Psalm 81:1-7

A Call to Obedience

For the choir director: on the Gittith. Of Asaph.

1 Sing for joy to God our strength;^[a] shout in triumph to the God of Jacob.

2 Lift up a song-play the tambourine, the melodious lyre, and the harp.^[b]

3 Blow the horn during the new moon^[c] and during the full moon, on the day of our feast.^[d]

4 For this is a statute for Israel, a judgment of the God of Jacob.

5 He set it up as an ordinance for Joseph when He went throughout^[e] the land of Egypt.^[f] I heard an unfamiliar language:

6 "I relieved his shoulder from the burden; his hands were freed from [carrying] the basket.^[g]

7 You called out in distress, and I rescued you; I answered you from the thundercloud.^[h] I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah

Psalm 81:1-7 Meaning and Commentary

To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A [Psalm] of Asaph. Of "gittith," See Gill on "Ps 8:1." The Targum renders it, "upon the harp which came from Gath;" and so Jarchi says it was a musical instrument that came from Gath. The Septuagint, and the versions which follow that, render it, "for the winepresses." This psalm, according to Kimchi, is said concerning the going out of the children of Israel from Egypt; and was composed in order to be sung at their new moons and solemn feasts, which were typical of Gospel things in Gospel times; see Colossians 2:16 and so the Syriac version, "a psalm of Asaph, when David by him prepared himself for the solemnities."

Footnotes

• [a] Ex 15:2; Isa 12:2; 49:5
• [b] Ps 95:1-2; 98:4-6
• [c] Nm 29:6; Ezk 46:3
• [d] Either Passover or Tabernacles
• [e] LXX, Syr, Jer read out of
• [f] Ex 11:4; Lv 23:41-43
• [g] Ex 1:14
• [h] Ex 14:24; 20:18-20
• [i] Ex 17:1-7; Nm 20:2-13