Tap any verse number for what that verse means.
1Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.
2Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery.
3Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day.
4For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob.
5This he ordained in Joseph for a testimony, when he went out through the land of Egypt: where I heard a language that I understood not.
6I removed his shoulder from the burden: his hands were delivered from the pots.
7Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee; I answered thee in the secret place of thunder: I proved thee at the waters of Meribah. Selah.
8Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me;
9There shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god.
10I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.
11But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me.
12So I gave them up unto their own hearts’ lust: and they walked in their own counsels.
13Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!
14I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.
15The haters of the LORD should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured for ever.
16He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.
Understand This
Psalm 81, explained
What Psalm 81 is saying
A festival psalm combining joyful worship summons with prophetic divine speech, Psalm 81 opens with exuberant musical celebration before transitioning to God's first-person address to Israel. The divine oracle recounts the exodus deliverance and God's provision at Meribah, then pivots to a poignant lament: 'But My people would not listen to Me.' God expresses what might be called divine grief—'Oh, that My people would listen to Me'—revealing yearning behind the sovereign voice.
The background behind it
The references to new moon, full moon, and festival trumpet suggest association with the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) or possibly Rosh Hashanah. The psalm's prophetic oracle format indicates delivery by a cultic prophet or worship leader mediating God's voice.
Themes running underneath
The psalm's most remarkable feature is the revelation of divine desire—God does not merely command obedience but yearns for it. The conditional blessings of verses 13–16 show that Israel's deprivation results from their own refusal, not God's unwillingness. The image of honey from the rock recalls wilderness provision while promising even greater abundance.
Why it still matters
Psalm 81 challenges the assumption that divine sovereignty precludes genuine divine longing. It presents obedience not as grudging duty but as the pathway to blessings God is eager to give, reframing spiritual discipline as response to divine desire.
Scripture text: King James Version — public domain.