Psalm – Psalm 81-83

Today we continue to read and appreciate the Psalms by Asaph.

Bible Passage: Psalms 81 to 83

According to some Bible commentaries on Psalm 81, it was written for use on special festive occasions, such as the new moon or the festival of trumpets. Such psalms were used either to give glory to God or to receive instructions from Him.

So this Psalm gives me the visual of the church today. We congregate in His house to sing praises to Him, we come to hear of His testimony, and we come together to admonish one another in the faith.

Sing aloud to God our strength;

Make a joyful shout to the God of Jacob.

Ps 81:1

There is a “traditional” phenomenon in Singapore church, and that is during hymn singings, there is no sense of excitement or joy in our voices, because many are singing with their mouths closed. Well there are many reasons to this; some say they don’t like to sing, some say they are tired after a day’s works, some say due to certain emotional problems that they could not bring themselves to sing aloud to God, etc.

I had such experiences too. There are many things that each of us has to face each day, but I strongly believe that if we are willing, we can put all these matters, worldly and bothering matters, aside when we enter into the house of God, for we must understand the function of the Church of God, a place where we can find refuge in our Heavenly Father. We must know for sure that our God is a God of love whom we can trust in all matters.

And those who know Your name will put their trust in You;

For You, LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.

Ps 9:10

So when we come into the house of God, no matter how tired we are, whatever difficulties or problems we may be facing in the world, we must throw them all aside to wholeheartedly praise God in hymns with the loudest voice we can offer to Him.

Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.

Heb 13:15

When I said “throw aside our worldly problems when we come to church”, I’m not suggesting that we hide or turn our eyes away from the realities of life, but with the attitude of praising God with joy and listening to His word is a sure way to gain strength and wisdom to face our daily challenges. Do not forget that we are not alone in facing difficulties in the world, our brethren are also facing challenges that we do not notice. So our fellowship among our brethren plays a rather important role in admonishing and boosting each other’s faith in God. In fact, in the Kingdom of God that He has established on earth, which is His Church, we are receiving a hope of reality that is eternal, the reality of peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14: 17).

Psalm 82 turns our attention to the matter concerning justice. No one can be as just as our God, for man in the flesh inclines to selfishness or ignorance when justice is required.

I said, “You are gods,

And all of you are children of the Most High.

Ps 82:6

God calls us “gods”, for God created us in His image and we are truly the children of God. But are we living up to this title? Are we able to be as just as Him? All of us have judged someone every now and then, are our judgments reasonable, not to mention just? Our Savior used these same words on the Jews when they wanted to stone Him because He claimed to be the Son of God (John 10: 35). These people did not exercise justice but were overwhelmed by their judgmental and condemning tendency. We really need to examine ourselves on this, do not judge but render to God His right to judge, for He is Just.

Psalms 83 is the last of the psalms connected with the name Asaph. It is a prayer against those who oppress the people of God. This prayer may seem harsh for us who are taught to love our neighbors as ourselves, but for me, I believe this psalm tells us of the fact that God loves and protects His children against those who are ever so hard hearted, unrepentant and evil doers.

They have said, “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation,

That the name of Israel may be remembered no more.”

Ps 83:4

This verse reminds me of a newspaper report about 10 years ago, where there was a photo of a group of Palestinian children, not more then 12 years old, marching and holding rifles in their arms. There was a caption below the picture that said, “We will wipe Israel out of the world map!” But so many years have past, we still see Israel prominently in our world map today. When the Israelites came out of Egypt and journeyed to Moab, Balak their king was afraid and hired Balaam to curse Israel. But God blessed Israel instead. And God proclaimed, “Blessed is he who blesses you (Israel), and cursed is he who curses you.” (Numbers 24: 9b).

How shall we not shout to the Lord with our praises? Indeed it is a great blessing that we have been called into His fold to be the spiritual Israelites, and to enjoy His protection and love. Praise the Lord!

The following music video song entitled “Shout to the Lord” is sang by children. Their voices are so pure and innocent and pleasant. If we can sing out loud with our hearts and mouth to God, even if we sing out of pitch, I believe God will still be pleased, just like how we would feel when we listen to these children sing.