PSALMS LESSON 82
We will begin this lesson by giving Psalms chapter 81 in metre.
THE PSALMS OF DAVID IN METRE
Chapter 81
Verse 1 "Sing loud to God our strength; with To God of Jacob sing.
Take up a psalm, the pleasant harp, Timbrel and psalt'ry
bring."
Verse 2 "Blow trumpets at new-moon, what day our feast appointed is;
For charge to Isr'el, and a law Of Jacob's God was this:"
Verse 3 "This testimony he ordained In Joseph, when the land Of Egypt
he passed through, whose speech I did not understand."
Verse 4 "His shoulder I from burdens took, His hands from pots did
free. Thou didst in trouble on me call, And I delivered
thee:"
Verse 5 "In secret place of thundering I did then answer make; And at
the streams of Meribah Of theÿa proof did take."
Verse 6 "O thou, my people, give an ear, I'll testify to the; To
thee, O Isr'el, if thou wilt but hearken unto me."
Verse 7 "In midst of thee there shall not beÿA heathen god at all;
Nor unto any god unknown Thou, bowing down, shalt fall."
Verse 8 "I am the Lord thy God, who did From Egypt land thee guide;
I'll fill thy mouth abundantly, Do thou it open wide."
Verse 9 "My people would not bear my voice, My presence Isr'el
spurned; I gave them then to stubborn hearts, And where they
would, they turned."
Verse 10 "O that my people had me heard; Isr'el my ways had chose! I
had their en'mies soon subdued. My hand turned on their
foes."
Verse 11 "The haters of the Lord to him Submission should have
feigned; But as for them, their time should have For evermore
remained."
Verse 12 "He should have also fed them with The finest of the wheat;
Of honey from the rock thy fill I should have made thee eat."
We will now begin the verse by verse study of chapter 81 of the
Psalms. Psalms 81:1 "{To the chief Musician upon Gittith, [A Psalm] of
Asaph.} Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the
God of Jacob."
Gittith means winepress. Isn't that interesting, since in the
last chapter they were speaking of the vine? It is so irritating to me
that so many people can get excited about ball games and other worldly
things, but they think it a sin for us to get excited about God. In
the verse above, we see excitement and joy. Sing aloud to God who is
our strength. Notice in the rest of the verse, that noise does not
bother God. Luke 9:26 "For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my
words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in
his own glory, and [in his] Father's, and of the holy angels." This
Scripture, if nothing else, gives us ample reason to sing praises to
our God publicly. We should never cease praising our God. We should be
a sweet, sweet sound in His ear. In song, it is so easy to tell God
how much you love Him. Have you ever thumbed through and read the
beautiful hymns that men and women of God have written under the
anointing of the Holy Spirit of God? They are so beautiful, pretty
soon you will be crying. Singing is a beautiful way of expressing what
you want to say to God, when you can't think of any thing to say
orally. I believe worshipful singing brings your spirit in close
contact with God. My own personal praise song begins by saying praise
4 times and then says, Praise to the One who sent us His Son. The
whole song goes on and on, praising God with words I might not be able
to express in prayer.
Psalms 81:2 "Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the
pleasant harp with the psaltery."
It was the custom of the Jewish people to sing Psalms in their
worship. Many churches today have begun to sing the Psalms in the
Bible. The song that the Lord and His disciples sang just after the
Lord's supper probably was a Psalm. The psaltery was like a lyre. This
is saying to play beautiful music with your song.
Psalms 81:3 "Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time
appointed, on our solemn feast day."
The blowing of the trumpet was to alert the Israelites to the
sacred month. The trumpet was blown on the beginning of feast days, as
well. When we were in Israel in 1979 we heard the blowing of the
trumpet. Jesus will blow the silver trumpet of redemption when we are
called to meet Him in the air. There were appointed times to blow the
trumpet. Each time the trumpet blew, it was for a specific purpose. It
must be blown a specific way to let the people know what they were to
do. One of the times it was blown was for the gathering of the people
for worship. It was, also, blown to call them to war. It must give off
a certain sound for each occcasion. Look, with me, at the following
Scripture about the blowing of the trumpet. I Corinthians 14:8 "For if
the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the
battle?" You can see why it was important to blow it correctly.
Psalms 81:4 "For this [was] a statute for Israel, [and] a law of
the God of Jacob."
In the books of Leviticus and Numbers, the laws and statutes
concerning the blowing of the trumpet are given.
Psalms 81:5 "This he ordained in Joseph [for] a testimony, when
he went out through the land of Egypt: [where] I heard a language
[that] I understood not."
Possibly, the reason Joseph is mentioned here is, because it was
Joseph who preserved the family of Jacob {Israel} in Egypt. Another
thought is that Joseph's descendents, who were part of the 10 tribes
that broke off, are to keep the blowing of the trumpets, as well as
Judah who remained. Joseph was not an Egyptian when he went to live
there. Perhaps, that is what is meant by a language that I understood
not.
Psalms 81:6 "I removed his shoulder from the burden: his hands
were delivered from the pots."
God, with His Mighty Hand, removed the burden of slavery in Egypt
from the Israelites. The mention of the pots, perhaps, has to do with
the mortar they made for bricks. They were in hard bondage, until the
Lord delivered them from Egypt.
Psalms 81:7 "Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee; I
answered thee in the secret place of thunder: I proved thee at the
waters of Meribah. Selah."
The Scriptures say, that God heard the cry of the family of Jacob
and He delivered them. We could go through the account of their exodus
from Egypt, and we will find time and time again when God heard their
cry for help, and He helped them; such as at the Red Sea. God spoke to
them at the foot of the mountain, and it sounded like thunder. We have
all been {in a sense} to the waters of Meribah. Sometimes when we have
had trials and tribulations, we have not been successful in having
enough faith to overcome the problem. If we do not find enough faith
to overcome the problem, then we must pass by Meribah again, until we
do have enough faith to overcome. Selah, again, means stop, and pause,
and think on these things.
Psalms 81:8 "Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O
Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me;"
Trials and tribulations will quickly go away, if we learn that
our help is in the Lord. God is speaking. Pay close attention to what
He is saying. Do not be like those who have ears and do not hear. Hear
and understand. God will give us the answer, if we will just let Him.
God is still talking to His people today, most of us are not
listening.
Psalms 81:9 "There shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt
thou worship any strange god."
This is the first of the ten commandments of God. God had defamed
all the gods of Egypt with the plague. These people, who had known all
of this, should have no problem carrying this out. Anything, or
anyone, that you elevate above God can be a false god. Not only
physical Israel needs to heed this, but spiritual Israel, as well.
Psalms 81:10 "I [am] the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of
the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it."
The first part of the verse above leaves no doubt at all who He
is. What will God fill their mouth with? His Word. Matthew 4:4 "But he
answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." We are
cautioned to eat the Word. If we are filled with the Word of God
{Jesus Christ}, we are filled with Jesus. Galatians 2:20 "I am
crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ
liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the
faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."
Psalms 81:11 "But my people would not hearken to my voice; and
Israel would none of me."
If you are not filled with God's Word, then you do not know the
will of God in your life. Decisions made in your carnal mind, that
please your flesh, will not please God.
Psalms 81:12 "So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust:
[and] they walked in their own counsels."
If we are not full of the Word of God, then we have a wicked
heart. Walking in their own counsels means that they did what was
pleasing to their flesh.
Psalms 81:13 "Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, [and]
Israel had walked in my ways!"
I say, one more time, you can not walk in God's ways, unless you
know what those ways are. The thing that troubles me about this is,
God calls them {my people}. To be Christian in name only is a very
dangerous thing. We may call Him my God, but if we do not do the will
of God, we are not His. We can not do the will of God, until we know
what that will is. Read and study your Bible, let God fill you with
His Word, so that you will know what God's will is for you. Obey God's
Word, then you can truthfully call Him, MY GOD.
Psalms 81:14 "I should soon have subdued their enemies, and
turned my hand against their adversaries."
God loved them enough to bring them out of bondage in Egypt. He
removed their enemy before them, until they became unfaithful to Him.
He will bring us out of Egypt {the world}, but we must have no other
gods before HIM.
Psalms 81:15 "The haters of the LORD should have submitted
themselves unto him: but their time should have endured for ever."
They could have repented and come to God. They would have
received everlasting life in the process. Christians, this is speaking
to us. We must obey God and receive His blessings. The penalty for sin
is death, but the gift of life is in believing in the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Each person must choose sin and death, or life in Jesus
Christ.
Psalms 81:16 "He should have fed them also with the finest of the
wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee."
The Great Shepherd knows where the good grass is and feeds His
sheep with the finest. When God's people follow Him and obey Him,
there is a wonderful reward awaiting them. They will have access to
the tree of Life. Look, with me, at the provisions that have been made
for the true believer in Christ. Revelation 22:1 "And he shewed me a
pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the
throne of God and of the Lamb." Revelation 22:2 "In the midst of the
street of it, and on either side of the river, [was there] the tree of
life, which bare twelve [manner of] fruits, [and] yielded her fruit
every month: and the leaves of the tree [were] for the healing of the
nations." Revelation 22:3 "And there shall be no more curse: but the
throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall
serve him:" Revelation 22:4 "And they shall see his face; and his name
[shall be] in their foreheads." Revelation 22:5 "And there shall be
no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for
the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and
ever."
Christians, read God's Book every day and store it in your heart.
God's desire is for you to live with Him in heaven. Do the will of God
for your life, and you will not miss your reward.
Questions 82
1. What does Gittith mean?
2. What are we told to do in verse 1 of this lesson?
3. Who is our strength?
4. Quote Luke chapter 9 verse 26.
5. Have you ever thumbed through the hymnal and read the words to the
songs?
6. In verse 2, what were they to bring with the Psalm?
7. When was the trumpet to be blown?
8. What type trumpet will Jesus blow to call the Christians?
9. Quote 1 Corinthians chapter 14 verse 8.
10. Where are the laws and statutes concerning the blowing of the
trumpet found?
11. Who is the I, in verse 6, who removed their burden?
12. What caused God to deliver Israel from Egypt?
13. When God spoke, it sounded like ________.
14. What does Meribah symbolize?
15. God is still talking to His people today, we are just not ______.
16. What is the first commandment of God?
17. What is a false god?
18. What will God fill their mouth with?
19. Man should not live by bread alone, but by what?
20. Quote Galations chapter 2 verse 20.
21. How can you know the will of God in your life?
22. What does walking in their own counsels mean?
23. What troubles the author about verse 13 of this lesson?
24. What must we do for God to bring us out of Egypt {the world}?
25. The penalty of sin is ______.
26. What are the provisions God has made for those who are saved?
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