Psalm 81. This is another Psalm of Asaph, to be delivered to the chief musician. It is composed “upon Gittith” meaning “Winepress” (Psalms 8; 81; 84). Some suggest “gittith” may be a type of instrument that David invented (Amos 6:5).¹ This would suggest a happy, joyful sound, such as would be fitting for a time of harvest, and the enjoyment of wine. Prophetically, this Psalm is set at the restoration of Israel, after the ten tribes return and the stick of Judah and the stick of Joseph are made one stick in the hand of the Son of man.² At that time, the voice of God is heard, reminding the people of their past. The history of Israel’s rebellion is gone over, not so much for the purpose of laying guilt on Israel, but to show them His heart of grace toward them all through it. It was Israel’s heart that was to blame, not Jehovah’s heart. It is a touching review, designed to reach the heart and conscience of the restored nation.

 

 

vv.1-5 Israel Rejoicing in Their Restoration. These verses give us the setting of the Psalm: prophetically it describes Israel’s joy in being restored, including the ten tribes (see Ezek. 37:16). The “new moon” is the beginning of every Jewish month, when the moon is between the earth and the sun (actually, when the astronomers could see the first sliver of a crescent moon), and it is a figure of the restoration of Israel to God after a long period of being set aside.³ Each new moon was accompanied by sacrifices (Numbers 28:11) and feasts (1 Sam. 20:5). God ordained the ordinances from the very beginning, while Israel was yet in Egypt, and God’s judgments were going out over that land, where Israel heard a language they did not understand (Psa. 114:1). The Psalmist reflects that now, thousands of years later, Israel is coming into the good of what those ordinances represented!

 

 

vv.6-12 Jehovah’s Perspective on Israel’s Past. From v.6 to the end of the Psalm it is the voice of Jehovah speaking. God set Israel free from the burden of slavery (v.6). He answered their cries for deliverance in Egypt, and their cries for water in the wilderness (v.7).⁴ In vv.8-9 we have God’s appeal to Israel, if they would have only listened. God wanted one thing, exclusive worship; “There shall no strange God be in thee, neither shalt thou worship any foreign God”. In place of foreign gods, He would be God to Israel in a special covenant relationship; “I am Jehovah thy God, that brought thee up out of the land of Egypt” (see Ex. 6:2-8). Jehovah was ready to bless the people with as much as they were willing to take; “open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it”. But Israel would not listen, and would have none of Jehovah. Reluctantly, God “gave them up unto their own hearts’ stubbornness: they walked after their own counsels”. This is one of the saddest things that can happen to a person; they give up God, and then God gives them up. Israel’s history follows from there, as one failure after another.

 

 

vv.13-16 What Could’ve Been. We have Jehovah making plain His heart toward Israel all along. How He longed over them! If only they had listened, Jehovah would have crushed their enemies, and brought even “the haters of Jehovah” cringing before Israel. He would have established Israel in the land forever, and fed them with the best of food, etc. But all of this was lost because of Israel’s disobedience. In the Millennium the Lord will restore that!