Sing, Listen, and Be Satisfied
Growing up, there was a fairly limited list of shows I was allowed to watch. One of those shows was called “Superbook: Bible Stories.”
If you were to watch a few episodes of it, you’d notice that each one had essentially the same story arc: It opened in the normal life of a boy named Christopher, who at some point (along with his friends) would open a magic Bible and be suddenly transported into whatever Bible story they had opened to. Then, for most of that episode, they would be immersed in the world of that Bible story as they walked through the terrain, and interacted with the events and characters of that story. Then, unexpectedly they would be transported back to their normal world.
Now that’s a pretty common story arc: think the Narnia books, or another classic like the Magic Tree House series. It’s just a great story arc! In part because of the adventure of discovering and exploring a world previously unknown. But also, because these journeys into another world would always have a lasting impact on the kind of boy Christopher was becoming back in his “normal life.”
Similarly, this morning, we get to enter into the world of Psalm 81 which gives a vivid snapshot into times and places distant and foreign to us, and yet God in his wisdom intends for this Psalm to shape who we are becoming here and now. And so let’s ask for His help before we enter Psalm 81.
Father, we come here as your children. Rescued and adopted — and on a journey of ever-increasing satisfaction in you. And you will complete what you began in us. Would you meet us this morning, wherever we’re coming from? Whatever we’re bringing in with us — work in our hearts, by Your Spirit and through Your Word, we pray, in Jesus name, amen.
If you’re looking for a way to orient to Psalm 81, there are three main scenes that we’ll focus on:
A joyful song
A tragic story
A hope-filled invitation
Scene 1: A Joyful Song
If we were transported into the context of Psalm 81, we would likely be greeted with the sights and smells of feasting and festivals. In fact, it might be helpful to imagine something like an ancient version of the state fair. The time of the year would be around early October, and it was a month filled with essentially back to back feasts and festivals. According to God’s instruction in the book of Deuteronomy: At the beginning of that month (known by them as the new moon) they were to celebrate the Feast of Trumpets. This lasted 10 days leading into The Day of Atonement, which was the day at the center of the book of Leviticus — On the day of atonement, Israel would remember God’s mercy in atoning for or covering the sins of his people.
Then, about a week later, they would begin the Feast of Tabernacles — also known as the feast of booths or what we might call tents. This took place in the middle of the month (or their “full moon”) and that feast lasted about a week. Its focus was on remembering God's faithfulness and provision to the Exodus generation in the wilderness (hence the tents).
And Psalm 81 was a song, especially for this season. We see that in verse 3 with the mention of the trumpet, the new moon, the full moon, and the feast day.
So imagine this: we’re making our way through this ancient festival … We’re seeing crowds of people mingling, the smells of good food, the sounds of children playing and laughing … Until it’s all drowned out by the blast of a trumpet — think of the same kinds of trumpets as Joshua used in Jericho, but in this case, the trumpets called God’s people to gather to worship. And as they gather, the instruments play, and God’s people begin gladly singing together.
And the song itself begins with a call to worship. The psalmist is singing, and instructing them how to sing at the same time. It’s kind of like the old song,
“Come now is the time to worship.”
God instructs his people in what their worship should look like. And central to that instruction is joy.
“Sing aloud to God our strength, shout for joy to the God of Jacob! Raise a song: sound the tambourine, the sweet lyre with the harp” (Ps. 81:1-2).
This corporate singing was meant to be a time of shared gladness and expressions of joy. Joy in God and in their common identity as God’s people. This was an essential rhythm of their covenant renewal, a regular reminder of the happy reality of their identity as God’s people and of their commitment to Him as their God.
We know that joy isn’t the only tone we see in the psalms. The Lord, in his wisdom, has given his people a wide range of psalms. There are songs of grief and lament, songs of repentance, of reverence and awe — all of which help us faithfully navigate the full range of our human experience, but the common thread, and most dominant tone of God’s singing people is joy. And we see that tone here.
God is the author of joy. He has created our capacity for it. And He created music and singing both for expressing that joy, and for deepening and cultivating it. God spread His joy throughout the world through a joyfully-singing people.
In light of that, it is right and helpful to ask ourselves: Does my singing reflect the reality that God is my greatest joy? Is my heart impacted by the astonishing truths that my mouth is singing? And to whatever extent that isn’t the case, it’s important to ask, what is holding me back from God’s call to joy-filled worship?
Whether it’s a lack of joy … or distractions, or fears and insecurities … whatever the hindrance, singing is an opportunity to search our hearts, surrender our affections to God, and to trust Him to shape our joy.
Spurgeon commenting on these verses says,
“It is to be regretted that the niceties of modern singing frighten our congregations from joining lustily in the hymns. For our part we delight in full bursts of praise, and had rather discover the ruggedness of a want of musical training than miss the heartiness of universal congregational song.”
In other words, our singing doesn’t need to be polished, but it should be full of joy.
God commands not just our actions here, but also our affections. We are not helpless bystanders in our pursuit of joy. God’s gift of singing is not only for the downstream expression of our joy, but also upstream as a habit that grows and deepens our joy in Him. Our singing cultivates our joy in God.
One example that’s helped me see this in a new light was my grandmother. My grandma passed away the week before my daughter, Elsie, was born. She had a deep love for Jesus, and she loved to sing. In her final years, she had a long decline both physically and cognitively. Eventually, her dementia had progressed beyond recognizing her children and grandchildren, and she spent most of her time bedridden. And yet, long after her mind could explain to you the deep joy that she had found in Jesus, she would often sit in her bed, holding a hymnal she could no longer read, and with a peaceful gladness, she would sing the hymns that had been engrained in her over a lifetime of praise with God’s people. Even then, her song continued to testify to her all-satisfying God, and I am convinced, that it continued to deepen her joy in Jesus.
That image has helped shape what “finishing well” looks like to me, and it especially comes to mind when I sing “Jesus Loves Me” with Elsie at bedtime. It also gives a glimpse of the deep significance of our singing together week after week.
And so God calls his people to sing for joy. And as they do, God speaks to them in the song as it transitions to an oracle, or a word from the Lord. And as God speaks he begins to recount the tragedy of Israel’s disobedience. And this leads us into our second scene.
Scene 2: A Tragic Story
So imagine: now we’re transported from the festival into the wilderness to join the Exodus generation.
Verses 6-7a,
“I relieved your shoulder of the burden;
your hands were freed from the basket.
In distress you called, and I delivered you…”
God first recalls his past redemptive work in rescuing Israel from slavery. Notice how vivid these descriptions are. Commentator Derek Kidner says,
“Instead of abstractions such as oppression and redemption, we read of shoulder and hands, burden and basket.”
For 400 years Israel’s day-to-day reality was back-breaking, soul-crushing slavery in Egypt. They had bruised shoulders, blistered hands, and heavy baskets. But then God stepped in to that reality. The Exodus was one of the most epic “But God” moments of the Old Testament: God heard the cries of his people, and he came to their rescue. God showed both his great strength and his commitment to Israel. God rescued his people.
Then God continues to show not only what he rescued them from, but what he continued to do for them afterward — God did not drop them off in the wilderness and say “figure it out.” He did not leave them to fend for themselves. He took them under his wing, his care, his provision, and, his instruction.
God’s instruction is especially highlighted here: God himself instructed his people and his commands were a means of grace to them. This took place, most notably, at Mt. Sinai (which God refers to in verse 7 as “the secret place of thunder”). Mt. Sinai was where God gave his law to his people. And verses 9-10 also allude to that event. Verse 9,
“There shall be no strange god among you;
you shall not bow down to a foreign god.”
This echoes the 1st and 2nd commandments in Exodus 20:3-5.
Psalms 81:10,
“I am the Lord your God,
who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”
This echoes God’s preface to the 10 commandments in Exodus 20:2.
God makes himself clear to Israel through his commands. In them, Israel is meant to see who God is and what he expects from them. He is their God and so His word is their Law. He holds out his commands and says “Listen to me!”
God’s command to listen is the most repeated exhortation in this psalm. God is not just looking for mouths that sing to him, but also for ears that hear Him and obey. Verse 8,
“Hear, O my people, while I admonish you!
O Israel, if you would but listen to me!
Verse 11,
“But my people did not listen to my voice;
Israel would not submit to me.”
Verse 13,
“Oh, that my people would listen to me,
that Israel would walk in my ways!”
God calls Israel to listen and obey. But instead his people respond with stubborn and obstinate hearts. And we see that clearly displayed with God’s mention of Meribah in verse 7.
The name “Meribah” means “quarreling” or “strife” — and it was a place in the wilderness that Israel passed through in Exodus 17, near the beginning of their journey through the wilderness, and then again in Deuteronomy 20, near the end of their journey. And both instances were complete disasters.
Imagine, God had just miraculously delivered them out of Egypt, with great displays of power in his plagues on Egypt, and in parting the sea, and then swallowing their enemies in that sea. God then leads them through the wilderness in a pillar of smoke by day and a pillar of fire by night. He has already made bitter water sweet for them to drink, and given them manna from the sky for them to eat. And their response, in Exodus 17, when they get to Meribah and can’t find water is to say: “is the Lord among us or not?” And then to turn to Moses (ready to stone him) and ask “did you bring us out of Egypt to kill us with thirst?” But God, in his patience and mercy, still gives them water from the rock.
That was the first encounter with Meribah. Then we fast forward to Numbers 20, near the end of their time in the wilderness. At this point, not only had they received God’s law at Sinai — his teaching, his instruction — but also decades of God patiently leading and training his people. Think 40 years of God’s discipleship for his people, and they come up on Meribah again as if God saying “here’s your chance, show me that you’ve been listening.” And instead, they turn again to Moses and through gritted teeth say: “why have you brought us into this wilderness to die?”
And this time, even Moses fails to listen, ignoring God’s clear instruction to speak to the rock. Instead, he hits the rock twice and as a result he too doesn’t make it to the promised land. The whole scenario at Meribah is like the bookends of a 40 year train-wreck of God speaking, and Israel ignoring every word.
Despite God having proven himself over and over they refused to listen to him and walk in his ways. They did not see God’s instruction as the blessing that it was — and threw it off as an unwelcome constraint. They wanted God’s benefits, but they did not want his rule. They wanted the water from the rock, but rejected the source. And it brings us to God’s judgement in verse 12,
“So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels.”
There is a scary, Romans 1, kind of giving them over here. God gives them over to the stubbornness and depravity of their own hearts as if God finally says, “okay, have it your way.” Not just freedom from Egypt, but “freedom” from God’s rule … Unhindered in pursuing their own desires, and following their hearts, but it did not result in any satisfaction, but rather, a downward spiral into ruin.
And that should sound familiar to us because it’s the lie that Satan tries to sell us all the time. Follow your heart, and your desires. Don’t let God’s commands hinder your pursuit of satisfaction. In other words, God has no authority over you: You be God. It is self-idolatry, advertised as progress and human flourishing.
It is the very opposite and perversion of “I am the Lord your God, you shall have no other Gods before me.” God makes it clear that a life of disobedience will result in judgement and it’s reiterated in verse 15,
“Those who hate the Lord would cringe toward him, and their fate would last forever.”
But even in the middle of His judgement … Don’t miss God’s lament for Israel here. There is a sad tone of missed opportunity. Verse 13,
“Oh, that my people would listen to me,
that Israel would walk in my ways!”
God’s heart is to bless his people. And he longs for his wandering people to return to Him.
Now, you might be wondering: wasn’t this supposed to be a joyful song? Why does it have such a tragic ending? It feels like the beginning and the end don't belong in the same song. “Sing Aloud,” “Shout for joy,” and “Sound the tambourine” doesn’t seem to fit with “I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own counsels.” At least, until we zoom out and recognize that this was a song sung by a future generation. And once we are transported back to that festival context the tone of this Psalm shifts from a tragic story to our final scene…
Scene 3: A Hope-filled Invitation
As they sang this Psalm together, they heard not only God’s cautionary tale but also his invitation. The tragic story of their fathers did not have to be their story. Instead of following in their fathers’ steps of stubborn hearts and disobedience, God was inviting them to trust in Him to satisfy them. Verse 10,
“Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.”
It’s a beautiful image of our hunger met by His provision, of our longings and His satisfaction. Just like the infant is satisfied by his mothers milk, we were made to be satisfied by God. It’s not ultimately the water from the rock that we long for, but the rock Himself. It’s not just the blessings that we want to be satisfied, but the source. And so behind the mouth that sings and the ear that listens is a heart that loves God above all else, turning to him to be satisfied. And God is both ready and eager to satisfy those who come to Him.
And we’ve already seen in this psalm, two means by which he satisfies his people: Through his word as we listen to it and obey, and through our joy-filled singing. But I would like to briefly mention one more. And that is just to ask Him.
Make it a regular part of your day to ask God to give you more of himself. That by His Spirit and through his word, you would grow in an ever deepening satisfaction in Him. That he would guard your heart from competing loves and disordered desires. And likewise, pray bold and specific prayers that take God at his word, and that deepen our heart’s dependence on Him for satisfaction. God delights in answering those prayers.
Verse 16,
“But he would feed you with the finest of the wheat,
and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”
The psalm closes with more imagery of feasting as God invites his people to come and be satisfied by Him. And that brings us to this table.
The Table
The Old Covenant feasts were a shadow pointing forward to a greater reality. God’s Old Covenant rescue of Israel from Egypt was a shadow pointing forward to a greater rescue: God becoming a man to rescue his people from sin and judgment. Jesus, dwelt among us, took on our sins, and died in our place to rescue us from the judgment we deserved. And now the risen Jesus invites us to come to Him and be satisfied. Jesus says,
“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”
Let’s pray.
And so Father, as your children, rescued and redeemed, we come eager for more of you this morning. Help us be a joyfully singing people. Help us be a submissive people that listen to and obey your word. Work in our hearts, by your Spirit and through your word, to grow us in ever-deepening satisfaction in you. We pray these things in Jesus name, Amen.
