(To the chief Musician. Upon the Gittith. [A Psalm] of Asaph.) Sing ye joyously unto God our strength, shout aloud unto the God of Jacob;
Psalm 81 breaks into music right after a psalm of mourning. Why is joy commanded here, why is God named "the God of Jacob," and what day does this song belong to?
One writer traces this sudden joy back to God stepping in for His people.
There is a peculiar beauty in this Psalm. The moral link with the last Psalm is easy to see. The shining out of the Deliverer in power awakens the glad song of triumph to the God of Jacob. The vineyard of the Lord of hosts drooped and withered for so long under a devastating judgment. That judgment has now passed away for ever. God has now turned the frequent fasts of those dreary days of mourning into joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. For Jehovah has returned with mercies to the ancient home of His name.
The song calls God "our strength." One writer ties that word to power that came in for Israel by grace.
In the prophetic application of this psalm, then, Israel's national life is now truly beginning. Praise is in their heart and on their lips: God is celebrated as their strength and as the God of Jacob. Power has come in for them in grace. This is the keynote of their joyful song, and, as we have so often seen with Israel, nature joins in to accompany it.
The song names God after Jacob. One writer finds the whole of grace in that choice.
God's "name" is His glory: it is the display of Himself. This is the blessedness of the gospel, that God is displayed in it in His grace. Here too, think what the name Jacob means. Remember the history tied to it, which the book of Genesis dwells on so much. Then the God of Jacob may well stand for — and indeed can stand for nothing else but — the God of grace. Grace alone could take up the "supplanter" and make of him an Israel, a "prince of God."
Another writer counted how often God ties His name to Jacob rather than to Abraham.
We are glad that our God so often speaks of Himself as "The God of Jacob", and so rarely as "The God of Abraham"… Note that thirteen times in the Psalms we find "The God of Jacob", against once for "The God of Abraham." And let us remember that "Jacob" means "Cheater", "Deceiver", while "Abraham" means "The Father of Many Nations."
The shout of verse 1 leads into a trumpet blast at the new moon. Commentators call this the feast of trumpets, Israel's new year.
Here comes the psalm of new year's day, when the trumpet sounds not for alarm but for joy — the joy of gathering the people at the new moon. The full moon will shine in due time. This is the new moon after a long eclipse. Now Israel will receive and reflect light afresh from the Lord.
This day's meaning ruled out sorrow. Joy was the right response, and it had to spread to others.
The feast of trumpets was indeed to be "a holy convocation." Because of what it pictured, sorrow did not suit its character… So they were to be joyful on this day in communion with the mind of their God. But joy cannot be held in; it must overflow, and so they were to pass it on to others… This order is instructive — communion with the heart of God, and then communion with their brothers.
One writer warns against lifting this song straight into Christian practice.
Think of Ps. 81: the shout of joy to the God of Jacob, the tambourine, the sweet lyre with the harp, the trumpet blown at the new moon, at the time appointed, on the solemn feast day. It needs little proof that all this is no statute for the church, though it is for Israel.
- Cause — The singing starts because God has acted. The Deliverer shines out, the long judgment passes, and fasts turn into feasts.
- Strength — Israel praises Him as our strength, because "power has come in for them in grace" — the keynote of the whole song.
- Grace — "God of Jacob" is deliberate. Grace alone could take the supplanter and make him a prince of God. In the Psalms He takes this name thirteen times, against Abraham's once.
- Renewal — The trumpet sounds at the new moon, not for alarm but for joy. Israel reflects light afresh after a long eclipse.
- Overflow — Joy meets God's heart first, then spills out. Communion with Him leads to communion with others.
Raise a song, and sound the tambour, the pleasant harp with the lute.
Psalm 81 opens with a call to loud, public praise, and verse 2 says what that praise sounds like. Who is called to sing, what moment does the music mark, and should churches copy the instruments today?
The psalm before this one ends with Israel begging God to make His face shine on them. Commentators read the burst of music here as the answer arriving.
In Psalm 80 there is the three-times repeated appeal to Jehovah to cause His face to shine upon Israel. This psalm anticipates the answer to those appeals... The blowing of trumpets, on the first day of the seventh month, celebrated the first of the three set times in that month that spoke of Israel's blessing (Lev. 23:24, 27, 34). The psalm, therefore, looks on to the time when Israel will again come into blessing as a nation in the recognized favour of God. Then Israel will sing aloud and praise God according to the desire of God from the beginning of their history.
Another writer traces the same link, and reads the new moon as Israel's own picture.
The connection of the eighty-first psalm with the one before it is as simple as it is beautiful. Israel has been crying for God's face to shine upon her as of old: here it does shine upon her. As a result she shines, for this new moon, clothing itself again with the glory of the sun, is her own symbol.
A dictionary entry gives the Hebrew word behind the first instrument, and says how it is played.
toph. A musical instrument with loose pieces of metal attached, similar to the modern tambourine. This instrument is still a favourite in the East. It is tapped with the fingers.
God set this music to a day in His own calendar. One writer says what that day means for Israel, and finds their story in the moon itself.
The Feast of Trumpets is God's taking up Israel afresh to awaken them. The first thing it discloses is God's loud summons to a people who once had a place before Him and now come into remembrance again for mercy, not judgment. If men were not prejudiced, none could deny the application to Israel. The moon, that light which wanes and loses her brightness, once more renews her light, as mercy will do for the rebellious people.
Commentators differ over which feast the new moon opens. Most read it as the trumpet feast that begins Israel's seventh month. One reads it of the Passover month instead — "It is the Passover month; the reference here is to its new moon, and to the Passover feast kept at its full moon" (C E Stuart). Either way, God fixed the day; the singers did not choose it.
One writer draws a line between this music and Christian worship today.
Suitable musical instruments will accompany a psalm of praise (v. 2). This is not the same level of worship that marks the Church of God today. Of that worship the Lord Jesus told the woman at the well — "But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship Him" (John 4:23). Musical instruments are not needed for this worship, and in the Old Testament they were only symbolical of spiritual worship. But in the coming day the public joy of Israel will be attended by such accompaniments.
One writer follows the joy of such a day from the heart of God out to the neighbour.
They were to be joyful on this day in communion with the mind of their God. But joy cannot be kept in; it must overflow, and so they were to pass it on to others. "Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength" (Nehemiah 8:10). This order is instructive — communion with the heart of God, and then communion with their brothers.
- Answer. Psalm 80 pleads for God's face to shine; this song is that plea granted, so praise begins where prayer left off.
- Symbol. The new moon is Israel's own emblem — a light that had waned now shining again with borrowed glory.
- Sound. The first instrument is tapped with the fingers, like a tambourine, and lyre and harp carry the song with it.
- Set time. The music belongs to a day God fixed in advance; commentators differ on whether it is the trumpet feast of the seventh month or the Passover month.
- Overflow. Joy taken first from the heart of God cannot stay private — it must overflow to those who have nothing ready.
Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the set time, on our feast day
Psalm 81 opens with music and a call to blow the trumpet on a set date in Israel's calendar. Commentators see in that date the moment God's people begin to shine again. Three questions follow: why the moon, why a trumpet, and why a day already fixed?
One writer points to a body with no light of its own, and to a nation whose brightness had faded:
The moon stands for Israel. Her light is the reflection of the Sun of Righteousness, the Lord Jesus. But calling her "the new moon" speaks of Israel renewed by the grace of her Lord, no longer in decay. Being new, the moon is also "full" — she receives the fullness of the grace of God. The day is called "our feast day," a picture of the day of Israel's renewal.
The same figure carries a promise of mercy toward a people who had failed badly:
The moon, that luminary which wanes and loses her brightness, once more renews her light, as mercy will do for the rebellious people.
A new moon is only a sliver of light. This trumpet marks a start, with more still to come:
Here comes the psalm of new year's day. The trumpet sounds not for alarm but for joy — the joy of gathering the people at the new moon. The full moon will shine in due time. This is the new moon after a long eclipse. Now Israel will receive and reflect light afresh from the Lord.
Another writer reads the psalm alongside Numbers 10 and marks where it goes further:
Many of the events we looked at in Numbers 10 appear here too, but the main line in the Psalm is deliverance from their enemies. The new moon has in view the restoration of Israel as the leading nation. The moon has not risen yet, but soon now they will rise again and take their place as the leading nation. The trumpet will blow in the new moon — it will usher it in as it were.
Where the ESV reads "at the full moon," older translations read "at the set time." Writers who follow that older wording see a date set by God's own purpose, and more than one feast in view:
The blowing of trumpets may itself be the feast spoken of here, or this feast may be the feast of tabernacles. The feast of tabernacles was the full measure of what the new moon was only beginning to show. At that time Israel would enjoy the presence of God, and the brightness of His glory would rest on her. All this at the "set time," which announced the foresight and purposes of eternal Wisdom. Those purposes could not fail, because no one could defeat them. So let the trumpets sound, and let the whole earth, now coming into blessing, echo Israel's joy.
One writer traces the feasts that follow this trumpet, step by step:
The blowing of the trumpet in the feast of trumpets (Leviticus 23) marks the beginning of Israel's New Year. In the order of God's dealings it stands for the regathering of Israel. Next comes the day of atonement, that future day when they will look on Him whom they pierced (Zechariah 12:10). After that comes the final feast, the harvest feast of tabernacles, a picture of the millennium.
When returned exiles heard the law read on this very date, they wept — and were told not to. The character of the day ruled out sorrow:
The feast of trumpets was to be "a holy convocation," and because of what it pictured, sorrow did not suit its character… So they were to be joyful on this day, in tune with the mind of their God. But no one can hold joy in. It must overflow, so they were to pass it on to others. "Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready… And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."
Commentators do not all name the same feast. Most take it as the trumpets of the seventh month. One reads it instead of the Passover month:
"Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon, on our feast day." That is how the Revised Version reads it. This is the Passover month. The verse refers to its new moon, and to the Passover feast kept at its full moon. Hope has revived, though God has not yet stepped in.
The psalm looks at Israel, but one writer includes today's reader in the gladness:
Though the Church today has reason for greater joy than Israel, we will also greatly rejoice in Israel's joy.
- Eclipse. The moon has no light of its own. Israel's brightness had faded, and the grace of her Lord would renew it.
- New moon. The sliver is a beginning after a long eclipse — the full moon shines in due time.
- Trumpet. It sounds not for alarm but for joy, ushering in Israel's rise and deliverance from her enemies.
- Set time. Eternal Wisdom fixed the date, so the purpose behind it cannot fail.
- Overflow. Sorrow had no place on the day itself. Joy shared with those who had nothing became strength, and one day the whole earth will echo Israel's joy.
For this is a statute for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob;
Verse 4 answers a question raised by the singing in the verses before it: why must Israel blow the trumpet and celebrate at that moment? The reason is not custom or national mood. God Himself fixed the day, and the date He chose carries a promise.
The feast was not invented by the worshippers. It was set in place at the start of the nation's history, in the law given after the escape from Egypt, and that timing matters.
God decided on this feast day at the new moon many centuries before. In fact He gave it to Israel as a statute very soon after He set her free from Egypt (Lev. 23:26-32). It was a prophecy of the great blessing she would one day receive. So God settled it, in absolute decision, long before Israel's many failures and rebellion. Those bad experiences could not stop Him from carrying out His purpose.
The phrase translated "the time appointed" is read as more than a date on a calendar. It points to a plan already fixed, and therefore to a celebration that will certainly arrive.
In the time that feast points to, Israel would be enjoying the presence of God. The brightness of His glory would be upon her. And all this at the "set time," which announced the foresight and the purposes of eternal Wisdom. Nothing could disappoint those purposes, because nothing could defeat them. So let them blow the trumpets, and let the whole earth, now coming into blessing, echo Israel's joy.
The trumpet blast belongs to the first day of the seventh month — the feast of trumpets in Leviticus 23. The date itself carries a picture of a nation whose light returns.
Someone has said that the new moon "was the symbol of the reappearance of Israel in the sun's light." The blowing of trumpets, on the first day of the seventh month, celebrated the first of the three set times in that month which spoke of Israel's blessing (Lev. 23:24, 27, 34). So the psalm looks on to the time when Israel will come into blessing again as a nation, openly in the favour of God.
Commentators differ on which feast is in view. Some take the trumpet blowing itself as the feast. Others read it as the opening of the month that ends in the feast of tabernacles — "the fullness of what was only beginning to appear at the new moon" (F. W. Grant).
The verse ties the rule to God under one name: the God of Jacob. That name, and not Abraham's, is the one the Psalms keep coming back to.
The failures, the self-will, the scheming, the lack of faith, the turning to the world — these are paths only too well known to some of us. That is why we rejoice that our God so often speaks of Himself as "The God of Jacob", and so rarely as "The God of Abraham"... In the Psalms we find "The God of Jacob" thirteen times, and "The God of Abraham" once. And let us remember that "Jacob" means "Cheater", "Deceiver", while "Abraham" means "The Father of Many Nations."
Another writer calls that name the signature of grace: "Jacob's God is the God of perfect grace — of a true mercy, which counts nothing on the worthiness of the one it blesses, and flows in its full stream of unqualified blessing over every obstacle" (Arthur Pridham).
If the day is a statute, then gladness on it is a duty, not a preference. When Israel wept at hearing the law read, their leaders told them to stop.
The feast of trumpets was to be "a holy convocation," and because of what it pictured, sorrow did not suit it... So they were to be joyful on this day, sharing the mind of their God. But joy cannot be held in. It must overflow, and so they were to pass it on to others.
One writer applies the same reasoning to Christians, and adds an order: worship first, joy after.
It was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob, to sing aloud to God their strength. Is it not just as much our statute, and our God's law to us, to "rejoice always"? But we must worship before the Lord first. We must be in the attitude of worshippers before we can rejoice before the Lord, and rejoice in His own blessings.
- Statute — God fixed the feast soon after the escape from Egypt, long before the failures that might have seemed to cancel it.
- Set time — the date God appointed announces a purpose nothing can defeat.
- New moon — the trumpet opens the month of Israel's returning light, when the nation shines with God's favour again.
- God of Jacob — the decree carries the name of the deceiver, the name that marks mercy given to the unworthy.
- Joy — because the day is a statute, gladness is owed, not optional; it starts in worship and overflows to others.
He ordained it in Joseph [for] a testimony, when he went forth over the land of Egypt, [where] I heard a language that I knew not.
Psalm 81 opens with music and trumpets. Then it looks back to Egypt, to Joseph, and to a strange language. Two questions follow. Why does the psalm name Joseph and not Judah? And who is the "I" who hears a language he does not know?
God did not make this decree in reaction to anything Israel did. He set it at the start, and the timing is the point.
God decided on the feast day at the new moon many centuries before. In fact He gave it to Israel as a statute very soon after He set her free from Egypt (Lev. 23:26-32). It was a prophecy of her great blessing to come, "a law of the God of Israel" (v. 4). So God settled this by His own absolute decision long before Israel's many failures and rebellions. Those bad experiences could not stop Him from carrying out His purpose (v. 5).
The feast fell at the new moon. Another writer reads that timing as a picture.
The new moon was the symbol of Israel reappearing in the sun's light. The people hailed it with joy, and faith connected it with redemption (see v. 5 of the psalm).
The psalm names Joseph, not Judah. Commentators read the name as standing for the ten tribes.
Psalm 81, while celebrating in figure the restoration of Israel, again returns to historical ground, and specially brings in Joseph, who represents the ten tribes (see Ezek. 37:16). Otherwise Judah, the Jews, might have claimed everything.
The same writer gives each name its own portion.
Here we have Joseph again in particular, taking in the people and the birthright, as Judah took the royalty. Verses 5-7 recall all these dealings.
Older translations read "for a testimony" where the ESV has "a decree." A testimony says something about the God who gave it. Here it speaks of grace, and it points forward as much as back.
The ordinance itself bears witness of the God of grace. He would keep what His goodness intends to do for them and in them right before the eyes of His people. The past deliverance out of Egypt belongs with it, as the foretaste and pledge of the deliverance to come. The foreign language they had heard there points to the many languages they have since had to learn, in the many lands where they have had to live. But in all of these they shall at last praise Him with joyful lips.
Commentators differ on who is speaking. L M Grant takes it of Israel. At that time they "heard a language they did not understand, just as they did not understand the vital significance of what God had counselled." Others take the "I" as God Himself.
Note the expression "I hear a language I had not known." … Is not the "I" the Lord placing Himself as coming down into Egypt? He came out of everything that was natural to Himself and His glory, and put Himself there in what was strange to Him, to deliver them. "I have seen, I have seen the affliction of my people, and I have come down to deliver them." He speaks as identifying Himself with His people, for Egypt's language was strange to God. The language of Canaan — His Canaan — was the one He knew and owned. It rests on the words "he went out over the land of Egypt"; on that He says "I heard," and so on.
Israel heard a strange language again in later years. Commentators tie that old rescue to what faith may expect now.
The certainty of the deliverance rests on this. When they heard a strange language, God had appointed it. They heard a strange language now, and He spoke to them in it; see Isaiah and Habakkuk. But there could be equal deliverance now. Past deliverances are always, with God, the warrant of present hopes, because He is the same God and always acts with the same mind. Our faith is to recall them, and then we go in this our strength — that God is with us.
- Decreed — God fixed the feast long before Israel's failures, so their record could not cancel His purpose.
- Testimony — the ordinance stands as a witness of grace, holding in view what God's goodness still means to do for His people.
- Joseph — the name reaches past Judah to the ten tribes. Judah held the royalty; Joseph held the people and the birthright.
- Strange speech — some read it of Israel, hearing words they could not follow. Others read it of God, coming down into what was foreign to His glory to rescue them.
- Warrant — the old rescue from Egypt pledges the rescue still to come, because God has not changed.