Psalms 81:6

THE HOMILY

"I removed his shoulder from the burden:

His hands were freed from the basket.

Thou callest in trouble, 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 people, and I will testify unto thee:

O Israel, if thou wouldest hearken unto me!

There shall no strange god be in thee;

Neither shall thou worship any foreign god.

I am Jehovah thy God,

Who brought thee up out of 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 let them go after the stubbornness 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 would soon subdue their enemies,

And turn my hand against their adversaries.

The haters of Jehovah should submit themselves unto him:

But their time should endure forever.

He would feed them also with the finest of the wheat;

And with honey out of the rock would I satisfy thee."

"I removed his shoulder from the burden ... his hands from the basket" (Psalms 81:6). This is a reference to the slavery in Egypt from which God had freed his people. `The basket' here was used by the slaves carrying clay for the making of bricks.

"I answered thee in the secret place of thunder" (Psalms 81:7). This seems to be a reference to the `cloud' which guided Israel in the day-time in the wilderness.

"I proved thee at the waters of Meribah" (Psalms 81:7). There were two instances in which God provided water for Israel at Meribah; and these are discussed fully in our Vol. II of the Pentateuch (Exodus), pp. 230-233, and in Vol. III, (Lev.-Num.), pp. 442-445.

"O Israel, if thou wouldest hearken" (Psalms 81:8). There seems to be an emotional factor in such pleading words as these; and they remind us of the words of the Christ: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem ... how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! (Matthew 23:37f)."

"There shall no strange god be in thee; neither shall thou worship any foreign god" (Psalms 81:9). From these words it may be inferred that idolatrous, pagan worship was being indulged by God's people. Otherwise, no warning would have been necessary. This identifies the times of the psalm as prior to the exile, after which Israel did not worship pagan gods.

"Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it" (Psalms 81:10). The imagery here is that of a nest of small birds opening their mouths wide at the appearance of the mother bird. There is a deep spiritual lesson in this. "God's gifts, both spiritual and temporal, are proportioned to our eager longing for them. Christ could do no miracles in one place because of the people's unbelief (Mark 6:5); and God cannot give lavishly unless we desire eagerly."[13] Tiny birds that never open their mouths are never fed.

"My people hearkened not to my voice ... Israel would none of me" (Psalms 81:11). Israel paid no attention to the Word of God; they did not obey the Lord; they did not wish to have anything at all to do with God.

"So I let them go after the stubbornness of their heart" (Psalms 81:12). "So I let them go"! No sadder words were ever spoken of a people. This expression is the equivalent of what God did to the hardened Gentile nations of the pre-Christian era. "God gave them up ... God gave them up ... God gave them up" (Romans 1:24,26,28). All of the terrible things that later happened to Israel were due to only one thing: "God let them go."

There is a lesson in this for every man. God's Spirit will not always strive with sinful men; when it becomes evident that men love evil, God will eventually withdraw his influence and allow them to wallow in it.

"That they might walk in their own counsels" (Psalms 81:12). As Alexander Maclaren stated it, "There is no worse fate for a man than to be allowed to do as he chooses. `The ditch' sooner or later receives the man who follows his own understanding, which he himself has blinded by forbidding it to receive the truth from that One who alone is The Light."[14]

"Oh that my people would hearken unto me" (Psalms 81:13). "One's entire relationship to God is always a matter of listening to Him,"[15] and that simply means studying and meditating day by day upon the Word of God as revealed to mankind in the Holy Bible. There is no other way to "hearken unto God."

These last four verses (Psalms 81:13-16) provide a statement of what God "would have done for Israel" if they had only been willing to heed his word and walk in God's ways. Barnes summarized these as follows.

(1) Their enemies would have been subdued (Psalms 81:14); (2) the haters of God would have turned to the Lord (Psalms 81:15);

(3) God would have given them abundant prosperity (Psalms 81:16).[16]

This being true of the Old Israel, is it any less true of the New? The answer is negative. As Barnes expressed it, "This psalm is of special importance to the church now, reminding God's people of their obligation derived from the past mercies of God, and showing what would be the consequences if they should be wholly dedicated to the service of God."[17]

"With honey out of the rock would I satisfy thee" (Psalms 81:16). "This verse looks back to Deuteronomy 32:13-14 `Honey from the rock is not a natural product.' The parallel from Deuteronomy, where we have, `oil out of the flinty rock,' shows that we are `not here on the ground of the actual, but of the ideal.' The expression is hyperbole for incomparable abundance."

What a glorious thing it would be for all of God's people to devote themselves without reservation to the love and service of God. Should anyone be afraid that God either could or would fall to provide abundant blessings for his people who might do such a thing? Has not Christ himself said, "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world"?