What psalm would you describe as the central psalm in the Book of Psalms? Perhaps you would pick your favorite psalm; perhaps, there is a psalm that seems to sum up the message of the Book of Psalms to you; perhaps you’ve never really thought about this question before. Spend some time reading and meditating on Psalm 81, and consider what Dr. Robert Godfrey says: “In a sense, [Psalm 81] is the central psalm in the book of Psalms. Of course, it does not stand at the numerical center of 150 Psalms. But it is the central psalm in the central book of the Psalter. And at the center of Psalm 81 are these words: ‘O Israel, if you would but listen to me!’ (v. 8b).”¹

     

Context of Confusion and Grief

Psalm 81 requires attention to its context in order to understand it fully. You could just read Psalm 81, but Psalm 80 sheds significant light on what is happening in Psalm 81. Psalm 80 is a lament of the people of Israel, asking, “O Lord God of hosts, how long will You be angry against the prayer of Your people?” (v. 4, New King James Version). Psalm 80 then recounts the wonderful works that God has done in the lives of the Israelites. He brought them out of Egypt and planted them in the promised land (vv. 8–11). However, after this amazing act of deliverance and care, the Israelites are confused as to why God is no longer blessing them; they are broken and burned with fire. Their final cry is, “Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; cause Your face to shine, and we shall be saved!” (v. 19).

God’s Reply

Psalm 81 is God’s reply to Israel’s lament and problems in Psalm 80. In the first five verses, we are given the setting for this psalm: it is to be sung at a solemn feast day. Then, starting in verse 6, God begins speaking, answering with a brief history of what he has done for his people in bringing them out of Egypt, answering them “in the secret place of thunder” and testing them at the waters of Meribah. Then we get to the central verses of Psalm 81: “Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you! O Israel, if you will listen to Me! There shall be no foreign god among you; nor shall you worship any foreign god” (vv. 8–9). God goes on to tell the Israelites who he is, what he has done, and what he is going to do: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt; open your mouth wide, and I will fill it” (v. 10).

Meribah: What Happened with the Rock

One of the interesting events that God recalls in Psalm 81 concerns the waters of Meribah. In fact, he specifically says in verse 7 that he tested them at the waters of Meribah. The incident at Meribah is mentioned a surprising number of times in the Bible. The history is recorded for us in Numbers 20, when the children of Israel were in the wilderness and could not find any water. The people contended with Moses and asked why he had brought them into the wilderness to die; it would have been better for them to have stayed in Egypt, they think. Then God spoke to Moses, telling him to take the rod and speak to the rock in the presence of the Israelites, and the rock would yield water for them. So, Moses took the rod, but instead of speaking to the rock, he struck the rock twice. Water came out of the rock in abundance, and the people and animals were able to drink. However, God was angry and said to Moses, “Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them” (Num. 20:12).

What is going on here? It appears that Moses’ failure was one of minute detail. He was supposed to speak to the rock and instead he struck the rock. As punishment he was not allowed to enter the promised land! Doesn’t that seem overly harsh? In subsequent retellings of the story (there at least fifteen references or allusions in the rest of the Bible to the event), two themes are emphasized: God’s amazing power in bringing water out of the rock, and Moses’ failure to regard God as holy. The waters of Meribah were a test to see if Moses and the Israelites would trust God to be their God and to provide for them, or if they would reject him and rely on their own imaginations for deliverance. The test was much more than a test of Moses’ ability to pay attention to detail. The rock had become a sacred symbol that was to be used to demonstrate God’s power and ability to help his people. As my previous pastor said, “God, naturally, is actually the one putting the people to the test, one the general populace keeps failing. It is a simple test of faith, whereby the whole meaning of their deliverance out of the living death that was Egypt . . . should be the basis for the present and future confidence in God’s promises. And they wouldn’t do it.”² Here was a chance for Moses and the people of Israel to proclaim that God was truly their God, and they failed miserably. In Psalm 81, God reminds the people of the waters of Meribah and concludes: “Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you! O Israel, if you will listen to Me! There shall be no foreign god among you; nor shall you worship any foreign god” (vv. 8–9). At its root, every disobedience begins with the sin of idolatry.

Open Your Mouth Wide

What image comes to mind when you read the words, “Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it” (v. 10b)? Try thinking of a newborn baby. Within the first few hours of life, a newborn baby must learn to drink his mother’s milk. As soon as he is aware of the presence of the life-giving milk, he does one thing: opens his mouth wide. What would it look like for you to open your mouth wide to the life-giving presence of God? When you are fatigued and tired, open your mouth wide for strength to accomplish the tasks God has given you. When you are frustrated in the search for something you’ve lost (be it your keys, a school book, or a pet hamster), open your mouth wide for help to find it. When you are lonely and discouraged, open your mouth wide for God’s friendship and presence. When you are beaten down by the sin in your own life and the lives around you, open your mouth wide for forgiveness and healing. When you are crushed by the disappointments of life, open your mouth wide for the love of the One who never disappoints. On any given day, are you drinking deeply from the water he provides, or are you seeking to get water in your own way? Throughout Scripture, the image of water is used to show us how we tend to seek other gods instead of God: “For My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water” (Jer. 2:13). How often have you allowed other things to substitute themselves for the living God? John Calvin says in his commentary on Psalm 81, “He [the psalmist] not only bids them open their mouth, but he magnifies the abundance of his grace still more highly, by intimating, that however enlarged our desires may be, there will be nothing wanting which is necessary to afford us full satisfaction.”³

If Only

God continues his accusation against his people: “But My people would not heed My voice, and Israel would have none of Me. So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, to walk in their own counsels” (vv. 11–12). What a dreadful punishment, to be given over to our own stubborn hearts! Yet deep down, isn’t this what we want at times? We want to do what we want. We want to experience the blessed life (with blessings of our own description). We do not want a certain trial, or a certain situation, or a certain person, to get in our way of what we think is true happiness. In reality, all that we have to do is listen to God: “Oh, that My people would listen to Me, that Israel would walk in My ways!” (v. 13). God then talks about all the things that he would have done for his people, all of the blessings that would have been theirs, if they had only listened: he would subdue their enemies and turn his hand against their adversaries.

In Psalm 80, the Israelites complained that God has fed them with the bread of tears and the water of tears. In contrast, God tells them in Psalm 81 that he would have fed them with the finest wheat and with not just water from the rock, but honey! If only they had listened. If only they had passed that test at Meribah. If only they had not worshiped foreign gods. If only.

Do you ever feel the weight of the “if onlys” in your life? “If only I had walked by faith during that season of life.” “If only I could read my Bible more regularly.” “If only I could truly believe that God is sending this trial into my life for his glory and my good.” “If only I could truly listen to God and make him my only God.” Be encouraged, for you are not alone in this fight. Jesus is the only one who truly and perfectly listens to God and obeys his voice. Jesus was not willing to substitute the cheap bread of Satan for the living and powerful Word of God (see Matt. 4:3–4). Where Israel disobeyed and tested the Lord at Meribah, Jesus obeyed and said, “You shall not tempt the Lord your God” (Matt. 4:7).

Jesus was the Rock in the wilderness (see 1 Cor. 10:4). He is the amazing, powerful God who is able to satisfy you with the honey of himself. He will hear your prayers, and he will always, always be enough. Open your mouth wide.

1. W. Robert Godfrey, Learning to Love the Psalms (Sanford, FL: Reformation Trust Publishing, 2017), 143. 2. Bruce Buchanan, sermon on Exodus 17, preached May 2010. 3. John Calvin, Heart Aflame (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 1999), 190.

Vanessa Le is a wife and mom to four children age six and under. She enjoys reading, playing the piano, studying theology, and generally being Mommy. She is a member of Orlando Reformed Presbyterian Church in Orlando, FL.