1 {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;
{To the chief Musician. [A Psalm] of David, the servant of Jehovah, who spoke to Jehovah the words of this song in the day that Jehovah had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies and out of the hand of Saul. And he said,} I will love thee, O Jehovah, my strength. Jehovah is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my ùGod, my rock, in whom I will trust; my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower.
Exult, ye righteous, in Jehovah: praise is comely for the upright. Give thanks unto Jehovah with the harp; sing psalms unto him with the ten-stringed lute. Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud sound.
{To the chief Musician. Of the sons of Korah. On Alamoth. A song.} God is our refuge and strength, a help in distresses, very readily found. Therefore will we not fear though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the heart of the seas; Though the waters thereof roar [and] foam, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah. There is a river the streams whereof make glad the city of God, the sanctuary of the habitations of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her at the dawn of the morning. The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved; he uttered his voice, the earth melted. Jehovah of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our high fortress. Selah.
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Commentary on Psalms 81 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
PSALM 81
Ps 81:1-16. Gittith—(See on Ps 8:1, title). A festal Psalm, probably for the passover (compare Mt 26:30), in which, after an exhortation to praise God, He is introduced, reminding Israel of their obligations, chiding their neglect, and depicting the happy results of obedience.
1. our strength—(Ps 38:7).
2. unites the most joyful kinds of music, vocal and instrumental.
3. the new moon—or the month.
the time appointed—(Compare Pr 7:20).
5. a testimony—The feasts, especially the passover, attested God's relation to His people.
Joseph—for Israel (Ps 80:1).
went out through—or, "over," that is, Israel in the exodus.
I heard—change of person. The writer speaks for the nation.
language—literally, "lip" (Ps 14:1). An aggravation or element of their distress that their oppressors were foreigners (De 28:49).
6. God's language alludes to the burdensome slavery of the Israelites.
7. secret place—the cloud from which He troubled the Egyptians (Ex 14:24).
proved thee—(Ps 7:10; 17:3)—tested their faith by the miracle.
8. (Compare Ps 50:7). The reproof follows to Ps 81:12.
if thou wilt hearken—He then propounds the terms of His covenant: they should worship Him alone, who (Ps 81:10) had delivered them, and would still confer all needed blessings.
11, 12. They failed, and He gave them up to their own desires and hardness of heart (De 29:18; Pr 1:30; Ro 11:25).
13-16. Obedience would have secured all promised blessings and the subjection of foes. In this passage, "should have," "would have," &c., are better, "should" and "would" expressing God's intention at the time, that is, when they left Egypt.