OPEN WIDE!
Psalm 81: 1-16
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A PRESBYTERIAN PSALTER - by Pastor Max A Forsythe |
Sometimes it is difficult for us living under the New Covenant of grace to comprehend the life under the Old Covenant of law. That is because as John reports in (John 7:30) "the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified." Just because we live after Christ, we are have Him within our hearts if we do indeed belong to Him! Certainly, the Old Covenant Church knew the Lord's near presence, but in a slightly different way. Regularly, the Old Covenant speaks of "The Presence" and it was that presence Who gave a special meaning to the Temple ritual and worship. But still, even as today's church misunderstands how the Lord would be present in us and though us revealing Himself to the world at large, so too did the Old Covenant crowd misunderstand their role in appropriating God's word to guide their lives day by day. Nowhere is this difference seen so greatly than in the purpose and procedures of worship. In today's psalm there is a lesson to be learned by comparing the uniqueness of worship in God's Holy Temple to our New Covenant worship of Him in spirit and in truth.
We begin with verses one and two. As you look at those verses there is a sense of joy that seems to escape us today. On the surface we could be comfortable with what we read. However, the real sense of verse two implies a certain gusto, even a sense of rowdiness. The emphasis is upon a holy noise before the Lord rather than reflective music to help us focus our hearts and thoughts upon the Lord. To capture the sense here, we would have to translate the first few words in a way that would be understandable to our generation. And those words would have to be: "Let's Party!"
Now, if that strikes you against the grain of what you are accustomed to, you can begin to appreciate that there is indeed more than just several thousand years between us and this Hebrew psalmist and his experience. Look now at verse three, here we see that this particular Psalm has a certain context with a particular feast time of the year. Just as our secular calendar sets aside certain days, so too did the Jewish Calendar. It would appear that this Psalm was either used for Passover or possibly Tabernacles.
Verse four and the first part of verse five emphasizes that the feast in question is ordained for their celebration by God Himself. Now, this does not mean that the music and attitude are decreed, but the season of celebration only. In the last portion of verse five there is a dramatic shift in the mood of the Psalm. And here there are two differences between our time and there's that we need to appreciate.
First, we have a different sense of time. To the ancients, there was today, yesterday and everything that went before! Certainly, the Hebrews with their biblical history were not as prone to mythical time as others, but still there was a certain sense that the celebration of the feast was almost simultaneous with the original historic occasion! After all, times and years before yesterday blended together much more then than now. In our day, we can fully appreciate the full flow of centuries and millennia. We would not think that we were there in the past during the present. We are more likely to sense ourselves in the future coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and the wedding supper of the Lamb in eternity.
Second, we have a different sense of focus. In our worship we can readily make a distinction between beholding God and celebrating our worship of Him. What I mean is this. In the tabernacle and temple era, especially when the Ark of the Covenant was visible, the Hebrews would be more prone to say "He is here". And the Shekinah presence would be real to those who worshipped Him sincerely. In our worship, if we gain a sense of presence, we would be more prone to say that "we felt" the Lord's presence, if we would say anything at all.
Now, in our first difference, it is perhaps well that we have lost the pagan sense of "myth". But in the second difference, perhaps we need to regain the ancient sense that: Yes, He is present, He is here in our hearts and in His word. In the second part of verse five the fact is stressed that God, not Israel, went against the Egyptians. His is the proper focus, not theirs! For us, it is vitally important that we behold Him, whom we worship more than we focus on our own worship of Him. Now, how do we do that? Look at the third part of verse five. The flow and order of this festival psalm is upset with this phrase! "I heard a language I did not understand." And what is that language?
My dear friends, that strange language is the very voice of God Himself! The festival atmosphere is broken. The rowdiness of celebration is suspended. The glad noises are hushed indeed. Even the Psalmist is silent and in the rest of this Psalm it is God Himself who speaks. Will you listen, will you hear? If you do, then you will know that Yes, God Himself is with us. Let us here what God has to say.
In verses six and seven God shares the facts upon which the festival is based. In verse six he declares that the feast is based upon their emancipation from Egyptian bondage. He reminds the people of Israel that they no longer carry burdens on their shoulders and that the baskets that they used to carry dirt are no longer required. In verse seven He makes it certain that the miracles of the wilderness from beginning to end were all under divine care. The Sinai thundercloud became observable early on and the testing at the waters occurred towards the end of the forty years. Both of these were tokens of God's continual watchful love. There at the end of the verse is the word Selah. Here the implication is that Israel should meditate upon those facts.
In the following verses God explains the meaning of the wilderness experience. In verses eight to ten He calls upon His people to listen to Him and to learn from Him. What do we tell our little children when we want to give them some medicine to cure their ills? "Open wide!" And in many cases, our little ones are less than enthusiastic to accept what is in their best interests. And how much more so are we as adults to take the same attitude with God's Holy Word? When it comes to worship, if we would hear Him, then we must listen to our Father. "Open wide your mouth"!
Then in verses eleven and twelve we see that even then as well as now, not everyone will listen. We are still somewhat juvenile in our acceptance of God's word. Just like an ornery little child who closes their mouth when offered medicine with the attitude, you just try to make me take that! Who will listen to God, if His own people do not listen? It is a terrible tragedy for God's own people to remain stubborn. In verse thirteen God speaks to the joyous festival crowd of worshipers focusing upon their celebration. There He says, "If my people would but listen to me." Do you want to know God, do you want to know His Son? Do you want to be able to leave here today and be able to say that "Yes, God was indeed present"? "Open wide!" and "Listen!" To do this properly, we must read and study God's word faithfully and our worship must be full of His word.
Some years ago, one of my sons visited another congregation. It was a party church, and intermingled amidst the disorderly song fest and entertainment, there was hardly a word of scripture read. When time came for the sermon, the pastor spoke of John Lennon and shared his brief insights about life in our time! It is His word that we must read, study and understand if we are to hear His voice and do His will. Yes, we have His Spirit, but we must still hear His word so that the Spirit may apply that word in us. Just as the world wonders at the energizer bunny who carries his power pack with him through many and different adventures, so may we carry the Spirit day by day. Yet, just like those batteries that need a charge, so do we need the charge and counsel of God's word. Look at verse fourteen through sixteen. In fourteen God promises to reward and bless those who listen and obey! But in verse fifteen, there is something else for those who refuse to hear.
In our last verse of this psalm there is a promise for those who would hear Him. It is the finest food describable. It is the promise of the marriage supper of the Lamb when we finally reach heaven. And this is in keeping with God's promises for those that hear His voice. And please note, there is a division indicated here in these verses. It is a common tragedy, that many people of Israel as well as many people today, will not listen, will not open their mouths and hearts, and indeed will not hear the voice of God. How often do you open your Bible? How often do you read devotions, theology and comments on what the word means? It is my fervent prayer, that you all here today will hear Him speak to you through His Word. Will you study it? May the Spirit lay it on your heart to begin your studies. Amen.
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Resources Used: |
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Lewis, Clive Stapleton. |
Reflections On The Psalms. | |
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MacLaren, Alexander. |
The Psalms. | |
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Foundation for Reformation. New Geneva Study Bible . (1995) Thomas Nelson, Inc. New King James Version. (1982) | ||
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Psm 081a |
08 May 88 & 18 May 97 | |