Psalm 81 Commentary
You called in trouble, and I delivered you. For this, let Israel sing aloud. This is section one, where we hear the voice of Israel calling out for help.
But the second section is different. We hear the voice of the LORD. But there is no one to listen. Communication has broken down. The LORD laments this sorry state of affairs.
Humans call out for help. The LORD always answers. Impossible love for humans on display! But humans respond dead when the LORD calls.
“There shall be no foreign god among you; nor shall you worship any foreign god.”
This is God’s message. Humans have ignored it. Consequently, the LORD has given us over to our own stubborn hearts. It’s dog-eat-dog out there!
Indeed, humans have turned everything around them into “gods”.
The haters of the LORD would pretend submission to Him. But their fate would endure forever.
This chapter speaks strongly to humanity whenever we have pretended to love the LORD – whenever we have pretended to have heard God’s voice.
It’s a call for self-examination. Pretense won’t help anyone. You can only deceive yourself and those around you in the same sinking boat!
There we have it – the cause. Humanity’s problem is a lack of complete respect for God’s law. “You shall have no foreign god among you; you shall not worship any god other than me.”
The mention of Joseph in verse 3 may be a reference to God’s miraculous working in a life that decides to separate itself to and for the LORD. It’s like the LORD is saying: “Joseph’s life is what the blessing may look like in the real world.”
When the LORD called, Joseph feared the LORD and acted accordingly. The gods of self-gratification lost the battle against Joseph.
It serves as an encouragement that righteousness can be had even under pagan conditions. Holiness is possible, but it comes with a measure of trouble, though always temporary. Let the saint sing about these things!
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