Christianity

Psalms 81The Festival Trumpet and God's Plea

Summary

Psalm 81, attributed to Asaph, opens as a festival call to sing aloud, play timbrel and harp, and blow the trumpet at the new moon on the solemn feast day. It then shifts to God's own voice, recalling how he freed Israel from burdens in Egypt and tested them at Meribah, and grieving that his people would not listen. It ends with a promise to feed them with the finest wheat and satisfy them with honey out of the rock.

Key verse

“I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.”

Psalms 81:10

Themes

Festival Worship
Covenant Memory
God's Longing for His People
Listening and Obedience

Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.

Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery.

Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day.

For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob.

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.

I removed his shoulder from the burden: his hands were delivered from the pots.

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.

Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me;

There shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god.

I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.

But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me.

So I gave them up unto their own hearts’ lust: and they walked in their own counsels.

Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!

I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.

The haters of the LORD should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured for ever.

He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.

Text: King James Version (1611/1769), public domain.

Across traditions

Judaism
Psalm 81 in the JPS 1917 Tanakh
Jewish tradition lists this as the psalm the Levites sang on Thursdays in the temple, and it is still recited in the Thursday morning service. Its verse about the trumpet at the new moon, verse 4 in the JPS numbering, is traditionally linked with Rosh Hashanah.
Christianity
Exodus 20: I Am the LORD Thy God
Psalm 81:9 to 10 echoes the opening of the Ten Commandments: the God who brought Israel out of Egypt forbids any strange god among them, the same pairing found in Exodus 20:2 to 3.

Questions about Psalms 81

What feast does Psalm 81 refer to?

Verse 3 mentions the new moon and the solemn feast day. Jewish tradition connects it with Rosh Hashanah, which falls on a new moon, while some interpreters read a word in the verse as full moon and think of Sukkot or Passover.

What is the honey out of the rock in Psalm 81?

Psalm 81:16 closes with God's promise to feed Israel with the finest of the wheat and satisfy them with honey out of the rock. It pictures lavish provision in a hard land, echoing Deuteronomy 32:13.