Worship and a Word

Psalm 81 is difficult to put into a particular category. Psalms normally fall into the category of:

Lament

Thanksgiving

Wisdom

Royal

There are Psalms like this one that are difficult to categorize. It almost reads like an oracle, a prophecy. The first part of the Psalm is worship (1-5a). The second part is God speaking to His people. When we consider that Asaph was both a worship leader and a prophet that makes sense.

The context suggests that it was written either just before the fall of the Northern kingdom or perhaps as the Northern kingdom was falling. If you notice in verse 5, Israel is called Joseph. In Scripture sometimes the Northern kingdom is called Joseph because the tribes of his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, were a part of that kingdom (Ezekiel 37:16).

We’re going to outline the Psalm like this:

A Call to Worship (1-5a).

A Word from God (5b-16).

1. A Call to Worship (1-5a).

A. Worship with the voice (1).

The most important instrument in our worship is our voice. Asaph says that God is our strength. We should use that strength to sing aloud to Him. It’s clear from verse 1 that Asaph is speaking of volume.

Many people believe that the phrase “make a joyful noise” means that people who can’t sing well should sing anyway. That misses the point. Asaph is saying that we should be so filled with joy over the Lord that the joy spills out of us.

Ephesians 5:18-19 tells us that when we are filled with the Spirit of God it leads to this:

Addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart

The context suggests that this is congregational singing. This isn’t a single person standing before a crowd. This is congregational worship. Asaph is telling the people to sing together. It is a glorious thing and much pleasing to the Lord when a sincere people fill the air with hearty voices.

I have noticed to extremes in congregational worship.

Some sing so loud it becomes distracting. We should be careful not to draw attention to ourselves.

Others sing so quietly they can’t hear themselves sing. If you can’t hear yourself then certainly no one else can.

As a congregation it’s our responsibility to cooperate in worship through singing. It please the Lord and is a wonderful testimony to the grace of God in our life.

B. Worship with the instruments (2-3).

Several instruments are mentioned to be used while singing a psalm.

The timbrel is a tambourine. Often in Scripture we see women playing it and sometimes it’s accompanied with dance (Psalm 68:25, 149:3, 150:4, Exodus 15:20, Judges 11:34). Moses sister, Miriam, lead a group of women in praise with dance and timbrels after the Lord delivered the Jewish people from the Egyptians (Exodus 15:20-21). It’s a percussion instrument that brings a wonderful element to worship. However, it’s not to be beaten, it’s to be played skillfully.

The harp and psaltery were stringed instruments. It’s clear that music accompanied the singing in the Old Testament. These instruments would have been more difficult to play than the tambourine. The Jewish people had particular people who were trained, and their giftedness added a beautiful layer to the congregational worship.

A church should raise up musicians. Perhaps God is calling some of you to learn an instrument for the glory of the Lord. That could very well be an important part of your role in the body of Christ.

The trumpet is mentioned in verse 3. This is a wind instrument. It wasn’t like the wind instruments we know today. It was a shofar, made of a rams horn. It was used as announcement to call people to attention.

C. Worship is obedience (3-5a).

The feast mentioned in verse 3 is probably the Feast of Tabernacles. The Jews had seven feasts they celebrated. Three of those required Jewish men to travel to Jerusalem to worship corporately (Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles, Ex. 23:17).

Note the key words in verses 3-5:

Solemn feast day

Statute for Israel

Law of the God of Jacob

Worship was required. It was commanded. Worship is not an option for the believer. God requires it of us. He expects it of us. It doesn’t redeem you, but it is certainly a mark of being redeemed.

The New Testament church should take this to heart. God has commanded us to gather and worship Him. Sunday is the Lord’s day. He expects us to gather and worship Him.

I think the specific reference here is to the Feast of Tabernacles. That was a 40-day period that the Jewish people lived in booths or tents they constructed. It reminded them that the Lord took care of them for 40 years in the wilderness when they had no home.

Observing this feast must have been a special time for children. It gave parents an opportunity to explain who God is and what He had done for the people. Living together in such close quarters for 40 days was a wonderful time to bond and disciple your children.

Worshipping the Lord together as a family is the one of the most important things you can do to disciple your children. They should know that we gather with the people of God on the Lord’s day. There are very few exceptions. The reason is because it’s a matter of obedience to God. God has saved us from our sin through Jesus Christ. He had placed us in the body of Christ. We gather with the body of Christ to praise our Redeemer because we are thankful and because He has commanded us to do so.

2. A Word from God (5b-16).

A. God reminds them of His deliverance (5b-7).

At the end of verse 5 God begins to speak to the people.

God says He heard a language He did not understand. God understands every language. He even understands thoughts. This is not saying that God is confused on what is being said. The language He does not understand is coming from a people He does not know. The Egyptians were pagans. They didn’t belong to God. David said if I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me (Ps. 66:18). David isn’t suggesting God is hard of hearing. The ide is that the Lord will not hear Him with the intent of answering Him.

Pagan people can pray but they are not in covenant with God. Therefore, the Lord does not answer their prayers. It’s not so much the language that God does not know as it is the people. He does not know the Egyptians in a personal way.

The Jews were slaves to these pagan people. They were forced to do back breaking labor. Exodus 1 says the labor involved building projects of brick and mortar. The pots mentioned in verse 6 were probably baskets used to carry bricks. The work was very difficult. It was hard on the shoulders.

One of the blessings of Israel’s deliverance was they could leave behind this back breaking work. The harsh working conditions was one of the things that caused them to cry out to God (Ex. 2:23). Verse 7 says when they cried out to God He heard them and delivered them.

Look at the phrase “I answered thee in the secret place of thunder.” After delivering the Jews He spoke to them at Mount Sinai. Exodus 19 says the mountain was filled with thunder and lightning. God called Moses to come to the top of the mountain and it was there he received the Ten Commandments.

He also says He proved, or tested, them at the waters of Meribah. The Jewish people were thirsty and thought that might die. They began arguing with Moses, telling him it would be better to be back in Egypt. By His grace the Lord provided water for them out of the rock. But their true colors had been shown. They didn’t trust God like they should.

It is sad that the Lord must so often remind us of the good things He has done for us. We should never forget the Lord has saved us. He has delivered us from carrying the heavy burden of our sin. Christ has taken to load off of our back.

B. God warns His people (8-10).

In verse 8 God calls them to attention. It is a sad thing that the Lord has to call us to attention at times. I’m not speaking of an audible voice. But there are times that the Lord will call us to attention through circumstances in our life. We grow dull of hearing. We become distracted by the thins of the world.

In verse 9 He summarizes the first and second commandment. In fact this section closely resembles the giving of the commandments in Exodus 20. God says other gods should not be present nor should they be worshipped. Israel was to be a holy land, free from the presence or the worship of false gods.

The reason is given in verse 10. It was the LORD who delivered them from Egypt. There’s no reason to worship another god. Idolatry is superstition. The worship of any other god is nothing but make believe. It isn’t real. Worship is to be directed toward the one and only true God.

Notice the end of verse 10. “Open wide your mouth and I will fill it “. There was no reason to trust in other gods. The Lord would provide every need they had. There responsibility was simply to trust God. May we always remember that our needs are met in God. We will face the temptation of departing from the will of God in order to live in this world. That is a great mistake that only leads to ruin.

God has saved us and He will certainly provide for us. When there is a need open your mouth in prayer and wait for God to fill the need.

C. Israel does not obey God (11-12).

The Northern kingdom broke the commands of God. They embraced idolatry. They made allegiances with pagan countries. They did not trust God. God gave them over to their own lusts. He took down their defenses and Assyria rolled them over.

Verse 12 sounds a lot like Romans 1:21-25:

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

Therefore, God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

The worst thing that could happen to us is the Lord gives us over to our own lusts. If God lets us have our way, we are in trouble. God gave Israel their own way and they ended up as slaves once again.

D. God desires to bless His people (13-16).

You can see the love of God in verse 13.

“Oh that My people would listen to Me!”

Not merely to be hearers, but to be doers as well. Hearken to Me and walk in My ways, God says. This verse reminds us of Jesus weeping over Jerusalem (Matthew 23:37-39). The heart of God is behind the commandments of God. God cares for us. He loves us. He pleads with us. God sees where our sin is taking us, and it grieves Him.

The remainder of the Psalm shares what God would do for His people if they would listen to Him and turn to Him.

He would defeat their enemies. Verses 14-15 tell us that. God had defeated Israel’s enemies many times. Whether they be Egyptians, Philistines, or Canaanites, God had defeated them in the past. There was no enemy to big for God. He had proven himself strong through Israel’s history.

The enemy that was defeating them now was their own sin. We often think of what sin has robbed us from. How often do we think of what sin is keeping us from? The blessing of God was being forfeited because of a desire to live in sin.

He would satisfy His people. Verse 16 speaks of honey and wheat. He says He would have given them the finest of wheat. There would be no famine. There would be no locust invasion. The crops would grow, and a harvest would come.

Moses mentioned honey from a rock in Deut. 32:13. God would supply luxurious food for them from unexpected places. It’s no more difficult for God to get honey from a rock than it is for Him to get water from one.

God has so much more to offer us than sin does. Yet we fall victim to the lies of Satan. This Psalm should remind us that satisfaction is found in the Lord. It is foolish to seek for it anywhere else. Christ is the Bread of Life. He is the Living Water. In Him alone we should find a joy that erupts in worship.