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This psalm was penned, as is supposed, not upon occasion of any particular providence, but for the solemnity of a particular ordinance, either that of the new-moon in general or that of the feast of trumpets on the new moon of the seventh month, Le 23:24, Nu 29:1. When David, by the Spirit, introduced the singing of psalms into the temple-service this psalm was intended for that day, to excite and assist the proper devotions of it. All the psalms are profitable; but, if one psalm be more suitable than another to the day and observances of it, we should choose that. The two great intentions of our religious assemblies, and which we ought to have in our eye in our attendance on them, are answered in this psalm, which are, to give glory to God and to receive instruction from God, to "behold the beauty of the Lord and to enquire in his temple;" accordingly by this psalm we are assisted on our solemn feast days, I. In praising God for what he is to his people (Ps 81:1-3), and has done for them, Ps 81:4-7. II. In teaching and admonishing one another concerning the obligations we lie under to God (Ps 81:8-10), the danger of revolting from him (Ps 81:11,12), and the happiness we should have if we would but keep close to him, Ps 81:13-16. This, though spoken primarily of Israel of old, is written for our learning, and is therefore to be sung with application.
1-7
An Invitation to Praise
繁體中文
讚美的邀請
交與伶長，用迦特樂器。亞薩的詩。
¹ 你們當向神我們的力量大聲歡呼，向雅各的神歡樂發聲。
² 唱起詩歌，打手鼓，彈美琴與瑟。
³ 當在月朔並月望我們過節的日期吹角。
⁴ 因這是為以色列定的律例，是雅各神的律法。
⁵ 他去攻擊埃及地的時候，在約瑟中間立此為證。我在那裡聽見我所不明白的言語。
⁶ 神說：我使你的肩得脫重擔，你的手得釋放筐子。
⁷ 你在急難中呼求，我就搭救你；我在雷的隱密處應允你，在米利巴水旁試驗你。〔細拉〕
當神的百姓聚集在嚴肅會、耶和華節期的日子，他們必須被告知有事當作；因為我們上教會不是為睡覺，也不是為閒懶；不，每天的本分所要求的，當在那日完成。此處，
一、 敬拜神的人被激發去作他們的工，並藉著唱這篇詩受教，激勵自己也彼此激勵（詩81:1-3）。我們的差事，是將神的名當得的榮耀歸給他；在一切宗教聚會中，我們必須以此為當作的工，留心在意。1. 我們如此行時，當仰望神作我們的力量，作雅各的神（詩81:1）。他是以色列全族的力量；因他是與他們立約的神，必大能地保護、扶持、搭救他們，為他們爭戰，使他們英勇得勝。他是每一個以色列人的力量；靠他的恩典，我們能行過一切的事奉、受苦與爭戰；我們當向他——作我們力量的主——禱告，也當向他作讚美，因他是一切與神摔跤的雅各後裔之神，我們與他們有屬靈的相交。2. 我們當以聖潔的喜樂與誇勝的一切表達來如此行。那時當藉著樂器——鼓、琴與瑟——並藉著吹角來作（有人以為是為紀念西奈山上角聲漸漸高亢）。那時如此行，如今也當藉著唱詩篇、大聲歌唱並歡樂發聲來作。瑟的悠揚與角的威嚴向我們暗示：敬拜神當以喜樂歡欣，也當以敬畏與敬虔的戰兢。大聲歌唱、歡樂發聲，暗示我們讚美神時當熱切懇摯，當以衷心美意展示他的讚美，如同不以承認自己對他的倚靠與虧欠為恥的人，也暗示我們當有許多人同作這工；人越多越好；越發像天堂。3. 這必須在所定的時候作。讚美神沒有不合宜的時候（我一日七次讚美你；不，我在半夜必起來稱謝你）；但有些時候是所定的——不是為叫神來與我們相會（他總是預備好的），而是為叫我們彼此相會，好一同讚美神。嚴肅的節期當是讚美的日子；我們領受神所賜豐盛的恩物、在其中歡樂之時，正是唱詩讚美他的合宜之時。
二、 他們在此受指導當怎樣作工。1. 他們當仰望那設立這節期的神聖制度。在一切宗教敬拜中，我們的眼當注視那命令（詩81:4）：這是為以色列定的律例，為在他們中間維持宗教的體面；這是雅各神的律法，凡雅各的後裔都受其約束，都當順服。請注意，讚美神不僅是一件善事——我們行得好當如此行——更是我們不可推諉的當盡本分；我們若忽略它，便自取危險；在一切宗教操練中，我們的眼當注視那設立的制度，作為我們的憑據與準則：「我如此行，是因為神如此吩咐我；所以我盼望他悅納我」；那才是憑信心而作。2. 他們當回顧這節期所紀念的神聖護理的作為。這嚴肅的事奉是為證據而設立的（詩81:5），是一項長久遺傳的憑據，用以證明那些史實。這是給以色列的證據，使他們知道並記念神為他們列祖所行的；若他們竟不知不曉、竟忘記了，這證據也要作見證定他們的罪。（一）詩人代表百姓，提醒自己神為以色列所行那普遍的工——這工正是藉這個並其他嚴肅節期得以記念的（詩81:5）。當神出去攻擊埃及地、要使它荒涼、好強迫法容以色列去的時候，他便設立了嚴肅的節期，要他們世世代代永遠守著，作為記念，特別是逾越節——或許就是嚴肅節期的日子所指的（詩81:3）；那節期正是在神出去巡行埃及地、擊殺長子、越過以色列人房屋之時設立的（出12:23、24）。藉著它，那奇妙的作為要永遠記念，使各世代在其中看見神的恩慈與嚴厲。詩人代表百姓說話時，注意到他們在埃及為奴的一個加重情節——在那裡他們聽見自己所不明白的言語；在那裡他們在異鄉作寄居的。埃及人和希伯來人彼此言語不通；因為約瑟是藉著傳話的與他弟兄們說話（創42:23），埃及人又被稱為雅各家言語不同的民族（詩114:1）。要使拯救顯得越發恩慈、越發榮耀，最好留意一切使我們所得救脫離的患難顯得越發沉重的事。（二）詩人奉神的名，使百姓記念他們蒙救的一些細節。此處人稱轉換了（詩81:6）。神藉著他發言說：我使你的肩得脫重擔。 願他在節期之日記念這事，[一] 神曾領他們出了為奴之家，把他們的肩從幾乎要壓垮他們的欺壓重擔下挪開，使你的手得釋放筐子，或作背簍、籃子，他們在其中搬運泥或磚。脫離奴役乃是極其可覺察的憐憫，是當永遠記念的。然而這還不是全部。[二] 神曾在紅海搭救他們；那時他們在急難中呼求，他便救了他們，並挫敗了仇敵對他們的計謀（出14:10）。那時他在雷的隱密處應允了他們——用實際的答覆應允了他們，就是從火柱之中，神藉著它觀看埃及人的軍隊，使其混亂（出14:24、25）。或這也可指在西奈山頒佈律法，那是隱密之處，因為觀看就是死（出19:21），而神那時是在雷中說話。連西奈的可畏對以色列也是恩惠（申4:33）。[三] 神曾在曠野容忍他們的作為：我在米利巴水旁試驗你；你在那裡顯出你的脾氣——你是何等不信、何等愛發怨言的百姓——然而我仍向你持守我的恩惠。細拉——留意這事；把神的良善與人的敗壞相比，它們就要彼此襯托。如今他們既在嚴肅節期當如此記念他們蒙救出埃及的恩，我們在基督徒的安息日，豈不更當記念耶穌基督為我們所成就、那更榮耀的救贖——脫離比埃及更甚的奴役——以及他所賜我們的許多恩慈答允，不顧我們諸多的惹動。
英文原文
An Invitation to Praise
To the chief musician upon Gittith. A psalm of Asaph.
¹ Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.
² Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery.
³ Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day.
⁴ For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob.
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.
⁶ I removed his shoulder from the burden: his hands were delivered from the pots.
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.
When the people of God were gathered together in the solemn day, the day of the feast of the Lord, they must be told that they had business to do, for we do not go to church to sleep nor to be idle; no, there is that which the duty of every day requires, work of the day, which is to be done in its day. And here,
I. The worshippers of God are excited to their work, and are taught, by singing this psalm, to stir up both themselves and one another to it, Ps 81:1-3. Our errand is, to give unto God the glory due unto his name, and in all our religious assemblies we must mind this as our business. 1. In doing this we must eye God as our strength, and as the God of Jacob, Ps 81:1. He is the strength of Israel, as a people; for he is a God in covenant with them, who will powerfully protect, support, and deliver them, who fights their battles and makes them do valiantly and victoriously. He is the strength of every Israelite; by his grace we are enabled to go through all our services, sufferings, and conflicts; and to him, as our strength, we must pray, and we must sing praise to him as the God of all the wrestling seed of Jacob, with whom we have a spiritual communion. 2. We must do this by all the expressions of holy joy and triumph. It was then to be done by musical instruments, the timbrel, harp, and psaltery; and by blowing the trumpet, some think in remembrance of the sound of the trumpet on Mount Sinai, which waxed louder and louder. It was then and is now to be done by singing psalms, singing aloud, and making a joyful noise. The pleasantness of the harp and the awfulness of the trumpet intimate to us that God is to be worshipped with cheerfulness and joy with reverence and godly fear. Singing aloud and making a noise intimate that we must be warm and affectionate in praising God, that we must with a hearty good-will show forth his praise, as those that are not ashamed to own our dependence on him and obligations to him, and that we should join many together in this work; the more the better; it is the more like heaven. 3. This must be done in the time appointed. No time is amiss for praising God (Seven times a day will I praise thee; nay, at midnight will I rise and give thanks unto thee); but some are times appointed, not for God to meet us (he is always ready), but for us to meet one another, that we may join together in praising God. The solemn feast-day must be a day of praise; when we are receiving the gifts of God's bounty, and rejoicing in them, then it is proper to sing his praises.
II. They are here directed in their work. 1. They must look up to the divine institution which it is the observation of. In all religious worship we must have an eye to the command (Ps 81:4): This was a statute for Israel, for the keeping up of a face of religion among them; it was a law of the God of Jacob, which all the seed of Jacob are bound by, and must be subject to. Note, Praising God is not only a good thing, which we do well to do, but it is our indispensable duty, which we are obliged to do; it is at our peril if we neglect it; and in all religious exercises we must have an eye to the institution as our warrant and rule: "This I do because God has commanded me; and therefore I hope he will accept me;" then it is done in faith. 2. They must look back upon those operations of divine Providence which it is the memorial of. This solemn service was ordained for a testimony (Ps 81:5), a standing traditional evidence, for the attesting of the matters of fact. It was a testimony to Israel, that they might know and remember what God had done for their fathers, and would be a testimony against them if they should be ignorant of them and forget them. (1.) The psalmist, in the people's name, puts himself in mind of the general work of God on Israel's behalf, which was kept in remembrance by this and other solemnities, Ps 81:5. When God went out against the land of Egypt, to lay it waste, that he might force Pharaoh to let Israel go, then he ordained solemn feast-days to be observed by a statute for ever in their generations, as a memorial of it, particularly the passover, which perhaps is meant by the solemn feast-day (Ps 81:3); that was appointed just then when God went out through the land of Egypt to destroy the first-born, and passed over the houses of the Israelites, Ex 12:23,24. By it that work of wonder was to be kept in perpetual remembrance, that all ages might in it behold the goodness and severity of God. The psalmist, speaking for his people, takes notice of this aggravating circumstance of their slavery in Egypt that there they heard a language that they understood not; there they were strangers in a strange land. The Egyptians and the Hebrews understood not one another's language; for Joseph spoke to his brethren by an interpreter (Ge 42:23), and the Egyptians are said to be to the house of Jacob a people of a strange language, Ps 114:1. To make a deliverance appear the more gracious, the more glorious, it is good to observe every thing that makes the trouble we are delivered from appear the more grievous. (2.) The psalmist, in God's name, puts the people in mind of some of the particulars of their deliverance. Here he changes the person, Ps 81:6. God speaks by him, saying, I removed the shoulder from the burden. Let him remember this on the feast-day, [1.] That God had brought them out of the house of bondage, had removed their shoulder from the burden of oppression under which they were ready to sink, had delivered their hands from the pots, or panniers, or baskets, in which they carried clay or bricks. Deliverance out of slavery is a very sensible mercy and one which ought to be had in everlasting remembrance. But this was not all. [2.] God had delivered them at the Red Sea; then they called in trouble, and he rescued them and disappointed the designs of their enemies against them, Ex 14:10. Then he answered them with a real answer, out of the secret place of thunder; that is, out of the pillar of fire, through which God looked upon the host of the Egyptians and troubled it, Ex 14:24,25. Or it may be meant of the giving of the law at Mount Sinai, which was the secret place, for it was death to gaze (Ex 19:21), and it was in thunder that God then spoke. Even the terrors of Sinai were favours to Israel, De 4:33. [3.] God had borne their manners in the wilderness: "I proved thee at the waters of Meribah; thou didst there show thy temper, what an unbelieving murmuring people thou wast, and yet I continued my favour to thee." Selah—Mark that; compare God's goodness and man's badness, and they will serve as foils to each other. Now if they, on their solemn feast-days, were thus to call to mind their redemption out of Egypt, much more ought we, on the Christian sabbath, to call to mind a more glorious redemption wrought out for us by Jesus Christ from worse than Egyptian bondage, and the many gracious answers he has given to us, notwithstanding our manifold provocations.
8-16
Expostulation with Israel
繁體中文
對以色列的責問
⁸ 我的民哪，你當聽，我要勸戒你；以色列啊，你若肯聽從我； ⁹ 在你中間不可有別的神；外邦的神你也不可敬拜。 ¹⁰ 我是耶和華你的神，曾把你從埃及地領上來；你要大大張口，我就給你充滿。 ¹¹ 無奈我的民不聽從我的聲音；以色列不肯順從我。 ¹² 我便任憑他們心裏剛硬，隨自己的計謀而行。 ¹³ 甚願我的民肯聽從我，願以色列遵行我的道！ ¹⁴ 我便速速制伏他們的仇敵，反手攻擊他們的敵人。 ¹⁵ 恨耶和華的人必來投降，使他們的時刻永遠長存。 ¹⁶ 祂也必拿上好的麥子餵養他們；又必從磐石中賜蜂蜜使他們飽足。
神藉詩人在此向以色列說話，也藉着他們向我們說話——我們這些末世的人。
一、 祂要求他們對祂將要說的話殷勤而認真地留意（詩 81:8）：「我的民哪，你當聽！ 我的民若不聽，誰還肯聽我呢？我已聽見你、應允了你，如今你可肯聽我？當聽那以最為莊嚴、最無可疑的確定性所說的話，因為這是我要勸戒你的。 不要只是讓我聽見，還要聽從我——即受我的勸戒，受我的管治。」再也沒有甚麼比這更合理、更理所當然被期望的，然而神在其上加了一個若：「你若肯聽從我。 這是你的利益所在，然而你肯不肯仍在兩可之間；因為你的頸項是鐵筋。」
二、 祂提醒他們對祂的義務，因祂是耶和華他們的神、他們的救贖主（詩 81:10）：我是耶和華你的神，曾把你從埃及地領上來；這是十誡的序言，也是守誡命的有力理由，表明我們在責任、利益、感恩上都受此約束；我們若不順從，就是把這一切繩索盡都掙斷。
三、 祂向他們簡述了祂領他們出埃及之時，作為耶和華他們的神，所賜給他們的誡命與應許。1。 大誡命是不可在祂以外有別的神（詩 81:9）：在你中間不可有別的神——除了你自己的神以外，不可有別的。別神之所以被稱為「外邦的神」，十分恰當；因為任何一個民族既有又真又活的神作他們的神，竟還貪戀別神，這事本身實在奇怪。神在這事上嫉妒，因為祂不容將自己的榮耀歸給別的；所以他們在這事上必須謹慎，出 23:13。2。 大應許是神自己——作為全足的神——必在他們所求告的一切事上臨近他們（申 4:7）；他們若持守祂作為他們有權能的保護者和治理者，便必常見祂作他們豐盛的賜恩者：「你要大大張口，我就給你充滿，正如小烏鴉張口哀叫，老鳥便來填滿。」 請看：（1）我們的本分是甚麼——提高我們對神的期望，擴大我們向祂的願望。我們從受造物那裏所期待的不能太小，從創造主那裏所期待的不能太大。我們在祂裏面並不狹窄；那麼為何我們在自己心中倒狹窄呢？（2）神的應許是甚麼——我必以美物使你口得以飽足，詩 103:5。神裏面有足夠的豐富，可以充滿我們的寶庫（箴 8:21），補足每一個飢餓的靈魂（耶 31:25），供應我們一切的需要，滿足我們一切的願望，使我們完全幸福。感官之樂使人厭倦卻不能滿足（賽 55:2）；屬天之樂使人滿足卻永不厭倦。我們若憑信心向神求，便可從祂得着充足。你們祈求，就給你們。 祂賜給人，且不斥責人。 神向祂百姓以色列保證：祂若不為他們行與他們列祖所行的同樣大、同樣恩慈的事，必是他們自己的過失。他們若緊緊跟從神，便沒有甚麼是太好、太多而不能賜給他們的。祂還會將這樣那樣的事賜給他們，撒下 12:8。
四、 祂指控他們極其藐視祂作為立法者的權威，並藐視祂作為賜恩者的恩典與恩惠，詩 81:11。祂為他們行了許多事，又定意要行更多；卻都歸徒然：「我的民不聽從我的聲音，卻對我所說的一切充耳不聞。」 祂所抱怨的有兩件事：1。 他們違背祂的誡命。他們誠然聽見祂的聲音，是別的民所從未聽過的；但他們不肯聽從，不肯受其管治，既不服律法，也不服律法的理由。2。 他們不喜歡祂與他們之間的立約關係：他們不肯順從我（原文作「他們不願意我」）。他們不願順從我的話（迦勒底譯本如此讀）；神樂意作他們的神，他們卻不樂意作祂的民；他們不喜歡祂的條件。「我願意招聚他們，他們卻不願意。」他們沒有得着祂；為何沒有呢？不是因為他們不能得着；他們明明受過進入與神立約的邀請。不是因為他們不能；因為這道離他們不遠，就在他們口中、在他們心裏。完全是因為他們不願意。神稱他們為「我的民」，因為他們是祂買來的、是與祂繫結的、是用千條繩索屬祂的；然而連他們也不聽從、不順服。「以色列——我朋友雅各的後裔——輕看我，不願意我。」須知，惡人世界的一切邪惡，都源於惡人意志的剛硬。人不敬虔，是因為他們不肯敬虔。
五、 祂以此為自己在祂降與他們的屬靈審判上辯護（詩 81:12）：我便任憑他們心裏的私慾——這私慾要成為比任何鄰國更危險的仇敵、更害人的壓迫者。神從他們中間收回祂的靈，卸下約束之恩的轡頭，任憑他們自己，並且公義地如此行；他們要怎樣行就怎樣行，所以就任憑他們怎樣行。以法蓮與偶像連合，任憑他吧。 神任憑那些放縱私慾、將自己交託私慾引導的人去隨從自己心裏的私慾，這在神是公義的；因為為何祂的靈要常常爭戰呢？祂的恩典是祂自己的，祂不欠任何人；然而，正如祂從未將恩典賜給任何能說自己配得的人，祂也從未將恩典從任何人收回，除了那些先使恩典失效的人：他們不願意我，我便任憑他們；任憑他們走自己的路。請看後果如何：他們隨自己的計謀而行——隨他們心所願、眼所見的，無論在敬拜上或在為人上。「我任憑他們任意而行，他們就行了一切惡事」；他們隨自己的計謀而行，並不照神和他勸戒的計謀。因此神不是他們犯罪的源頭；祂任憑他們隨從自己心裏的私慾和自己頭腦的計謀；他們若行得不好，罪責必歸於他們自己的心，血必歸於他們自己的頭上。
六、 祂向他們表明善意，巴不得他們為自己行了善事。祂看見他們被交給自己的私慾之時，處境何等悲慘、滅亡何等確定；這比交給撒但更糟——交給撒但可能是為着悔改（提前 1:20）和拯救（林前 5:5）；但被交給自己心裏的私慾，卻是定了罪的印記。污穢的，叫他仍舊污穢。 這要引人奔向何等致命的懸崖啊！此處神以憐憫看着他們，並表明祂如此任憑他們陷入愚妄和厄運，實是出於勉強。以法蓮哪，我怎能捨棄你？ 何 11:8,9。此處也是：甚願我的民肯聽從我！ 見賽 48:18。基督也是這樣為耶路撒冷的頑梗哀歎：你若知道，路 19:42。此處的話語十分動人（詩 81:13-16），為要表明神何等不願任何人滅亡，何等願意人人都來悔改（祂不喜悅罪人或罪惡國家的滅亡）；又表明罪人是何等與自己為敵，以及他們的悲慘將何等加重——因為他們本可如此輕易地得着幸福。請留意：
1。 神為祂百姓所存留的大憐憫，這本是祂若他們順從便要為他們成就的。（1）祂必將勝利賜給他們勝過仇敵，並速速完成對他們的制伏。他們不僅能守住陣地，還能向餘下的迦南人和不斷侵擾的鄰國取得勝利（詩 81:14）：我便速速制伏他們的仇敵；制伏我們仇敵的事，惟獨神是可靠的。祂也不會使他們耗費、疲乏於冗長的戰事：祂必速速作成；因為祂必反手攻擊他們的敵人，那時敵人便不能在他們面前站立得住。這暗示祂何等輕易、毫無困難地作成這事。一翻手之間，祂必以口中的氣殺滅惡人，賽 11:4。祂只消翻手，恨耶和華的人必來投降（詩 81:15）；他們雖未被引到愛祂，卻必被使來敬畏祂，並承認祂太強，與祂相爭是徒然。神因着那些曾反叛祂和祂以色列之人的投降而得榮耀——以色列也同樣得榮耀——縱然那投降不過是被迫的、虛偽的。（2）祂必堅立並延續他們的後裔，將之建立在穩固而長久的根基上。任憑仇敵如何圖謀，他們的時刻必永遠長存，神所賜的美地上他們絕不被擾亂，更不被逐出。（3）祂必賜他們各樣美物極大的豐盛（詩 81:16）：祂也必拿上好的麥子餵養他們——最好的糧食，又是種類中最好的。麥子是迦南的主要出產，他們大量出口，結 27:17。祂不僅要為他們預備上好的糧，還要從磐石中賜蜂蜜使他們飽足。 除了肥沃土壤的寶貴出產之外，為使他們全地沒有一塊荒蕪之地，連磐石的縫隙也要作蜂房，他們在其中尋見豐盛的蜂蜜。見申 32:13,14。簡言之，神定意要使他們在各樣事上安舒快樂。
2。 神向他們要求的本分——作為這一切憐憫的條件。祂所期望的不過是他們聽從祂——如學生聽從老師以領受教訓，如僕人聽從主人以領受命令；並且他們遵行祂的道——那些正道而可悅的主的道——他們當遵守祂典章的制度，並留意祂護理之工的提示。這事沒有絲毫不合理之處。
3。 請留意，憐憫之所以扣留，其原因乃在他們忽略本分：他們若聽從我，我便速速制伏他們的仇敵。 國家的罪或不順從，乃是阻礙國家得拯救的惟一大事。我想醫治以色列、為他們撥亂反正之時，以法蓮的罪孽就顯露，醫治便被中止，何 7:1。我們容易說：「若是採用這個方法、任用這個器皿，我們就必速速制伏仇敵」；但我們錯了；我們若聽從神、盡自己的本分，這事早就成了；使患難延長、拯救遲延的，正是罪。這正是神自己所抱怨、所巴不得不然的。須知，因此神要我們向祂盡本分，好叫我們合格領受祂的恩惠。祂喜悅我們事奉祂，不是因為祂因此更得益處，而是因為我們因此更得益處。
英文原文
Expostulation with Israel
⁸ Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me;
⁹ There shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god.
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.
¹¹ But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me.
¹² So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust: and they walked in their own counsels.
¹³ Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!
¹⁴ I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.
¹⁵ The haters of the LORD should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured for ever.
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.
God, by the psalmist, here speaks to Israel, and in them to us, on whom the ends of the world are come.
I. He demands their diligent and serious attention to what he was about to say (Ps 81:8): "Hear, O my people! and who should hear me if my people will not? I have heard and answered thee; now wilt thou hear me? Hear what is said with the greatest solemnity and the most unquestionable certainty, for it is what I will testify unto thee. Do not only give me the hearing, but hearken unto me, that is, be advised by me, be ruled by me." Nothing could be more reasonably nor more justly expected, and yet God puts an if upon it: "If thou wilt hearken unto me. It is thy interest to do so, and yet it is questionable whether thou wilt or no; for thy neck is an iron sinew."
II. He puts them in mind of their obligation to him as the Lord their God and Redeemer (Ps 81:10): I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt; this is the preface to the ten commandments, and a powerful reason for the keeping of them, showing that we are bound to it in duty, interest, and gratitude, all which bonds we break asunder if we be disobedient.
III. He gives them an abstract both of the precepts and of the promises which he gave them, as the Lord and their God, upon their coming out of Egypt. 1. The great command was that they should have no other gods before him (Ps 81:9): There shall no strange god be in thee, none besides thy own God. Other gods might well be called strange gods, for it was very strange that ever any people who had the true and living God for their God should hanker after any other. God is jealous in this matter, for he will not suffer his glory to be given to another; and therefore in this matter they must be circumspect, Ex 23:13. 2. The great promise was that God himself, as a God all-sufficient, would be nigh unto them in all that which they called upon him for (De 4:7), that, if they would adhere to him as their powerful protector and ruler, they should always find him their bountiful benefactor: "Open thy mouth wide and I will fill it, as the young ravens that cry open their mouths wide and the old ones fill them." See here, (1.) What is our duty—to raise our expectations from God and enlarge our desires towards him. We cannot look for too little from the creature nor too much from the Creator. We are not straitened in him; why therefore should we be straitened in our own bosoms? (2.) What is God's promise. I will fill thy mouth with good things, Ps 103:5. There is enough in God to fill our treasures (Pr 8:21), to replenish every hungry soul (Jer 31:25), to supply all our wants, to answer all our desires, and to make us completely happy. The pleasures of sense will surfeit and never satisfy (Isa 55:2); divine pleasures will satisfy and never surfeit. And we may have enough from God if we pray for it in faith. Ask, and it shall be given you. He gives liberally, and upbraids not. God assured his people Israel that it would be their own fault if he did not do as great and kind things for them as he had done for their fathers. Nothing should be thought too good, too much, to give them, if they would but keep close to God. He would moreover have given them such and such things, 2Sa 12:8.
IV. He charges them with a high contempt of his authority as their lawgiver and his grace and favour as their benefactor, Ps 81:11. He had done much for them, and designed to do more; but all in vain: "My people would not hearken to my voice, but turned a deaf ear to all I said." Two things he complains of:—1. Their disobedience to his commands. They did hear his voice, so as never any people did; but they would not hearken to it, they would not be ruled by it, neither by the law nor by the reason of it. 2. Their dislike of his covenant-relation to them: They would none of me. They acquiesced not in my word (so the Chaldee); God was willing to be to them a God, but they were not willing to be to him a people; they did not like his terms. "I would have gathered them, but they would not." They had none of him; and why had they not? It was not because they might not; they were fairly invited into covenant with God. It was not because they could not; for the word was nigh them, even in their mouth and in their heart. But it was purely because they would not. God calls them his people, for they were bought by him, bound to him, his by a thousand ties, and yet even they had not hearkened, had not obeyed. "Israel, the seed of Jacob my friend, set me at nought, and would have none of me." Note, All the wickedness of the wicked world is owing to the wilfulness of the wicked will. The reason why people are not religious is because they will not be so.
V. He justifies himself with this in the spiritual judgments he had brought upon them (Ps 81:12): So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lusts, which would be more dangerous enemies and more mischievous oppressors to them than any of the neighbouring nations ever were. God withdrew his Spirit from them, took off the bridle of restraining grace, left them to themselves, and justly; they will do as they will, and therefore let them do as they will. Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone. It is a righteous thing with God to give those up to their own hearts' lusts that indulge them, and give up themselves to be led by them; for why should his Spirit always strive? His grace is his own, and he is debtor to no man, and yet, as he never gave his grace to any that could say they deserved it, so he never took it away from any but such as had first forfeited it: They would none of me, so I gave them up; let them take their course. And see what follows: They walked in their own counsels, in the way of their heart and in the sight of their eye, both in their worships and in their conversations. "I left them to do as they would, and then they did all that was ill;" they walked in their own counsels, and not according to the counsels of God and his advice. God therefore was not the author of their sin; he left them to the lusts of their own hearts and the counsels of their own heads; if they do not well, the blame must lie upon their own hearts and the blood upon their own heads.
VI. He testifies his good-will to them in wishing they had done well for themselves. He saw how sad their case was, and how sure their ruin, when they were delivered up to their own lusts; that is worse than being given up to Satan, which may be in order to reformation (1Ti 1:20) and to salvation (1Co 5:5); but to be delivered up to their own hearts' lusts is to be sealed under condemnation. He that is filthy, let him be filthy still. What fatal precipices will not these hurry a man to! Now here God looks upon them with pity, and shows that it was with reluctance that he thus abandoned them to their folly and fate. How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? Ho 11:8,9. So here, O that my people had hearkened! See Isa 48:18. Thus Christ lamented the obstinacy of Jerusalem. If thou hadst known, Lu 19:42. The expressions here are very affecting (Ps 81:13-16), designed to show how unwilling God is that any should perish and desirous that all should come to repentance (he delights not in the ruin of sinful persons or nations), and also what enemies sinners are to themselves and what an aggravation it will be of their misery that they might have been happy upon such easy terms. Observe here,
1. The great mercy God had in store for his people, and which he would have wrought for them if they had been obedient. (1.) He would have given them victory over their enemies and would soon have completed the reduction of them. They should not only have kept their ground, but have gained their point, against the remaining Canaanites, and their encroaching vexatious neighbours (Ps 81:14): I should have subdued their enemies; and it is God only that is to be depended on for the subduing of our enemies. Not would had have put them to the expense and fatigue of a tedious war: he would soon have done it; for he would have turned his hand against their adversaries, and then they would not have been able to stand before them. It intimates how easily he would have done it and without any difficulty. With the turn of a hand, nay, with the breath of his mouth, shall he slay the wicked, Isa 11:4. If he but turn his hand, the haters of the Lord will submit themselves to him (Ps 81:15); and, though they are not brought to love him, yet they shall be made to fear him and to confess that he is too hard for them and that it is in vain to contend with him. God is honoured, and so is his Israel, by the submission of those that have been in rebellion against them, though it be but a forced and feigned submission. (2.) He would have confirmed and perpetuated their posterity, and established it upon sure and lasting foundations. In spite of all the attempts of their enemies against them, their time should have endured for ever, and they should never have been disturbed in the possession of the good land God had given them, much less evicted and turned out of possession. (3.) He would have given them great plenty of all good things (Ps 81:16): He should have fed them with the finest of the wheat, with the best grain and the best of the kind. Wheat was the staple commodity of Canaan, and they exported a great deal of it, Eze 27:17. He would not only have provided for them the best sort of bread, but with honey out of the rock would he have satisfied them. Besides the precious products of the fruitful soil, that there might not be a barren spot in all their land, even the clefts of the rock should serve for bee-hives and in them they should find honey in abundance. See De 32:13,14. In short, God designed to make them every way easy and happy.
2. The duty God required from them as the condition of all this mercy. He expected no more than that they should hearken to him, as a scholar to his teacher, to receive his instructions—as a servant to his master, to receive his commands; and that they should walk in his ways, those ways of the Lord which are right and pleasant, that they should observe the institutions of his ordinances and attend the intimations of his providence. There was nothing unreasonable in this.
3. Observe how the reason of the withholding of the mercy is laid in their neglect of the duty: If they had hearkened to me, I would soon have subdued their enemies. National sin or disobedience is the great and only thing that retards and obstructs national deliverance. When I would have healed Israel, and set every thing to-rights among them, then the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered, and so a stop was put to the cure, Ho 7:1. We are apt to say, "If such a method had been taken, such an instrument employed, we should soon have subdued our enemies:" but we mistake; if we had hearkened to God, and kept to our duty, the thing would have been done, but it is sin that makes our troubles long and salvation slow. And this is that which God himself complains of, and wishes it had been otherwise. Note, Therefore God would have us do our duty to him, that we may be qualified to receive favour from him. He delights in our serving him, not because he is the better for it, but because we shall be.
據推測，本詩不是因某個特殊的護理作為而寫，而是為某個特殊條例的莊嚴節期而寫——或是泛指每月的朔日，或是指第七月朔的吹角節（利二三24，民二九1）。當大衛受聖靈感動將唱詩引入聖殿事奉之時，本詩便是為那一天而設計，為要激發並幫助那日當有的敬虔。所有的詩篇都是有益的；但若某一詩篇比另一更適合那日子與其條例，我們就當選擇那一篇。
我們宗教聚會的兩大目的——也是我們在參加時當注目的——都在本詩中得著回應，那就是：將榮耀歸與神，並從神領受教訓，去「瞻仰耶和華的榮美，在祂的殿裏求問」。照樣，本詩在我們嚴肅的節期幫助我們：一、為神對祂百姓所是的（詩八一1-3）、並祂為他們所作的（詩八一4-7）來讚美神。二、彼此教導勸戒，論到我們對神所負的責任（詩八一8-10），背離祂的危險（詩八一11,12），以及我們若緊緊跟隨祂便會享有的福樂（詩八一13-16）。
這些話雖然最初是論到古時的以色列，卻是為教訓我們而寫的，因此當以應用的心來唱。