Psalms 81:1

Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob. Psalms 81:1.-I. Invitation to keep joyfully the Passover feast (Psalms 81:1), for it is a testimony to the fact that God delivered Israel out of Egyptian bondage (Psalms 81:4). II. God urges Israel therefore to serve Him alone; but Israel would not hearken: therefore He gave her up to have her own lusts (Psalms 81:8); now He promises, if she will walk in His walk in His ways, He will subdue her foes, and nourish her with good (Psalms 81:13). The Church s...

1_Sing joyfully to God our strength. _This psalm, it is probable, was appointed to be sung on the festival days on which the Jews kept their solemn assemblies. In the exordium, there is set forth the order of worship which God had enjoined. They were not to stand deaf and dumb at the tabernacle; for the service of God does not consist in indolence, nor in cold and empty ceremonies; but they were, by such exercises as are here prescribed, to cherish among themselves the unity of faith; to make an open profession of their piety; to stir up themselves to continual progress therein; to endeavor to join, with one accord, in praising God; and, in short, to continue steadfast in the sacred covenant by which God had adopted them to himself. Such having been the use of festival days under the law, we may conclude, that whenever true believers assemble together at the present day, the end which th...

1-7 All the worship we can render to the Lord is beneath his excellences, and our obligations to him, especially in our redemption from sin and wrath. What God had done on Israel's behalf, was kept in remembrance by public solemnities. To make a deliverance appear more gracious, more glorious, it is good to observe all that makes the trouble we are delivered from appear more grievous. We ought never to forget the base and ruinous drudgery to which Satan, our oppressor, brought us. But when, in distress of conscience, we are led to cry for deliverance, the Lord answers our prayers, and sets us at liberty. Convictions of sin, and trials by affliction, prove his regard to his people. If the Jews, on their solemn feast-days, were thus to call to mind their redemption out of Egypt, much more ought we, on the Christian sabbath, to call to mind a more glorious redemption, wrought out for us by...

PSALM LXXXI _An exhortation to the people to praise God for his_ _benefits_, 1-7; _and to attend to what he had prescribed_, 8-10; _their disobedience lamented_, 11; _the miseries brought on themselves by their transgressions_, 12-16. NOTES ON PSALM LXXXI The _title_ is the same as to Psalms 8:1, which see. There are various opinions concerning the _occasion_ and _time_ of this Psalm: but it is pretty generally agreed that it was either written _for_ or used at the celebration of the Feas

SING ALOUD UNTO GOD OUR STRENGTH - The strength and support of the nation; he from whom the nation has derived all its power. The word rendered sing aloud means to rejoice; and then, to make or cause to rejoice. It would be appropriate to a high festal occasion, where music constituted an important part of the public service. And it would be a proper word to employ in reference to any of the great feasts of the Hebrews. MAKE A JOYFUL NOISE - A noise indicating joy, as distinguished from a noise of mourning or lamentation. UNTO THE GOD OF JACOB - Not here particularly the God of the patriarch himself, but of the people who bore his name - his descendants....

EXPOSITION PROFESSOR CHEYNE regards this psalm as composed of "two distinct lyrical passages," accidentally thrown together (compare his theory of Psalms 19:1, Psalms 24:1, Psalms 36:1, Psalms 55:1, Psalms 77:1, etc.); and certainly there is more reason for this than can be adduced for his other separations. It is difficult to trace any connection between the joyous opening strophe (Psalms 81:1) and the sad and chastened

SING ALOUD UNTO GOD OUR STRENGTH,.... The strength of Israel, who, by strength of hand, and a mighty arm, brought Israel out of Egypt, protected and upheld them in the wilderness, and brought them to, and settled and established them in the land of Canaan; and who is the strength of every true Israelite, from whom they have both their natural and spiritual strength; so that they can exercise grace, perform duty, bear afflictions, withstand temptations, fight with and conquer enemies, and hold on and out unto the end; and therefore have reason to sing the praises of God with great fervour, zeal, and affection: MAKE A JOYFUL NOISE UNTO THE GOD OF JACOB; or Israel, being the God that had made a covenant with them, had chosen them for his peculiar people, and had redeemed them out of the house of bondage, and bestowed peculiar favours upon them; and therefore were under obligation to show f...

We have here an exhortation to praise God; and this is always in season. Perhaps we need more stirring up to praise than to prayer, yet it ought to be as natural for us to praise God as it is for the birds to sing. Thus the Psalm begins, Psalms 81:1. _Sing aloud unto God our strength:_ Yes, the strength which the Lord gives you should be spent in praising him. «Sing aloud.» Throw your whole soul into it. If the Lord makes you strong, then give your strength back to him in sacred song: «Sing aloud unto God our strength.» Psalms 81:1. _Make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob._ Other gods, such as Moloch, and Ashtaroth, are worshipped with mournful cries and sorrowful lamentations, but the God of Jacob, the God that heareth prayer, the God of salvation, the Go

GITTITH See title note; (_ See Scofield) - (Psalms 8:1). _...

Psalms 81 Hope Revived: His Gracious Return to Israel _ 1. The blowing of the trumpet (Psalms 81:1)_ 2. His loving call to His people (Psalms 81:6) 3. Gracious results promised (Psalms 81:13) Hope has revived and singing is commanded. What interests us most is the call to blow the trumpet in the new moon. The blowing of the trumpet, in the feast of trumpets (Leviticus 23:1), marks the beginning of Israel's New Year. Dispensationally it stands for the regathering of Israel and is followed by the day of atonement, that f