Psalm 81:8

8 Ecoute, mon peuple! et je t'avertirai; Israël, puisses-tu m'écouter!

Psalm 81:8 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 81:8

Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee
Of himself, his being, and perfections; what he was unto them, had done for them, and would do for them, as in the following verses: or "testify in thee" ^F4, bear witness to their spirits, that they were his people, and he was their God; this is a witness which the people of God have in themselves; it is the inward testimony of the Spirit; besides which, there is the outward testimony of the word, and which also may be here meant; for it may be rendered,

I will give a testimony to thee:
the law is a testimony of the will of God to his people, what he would have done, or not done; and the Gospel is a testimony of his grace, and the whole word testifies of Christ, his person, offices, obedience, sufferings, and death: some render it, "testify against thee" ^F5, for their murmurings, rebellion, and idolatry, as in ( Psalms 50:7 ) and they are called upon to hear the voice of God in his word, and in his providences, being his people; and as such he addresses them, which bespeaks interest in them, affection to them, and an acknowledgment of them, and carries in it a reason why they should hear him:

O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me;
this explains who are meant by the Lord's people, Israel, the posterity of Jacob, a chosen and special people, who are exhorted not only to hear, but to hearken and to obey; suggesting, it would be well with them, if they did as in ( Psalms 81:13 Psalms 81:14 ) , and some ^F6 take these words to be a wish, as there; "Israel, O that thou wouldest hearken unto me": see ( Isaiah 48:18 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F4 (Kb hdyea) "testificabor in te", Gejerus.
F5 "Ut testificer contra te", Schmidt.
F6 So Michaelis, and Gussetius, and Genevenses, in ib. Comment. Ebr. p. 431.

Psalm 81:8 In-Context

6 J'ai déchargé son épaule du fardeau, Et ses mains ont lâché la corbeille.

7 Tu as crié dans la détresse, et je t'ai délivré; Je t'ai répondu dans la retraite du tonnerre; Je t'ai éprouvé près des eaux de Meriba. Pause.

8 Ecoute, mon peuple! et je t'avertirai; Israël, puisses-tu m'écouter!

9 Qu'il n'y ait au milieu de toi point de dieu étranger! Ne te prosterne pas devant des dieux étrangers!

10 Je suis l'Eternel, ton Dieu, qui t'ai fait monter du pays d'Egypte; Ouvre ta bouche, et je la remplirai.