deliverance from worse than Egyptian darkness
and from a state of
wickedness and impiety
should lay under greater obligations still to serve the
Lord
and worship him only; who adds
as a further reason for it
open thy mouth wide
and I will fill it; which may be
understood of opening the mouth either in prayer or in praise: to open the
mouth wide in prayer is to pray with great freedom
to pour out the soul to
God
lay open its whole case
and tell him all his mind and wants; to pray with
great boldness
and with much importunity and fervency
and in full assurance
of faith
pleading with great strength the promises of God
and asking in faith
for much
according to them; and God may be said to fill this wide mouth of
faith in prayer
when he grants the desires of the heart
gives his people what
they will
even very largely and abundantly
yea
more than they can ask or
think: to open the mouth wide in praise is to be abundantly thankful for
mercies received; and when persons are so
the Lord fills them with more
abundant matter for praise and thanksgiving; see Psalm 71:8
or this may be interpreted of
opening the mouth wide in expressions of desire after spiritual food
hungering
and thirsting after spiritual things
when the Lord fills or satisfies the
mouths of his people with good things
Psalm 103:5
with the sincere milk of the
word which they desire
and with the ordinances
the breasts of consolation
they long for
and so satisfies them with the goodness and fatness of his
house
Psalm 64:4
the metaphor seems to be taken
from the young of birds
which open their mouths
and are filled by the old
ones: the Targum is
"open
thy mouth to the words of the law
and I will fill it with every good thing.'
Psalm 81:11 11 “But My people would not
heed My voice
And Israel would have none of Me.
YLT
11But
My people hearkened
not to My voice
And Israel hath not consented to Me.
But my people would not hearken to my voice
.... Neither
as exhorting them to the above duties
nor as promising the above favours;
would neither hearken to the voice of the law
nor to the voice of the Gospel;
but were like the deaf adder
which stops its ear to the voice of the charmer
charming never so wisely:
and Israel would none of me; would not attend to his
word
acquiesce in his will
nor delight themselves in him
and in his worship
and service; would have none of his salutary doctrines
or wholesome reproofs
nor of his laws and government; would not have him to reign over them
nor to
be their Saviour
though the only one
and there is none beside him; though the
chiefest good
and from whom all good things come
and is the portion and
exceeding great reward of his people: see Proverbs 1:25.
Psalm 81:12 12 So I gave them over to
their own stubborn heart
To walk in their own counsels.
YLT
12And I send them away in the
enmity of their heart
They walk in their own counsels.
So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust
.... Sometimes
God gave them up
when they sinned
into the hands of the Moabites
or
Ammonites
or Philistines
or other neighbouring nations
for their
chastisement; but to be delivered up unto their own hearts' lust is worse than
that; nay
than to be delivered to Satan: salvation may be the consequence of
that
but damnation of this; and yet it is a righteous judgment; for as men
like not to retain God in their knowledge
it is but just with him to give them
up to vile affections
to a reprobate mind
to do things not convenient
Romans 1:24 there is nothing men are more
desirous of than to have their hearts' lusts; and there is no greater judgment
can befall them than to be left to the power of them
which must unavoidably
issue in their ruin here and hereafter: and they walked in their own counsels;
which were bad; after the imagination of their own evil hearts
and not after
the counsels and directions of God in his word
and by his servants.
Psalm 81:13 13 “Oh
that My people would
listen to Me
That Israel would walk in My ways!
YLT
13O that My people were
hearkening to Me
Israel in My ways would walk.
O that my people had hearkened unto me
.... This
might have been expected from them
as they were his professing people; and it
would have been to their advantage if they had hearkened to him
as well as it
would have been well pleasing to him; for that is what is designed by this
wish
which does not express the purposing will of God; for who hath resisted
that? if he had so willed
he could have given them ears to hear; but his
commanding will
and what is his approving one: to hearken to him is not only
to hearken to what he commands
but to what he approves of; it is the good and
acceptable will of God that men should hearken to the declarations of his will
in the law
and to the declarations of his grace in the Gospel; and indeed it
is the voice of Christ
the Angel of God's presence
who went before the
children of Israel in the wilderness
which they were to hearken to and obey
that is here meant; see Exodus 23:20
and Hebrews 3:6
and Israel had walked in my ways; which he marked out and
directed them unto
meaning his ordinances and commandments; which to walk in
as it denotes progress and continuance
and supposes and requires life and
strength
so it is both pleasant and profitable.
Psalm 81:14 14 I would soon subdue their
enemies
And turn My hand against their adversaries.
YLT
14As a little thing their
enemies I cause to bow
And against their adversaries I turn back My hand
I should soon have subdued their enemies
.... The
Canaanites
and others: this he would have done in a very little time
or at
once
and that easily
and without any trouble; he would quickly have humbled
them
and brought them on their knees
as the wordF7אכניע "flecterem"
Cocceius. signifies
to terms
of peace; for when a man's ways please the Lord
he makes his enemies to be at
peace with him
Proverbs 16:7 so those that hearken to the
voice of Christ
and walk in his ways
he subdues their iniquities
and will
bruise Satan under their feet shortly
and make them more than conquerors:
through himself
over the world; the men and things of it he has overcome:
and turned my hand against their adversaries; that
troubled
distressed
and oppressed them; and it is a righteous thing with God
to render tribulation to them that trouble his people; he turns his chastising
hand off of them
which sometimes is heavy upon them
and presses them sore
and turns it in a way of wrath and vindictive justice against their
adversaries; and so the Targum
"and
turned the stroke of my power against their adversaries;'
this
is the lighting down of his arm with the indignation of his anger
which is
intolerable
Isaiah 30:30.
Psalm 81:15 15 The haters of the Lord would pretend
submission to Him
But their fate would endure forever.
YLT
15Those hating Jehovah feign
obedience to Him
But their time is -- to the age.
The haters of the Lord should have submitted themselves unto him
.... Or
"lied
unto him"F8יכחשו
"mentientur"
Montanus; "mentiti fuissent"
Vatablus;
"mentirentur"
Musculus
Cocceius
Gejerus; "mendaciter se
dedissent"
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator. ; feignedly submitted to
him
flattered him
pretended friendship to him
and entered into a league with
him; either Israel
mentioned Psalm 81:13
our God
whom and whose
worship and people they hated; as every natural man is an hater of God
and all
that is good
and enmity itself unto him; but these shall all submit to Christ
sooner or later
in one way or another
and acknowledge him Lord
and that he
is superior to them
and themselves not a match for him; as Julian the emperor
when wounded
said
Thou hast overcome me
O Galilean:
but their time should have endured for ever; which Jarchi
and Aben Ezra interpret of the calamities and vengeance that should come upon
the haters of God
who will be punished with everlasting destruction; their
worm will never die
nor their fire be quenched; it is everlasting
and the
smoke of their torment will ascend for ever and ever; in which sense the word
is used
Isaiah 13:22 or rather this is to be
understood of the time
or happy state and condition
of the Israelites
which
would have been of long continuance
had they hearkened to the Lord
and walked
in his ways; particularly
they would have long enjoyed the land of Canaan
which was given to Abraham and his seed for an everlasting possession
and
which they held by the tenure of their obedience
Genesis 17:8
and so all truly gracious
souls
that hearken to the voice of Christ
and walk in his ways
are in a
happy state
which will endure for ever; they are blessed with all spiritual
blessings
and those are for ever; the heavenly land of Canaan they shall dwell
in for ever; their mansions or habitations in Christ's Father's house are
everlasting; their house
not made with hands
is eternal in the heavens; their
estate
possession
and inheritance is an eternal one; it is incorruptible
and
fades not away; their being with Christ is for ever; and their happiness is
often expressed by eternal life and eternal glory.
Psalm 81:16 16 He would have fed them
also with the finest of wheat; And with honey from the rock I would have
satisfied you.”
YLT
16He causeth him to eat of the
fat of wheat
And [with] honey from a rock I satisfy thee!
He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat
.... Or the
"fat of the wheatF25מחלב חטה "ex adipe frumenti"
V. L. Pagninus
Montanus
Musculus; "adipe tritici"
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator; so Cocceius
Gejerus
Michaelis. "; see Deuteronomy 32:14
with the finest flour of
it: the Targum is
"with
the best bread of wheat;'
with
the best of wheat
and the best bread that can be made of it: Aben Ezra
interprets it of the manna
which was better than the fat
or finest
of the
wheat
being the corn of heaven
and angels' food
Psalm 78:24
but it rather respects what
the Israelites would have been continued to be fed with in the land of Canaan
which was a land of wheat
Deuteronomy 8:8
and such who hearken to
the Lord
and walk in his ways
are fed by him with the Gospel
which is
comparable to wheat
and the finest of it
for its choiceness and excellency
for its solidity and substantiality
for its purity and cleanness
and for its
being of a nourishing and strengthening nature
see Jeremiah 38:28
and especially Christ
the
sum and substance of the Gospel
may be figuratively meant
with whom the
saints are fed
and who is compared to a corn of wheat
John 12:24 for his preciousness and
excellency
for his purity and fruitfulness
and for being the food of his
people
the bread of life
for which he was prepared by his sufferings and
death; which may be fitly expressed by the threshing
winnowing
and grinding
of wheat
and then of kneading the flour
and baking the bread:
and with honey out of the rock would I have satisfied thee; the land of
Canaan abounded with hills and rocks
in which bees had their hives
and from
whence honey dropped to lower places; and hence the land is said to flow with
milk and honey
Exodus 3:8
nor is it unusual in other
places to find honey in rocks; at Guadaloupe
in the West Indies
we are toldF26P.
Martyr. Decad. 3. lib. 9.
honey was found in trees and caves of rocks. Aben
Ezra interprets this of the water which flowed out of the rock at Horeb
which
was sweeter than honey; but the former sense is best: the rock spiritually and
mystically designs Christ
the Rock of salvation
1 Corinthians 10:4
the honey out of the
rock
the fulness of grace in him
and the blessings of it
the sure mercies of
David
and the precious promises of the everlasting covenant; and the Gospel
which is sweeter than the honey or the honeycomb; and with these such are
filled and satisfied
who hearken to Christ
and walk in his ways; for
as the
whole of what is here said shows what Israel lost by disobedience
it clearly
suggests what such enjoy who hear and obey.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)