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. _Upon Gittith_] An instrument brought from Gath, or used by Obed Edom, the Gittite; or a psalm to be sung at the vintages, _i.e._ at the Feast of Taber... [ Continue Reading ]
_Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery._ Ver. 2. _Bring hither the timbrel_] These instruments then used in God s service (as a part of the Jewish pedagogy) were types of that spiritual joy which we should express in holy duties, no less than if we heard th... [ Continue Reading ]
Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day. Ver. 3. _Blow up the trumpet in the new moon_] And the like at other solemn feasts, three whereof (all in the seventh month to be kept) Beza thinketh to be here plainly and distinctly noted. These feasts were a sha... [ Continue Reading ]
For this [was] a statute for Israel, [and] a law of the God of Jacob. Ver. 4. _For this was a statute_] The keeping of it therefore is not arbitrary, but necessary: _Aut faciendum aut patiendum._ And a law] Which was to be kept as the apple of the eye, Proverbs 7:2 .... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 5. _This he ordained in Joseph_] Put for all Israel, as Psalms 80:1, though the Chaldee understandeth it of Joseph in person, and the next words of his... [ Continue Reading ]
I removed his shoulder from the burden: his hands were delivered from the pots. Ver. 6. _I removed his shoulder from the burden_] From the woeful slavery of Egyptian tyrants and task masters, _Sordidissimo ministerio._ His hands passed away from the pots] Or baskets, wherein was carried earth for... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 7. _Thou calledst in trouble_] Their trouble called, though themselves had been silent. I have seen, I have seen the afflictions of my people, &c., but... [ Continue Reading ]
Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me; Ver. 8. _Hear, O my people, &c._] Notwithstanding thy many and mighty provocations at Meribah and elsewhere, I made a covenant with thee at Mount Sinai, and gave thee right judgments and true laws, good statute... [ Continue Reading ]
There shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god. Ver. 9. _There shall no strange god_] This is the first and chief commandment, wherein all the rest are contained, saith Luther.... [ Continue Reading ]
I [am] the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. Ver. 10. _Open thou thy mouth wide, &c._] If thou be straitened, it is not in me, but in thine own bowels; he secretly taxeth them for their ολιγοπιστια and their ολιγοφυχια in prayer, the... [ Continue Reading ]
But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me. Ver. 11. _But my people would not hearken_] Here beginneth the second part of the psalm, which is objurgatory, and very suitable to the season of the year at that feast, that if it were a fruitful year the Israelites might se... [ Continue Reading ]
So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust: [and] they walked in their own counsels. Ver. 12. _So I gave them up_] I left them as a ship without a rudder; as a horse without reins, to go whither they would, and do what they would. This is a fearful judgment (_poena rebellionis maxima_), Hos 4:14... [ Continue Reading ]
Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, [and] Israel had walked in my ways! Ver. 13. _Oh that my people had hearkened unto me_] A wish after the manner of men; to set forth God's great desire of our welfare, which he here uttereth, as it were, with a sigh and a groan.... [ Continue Reading ]
I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries. Ver. 14. _I should soon have subdued_] I would have turned the scales, and made them as much overweight to their enemies as they were to them. _ And turned my hand, &c._] God, with a turn of his hand, can overt... [ Continue Reading ]
The haters of the LORD should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured for ever. Ver. 15. _The haters of the Lord should have submitted_] Heb. lied, that is, yielded feigned obedience, as Psalms 18:44 . _ But their time should have endured for ever_] _i.e._ Their stre... [ Continue Reading ]
He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee. Ver. 16. _With the finest of the wheat_] Heb. With the fat or marrow of wheat, with the choicest of picked nourishment. _ And with honey, &c._] _Hyperbole incomparabilis felicita... [ Continue Reading ]