Psalm 81. Smoother English rendering: Psalm 81 inscription

Transcription

1 Psalm 81 Psalm 81:1 16 Outlin of Chaptr 81 Inscription Vv. 1 5 Th clbration of th Isralit is a tstimony to God Vv God spaks His provision for His popl is wll-documntd Vv God would pour out additional grac if His popl would only listn to Him Charts and Maps v. 3 Th Tim of th Month that Fasts Bgin Introduction: Psalm 81 is again writtn by Asaph, th pot-historian of his day. Whras th thrust of Psalm 78 was th xaltation of th trib of Judah ovr Ephraim, this psalm dals with th faithfulnss of God and th rjction of God by Isral. Th cntral thms ar similar in ths two psalms, although Asaph is not making th sam point as h mad bfor. This is a psalm for a fast day, although it is not clar which on. Thim said this rfrs to th Fast of Trumpts (Lv. 23:24) and NIV suggsts ithr th Passovr/Unlavnd Brad Fstival or th Jwish Nw Yar or th Fast of Tabrnacls. Howvr, th nw moon suggsts that this bgins at th bginning of a month and th full moon suggsts that this psalm applis to th middl of a month (v. 3). Th Jwish Nw Yar is not rally an Old Tstamnt fast; howvr, th Passovr/Unlavnd Brad and th Fast of th Tabrnacls both occur at th middl of th month; whras th Fast of Trumpts occurs at th first of a month. Also, vn though fstival is in th singular, this dos not man that this psalm only applis to on fstival. Th naming of th nw moon and th full moon both indicats that w ar spaking of two diffrnt tims of any givn month. Although th NIV Study Bibl is uncrtain as to whthr this psalm was writtn bfor or aftr th xil, it bars th nam of Asaph, indicating that this was writtn during th tim of David or Solomon. W ar studying it hr bcaus of its svral rfrncs to historical vnts which took plac at th xodus and during th wandrings of th Isralits. <<Rturn to Chaptr Outlin>> <<Rturn to th Chart Indx>> Litrally: To th choir dirctor, on [or, prhaps, concrning] th Gittith; to Asaph Psalm 81 inscription Smoothr English rndring: To th choir dirctor, concrning th Gittith; pnnd by Asaph This psalm is writtn again by Asaph and w hav alrady xamind th prposition procding his nam and w hav xamind Asaph back in Psalm 78. This psalm is writtn to th Pil participl of nâtsach (ç öç ðè ) [pronouncd naw-tzahkh], a word which mans pr-minnt, nduring. It rfrs to a prson in a suprvisory position (I Chron. 23:4 II Chron. 2:2, 18 34:13). Oftn, this position is rlatd to music (I Chron. 15:21 Psalm 4:intro 5:intro 6:intro tc.). This is why w hav such varid rndrings as ovrsr (Young), choir dirctor (NASB), choirmastr

2 Psalm 81 2 (Owns) and chif musician (Rothrham). Strong s #5329 BDB #663. Thn w hav th prposition <al (ì òç ) [pronouncd al ] and it mans, upon, against, abov. Strong's #5920, 5921 BDB #752. Now, th nxt substantiv is rathr obscur, occurring only in Psalms 8:intro 81:intro and 84:intro.* This word is most similar to th propr noun Gittit, which lavs us with vry littl to go on. Strong s #1665 BDB #388. Th NIV suggsts that this is a psalm of a winprss; or, in th altrnativ, a rfrnc to th Philistin town of Gath (s II Sam. 15:18). Th only Hbrw word that this is similar to is th on for winprss. Barns suggsts that this is a musical instrumnt common to th Gittits. This psalm srvs as a rmindr and a tstimony of God s faithfulnss and of Isral s continud disobdinc to His Word, a vry rasonabl thm for a fast day. Th Isralits ar to prais God and to clbrat His faithfulnss to thm (vv. 1 5) bcaus H has shown Himslf to b a protctor and a providr for thm (vv. 6 10). Howvr, Isral would not listn to God (vv ); although God could and would asily subdu hr nmis (v ); and H would pour blssings upon thm (th finst of what and hony from a rock, if ncssary; v. 16). Th last lin rads to [or, for] Asaph. Evry psalm is writtn that way. Th author s nam is prcdd by th lâmd prposition. W would xpct, as English-spaking popl, for this to hav psalm in th construct followd by th author s nam (that would b a psalm of Asaph). Howvr, I am not awar of any psalms which ar writtn that way. Thrfor, w would hav to assum that this indicats th human author s nam. W can conclud this for sval rasons: (1) It sms only natural to indicat th author of th song at th bginning, as has bn th custom of most composrs. (2) Just as Paul or Ptr idntify thmslvs at th bginning of an pistl, it sms only right for th human author of a psalm to idntify himslf. (3) Lâmd also mans in rgards to, which would b a rasonabl way of translating this. (4) Oftn, a composr will claim that th song was just thr and h happnd to writ it down. Ths psalms ar all divinly inspird. God brathd thm into th human authors, although th languag, vocabulary and litrary styl all blong to th human writr. Howvr, ths psalms ar to or for th human author from God; and whn somthing is givn to you, thn it blongs to you; thrfor, blonging to would b a rasonabl way to rndr lâmd. (5) Ptr, in misapplying Scriptur, attributs authorship of Psalm 69 and 108 to David (Acts 1:16 20). Both psalms hav th lâmd prposition and David s nam. Ptr also attributs Psalm 16 to David (Acts 2:25 28), Psalm 2 (Acts 4:25 26). (6) Paul attributs Psalm 32 to David (Rom. 4:6 8) and Psalm 69 (Rom. 11:9 10). (7) Th writrs of Hbrws attributs Psalm 95 to David, as th human author through whom th Spirit spok (Hb. 4:7). (8) Finally, Jsus attributs authorship of Psalm 110 to David as writtn by mans of th Holy Spirit in Mark 12:36 37, and th by-lin of that psalm litrally rads: to [or, for] David, a psalm (Psalm 110:intro). S Luk 20:41 44 for th paralll passag. Th thological argumnt that Jsus was making rstd partially upon th human authorship of David, which was accptd by our Lord and th scribs qustioning Him. (9) Thrfor, sinc th vry sam languag convys authorship of ths various psalms to David, and this authorship is confirmd ight tims, onc by our Lord, I think it would b saf to assum that this psalm was writtn by Asaph (ths titls ar a part of Scriptur). <<Rturn to Chaptr Outlin>> <<Rturn to th Chart Indx>> Th Clbration of th Isralit Is a Tstimony to God Sing aloud to God, our strngth; shout for joy to th God of Jacob. Psalm 81:1 Sing aloud to God, our strngth; shout for joy to th God of Jacob. Th listnr is njoind to shout or to sing aloud to God this is th Hiphil imprativ of rânan (ï ðç øè ) [pronouncd raw-nahn], and it mans to giv a ringing cry ithr in joy (Isa. 12:6 24:14) or in distrss (Lam. 2:19) or in wisdom (Prov. 1:20 8:3). In th Hiphil, th listnr is told to cry out aloud, but th Hiphil mans that thr is motivation involvd that is, thy ar motivatd to sing aloud from thir souls. Strong s #7442 BDB #943. Dlivr m from bloodguilt, O God, God of my salvation. My tongu will joyfully sing of Your rightousnss (Psalm 51:14). As for m, I will sing of Your strngth; in fact, I will joyfully sing of Your grac in th morning, for You hav bn my stronghold and a rfug in th day of my distrss (Psalm 59:16). You s, th singing is a rsult of what is in thir souls. In contxt, God is th strngth of Isral. It was in God that thir armis wr strong; it was bcaus of God

3 Th Pntatuch Addndum th Psalms 3 that Isral was a world powr. Similarly, our strngth, our rightousnss, our vrything dpnds upon Who and What God is. Without God, w hav no rightousnss. God is our rfug and strngth; a vry prsnt hlp in troubl (Psalm 46:1). Th scond vrb is th Hiphil imprativ of rûwa ( òç ø ) [pronouncd roo-ah or roo-ahì], which mans to rais a shout, to giv a blast. It can b a war-cry shout or an alarm (Judgs 7:21 I Sam. 17:52), a sound which signals a war or a march (Num. 10:7, 9), a triumphal shout (Psalm 41:12 Zph. 3:14), a shout of applaus (I Sam. 10:24), a shout in worship or undr rligious impuls (I Sam. 4:5 Psalm 47:2), or a cry of distrss (Isa. 15:4 Micah 4:9). Strong s #7321 BDB #929. In both cass, th listnr is calld upon to shout or sing aloud and vigorously as bing motivatd from his own soul. Thy ky of th Hiphil (causativ) stm is motivation from doctrin in th soul. Th last rfrnc to th God of Jacob is not a rfrnc to Jacob in particular, but to th ntir trib of Isral. Rcall, that is calld a mtonymy. Lift up a song, giv a timbrl, a swt lyr with harp [or, lut]. Psalm 81:2 Lift up a song, play a tambourin and a swt lyr with harp. Th timbrl was a typ of tambourin which was hld and struc with th hand. It was usd to accompany singing and dancing. It is always associatd with joy and gladnss in Scriptur. Th lyr is sort of a harp, a stringd instrumnt. It is smallr and hand hld, asy to carry around, having only a half-dozn strings as opposd to a harp, which might b largr and hav mor strings. In any cas, th mphasis is upon th motivation of th soul to sing in clbration of God s car fo thm. Th swt lyr mans plasant-sounding. Som music is so bautiful, that for som of us, it brings tars to our ys. Thr ar just som sounds in mlody thn spak dirctly to our souls. For m, it is mor oftn th human voic than th lyr; but that is a mattr of prsonal tast. On of th aras in which w ar confusd is our rlationship to God aftr salvation. Evn prior to, w hav som goofy notions about God. Prior to salvation, w oftn think that God is going to mak us do th absolut worst stuff that w can imagin and that w will hav to grit our tth and bar it until th nd of our lif. Som popl vn put off bliving in Jsus Christ bcaus thy don t want to b snt to som mission fild in som dsolat, thirdworld country whr our lif and th lif of our family ar in dangr. Or thy put off larning doctrin for th sam rason. Do you know th lazy mploy who dos vrything h can to mak it look as though h is working, but h is mrly wasting tim waiting until th day is ovr? If h workd, th day would nd up going by much quickr and work would b mor maningful and njoyabl. Howvr, h is caught in this ida that h s gtting away with somthing for vry day that h dosn t work a full ight hours (or whatvr). God may or may not hav th worst thing you can imagin st up for you to do in th plan which H dvlopd for your lif. Howvr, that is not th issu. Th issu is doctrin and growth. Onc you bgin larning that which you nd to know, God will bgin to allow His plan for your lif to unfold. It will b much gratr and much mor njoyabl than you can imagin. Lt s tak salvation. Popl will spnd thir ntir livs, vry waking minut, pushing God away. But without salvation, you liv a trribl lif, things go wrong, plans go awry, intntions ar misundrstood, popl di, you can t complt a tnth of your goals, you blink and suddnly your lif is half ovr; and thn whn you di, you spnd trnity in hll. Howvr, God s plan is that, if you spnd but fiv sconds bliving in His Son, whn you di, your suffring is ovr and your ntr into a vritabl paradis forvr. Rgardlss of how horribl your lif was, rgardlss of all th mistaks you hav mad, rgardlss of th popl you hav hurt and rgardlss of how you nvr smd to gt whr you wantd to go at last, aftr dath, you will spnd th rst of your xistnc in happinss. Now, you hav crtainly had th dram whr you hav mad a grav mistak and it will affct you for th rst of your lif; but thn, you wak up, and it was just a dram? Lif can b lik that, if you hav blivd in Jsus Christ. But now for th living part prior to dath. If God has providd for you a wondrful xistnc aftr lif, and this H did for you whil you wr in sin and whil you wr against Him; what do you think H has plannd for your lif aftr salvation now that you ar His son and rightous in His sight? But God dmonstratd His own lov toward us in that whil w wr yt sinnrs, Christ did in our bhalf. Much mor thn, having now bn justifid by His blood, w will b savd from th wrath through Him. For if, whil w wr nmis, w wr rconcild to God

4 Psalm 81 4 through th dath of His Son, much mor, having bn rconcild, w shall b dlivrd by His lif. And not only this, but w also xult in God through our Lord Jsus Christ, through Whom w hav now rcivd th rconcilliation...thrfor, w hav bn burid with Him through baptism into dath, in ordr that as Christ was raisd from daths through th glory of th Fathr, so w too might walk in nwnss of lif. For if w hav bcom intimatly tid to in th liknss of His dath, crtainly w will also b intimatly tid to His rsurrction, knowing this, that our old slf was crucifid with Him, that our body of sin might b don away with, that w shold no longr b slavs to our sin natur. For you s, h who has did is frd from th old sin natur. So, if w hav did with Christ, w bliv that w will also liv with Him, knowing that Christ, having bn raisd from daths, is nvr to di again; dath no longr is mastr ovr Him. For th dath that H did, H did to sin, onc for all; but th lif that H livs, H livs with rfrnc to God. Evn so, considr yourslv to b datd to sin, but liv with rfrnc to God in Christ Jsus. Thrfor, do not lt sin rign in your mortal body that you should boby its lusts (Rom. 5:8 11, 6:3 12). Rjoic in th Lord always; again, I say, rjoic! (Philp. 4:4). My point is this if God has providd so wll for our trnity, thn it only stands to rason that w has providd quit wll for our livs. Just bcaus you larn God s Word and His will, dosn t man that you ar going to lad a crappy lif doing a lot of stuff that you abhor. God has a marvlous plan for your lif which somtims cannot bgin to tak shap until you find out what it s all about. Prior to salvation, I thought of Christianity is giving up vrything I wantd to do and fasting and doing a lot of stuff that I did not want to do and would spnd th rst of my lif hating. I thought that mayb I wold hav to b a monk, lading this dprssing, clibat lif. I viwd th Christian lif lik th lif of Job; a grat dalof suffring which I would hav to bar in ordr for God to mak som point. You s, I knw a small amount of God s Word, but not vry much. I v com to find that any ara in my lif whr I hav faild or suffrd grat pain, is my own damn fault. What God s plan is was not for m to lad an unhappy, monastic lif. It is just th opposit. W larn God s Word, w ar filld with th Holy Spirit through rbound, and our livs and His plan for our lif bgin to tak shap and w bgin to prospr, if not financially, thn at last motionally. God did not fill th livs of th Isralits with fasts whr thy wr to sit on haps of ashs bmoaning thir wrtchd livs; God told thm to fast, and thy had svral fstival days throughout th yar to clbrat what God had don on thir bhalf. Ths vrss ar tlling thm to rjoic, to mak music, to sing. Lt thm prais His nam with dancing; lt thm sing praiss to Him with timbrl and lyr (Psalm 149:3). Blow a trumpt at th nw moon, at th full moon on a day of our fast. Psalm 81:3 Blow a trumpt at th nw moon, and blow a trumpt at th full moon on a day of our fast. Th Hbrws had thr classifications of instrumnts: prcussion, stringd and wind. In ths two vrss, w hav all thr groups. Bcaus ths fast days occur svral tims throughout th yar, two of th arly printd ditions of th Massortic txt, th Aramæan and th Syriac codics hav fast in th plural. Throughout th commntaris which I hav rad, som say that this applis to this fast; anothr claims, no, it rally aplis to this othr fast. Kil and Dlitzsch spnt svral pags discussing this. Allow God s Word to intrprt itslf. It spaks of th nw moon, which is th bginning of a month; it also spaks of a full moon, with is th middl of th month. Sinc w hav no fasts which bgin on th first of th month and xtnd all th way through to th middl of th month, this vrs is not spaking of clbrating a particular fast, but it rfrs to thos which occur ithr at th bginning of a month or during a full moon. Spcifically, this vrs rfrs to any fast whr th trumpt is blown to clbrat it. Most of God s fasts occurrd at th bginning of th month or in th middl of th month: <<Rturn to Chaptr Outlin>> <<Rturn to th Chart Indx>>

5 Th Pntatuch Addndum th Psalms 5 Th Tim of th Month that Fasts Bgin Th nw moon; i.., th bginning of a month Th full moon; i.., th middl of a month Th Fast of Trumpts Th Passovr/Unlavnd Brad Fast/Firstfruits and th Fast of Tabrnacls (tnts) Howvr, in gnral, this applis to all God s fasts. Thy wr fstivals, mandatd by God, tims for th Isralits to clbrat and to bring thir offrings to God. Also, in th day of your gladnss and in your appointd fasts, and on th first of your months, you will blow th trumpts ovr sacrifics of your pac offrings, and thy will b a rmindr of you bfor your God. I am Y howah your God. (Num. 10:10). Spak to th sons of Isral, saying, In th svnth month on th first of th month, you will hav a rst [or, Sabbath], a rmindr by blowing [th trumpt]; a holy gathring. (Lv. 23:24). Bcaus it [is] a statut to Isral; an ordinanc of th God of Jacob. Psalm 81:4 Bcaus it [is] a statut for Isral; an ordinanc of th God of Jacob. It appars as though th Isralits ar bing mandatd to sing. That is, music and singing wr to b a part of thir worship to God. W hav a pronoun it which implis th vrb to b. This litrally rads: bcaus a statut to [or, for] Isral it. At th first rad, I lookd all ovr for what was th particular statut or ordinanc Asaph was rfrring to. Howvr, it is simpl: th blowing of a trumpt at th nw moon is th statut which is rfrrd to; that th Isralits wr to clbrat ths fast days is what this statut and ordinanc rfr to. 1 A tstimony in Josph H placd it In His going forth ovr th land of Egypt: A languag [or, voic] I had not known I har. Psalm 81:5 H appointd it a tstimony in Josph In His going forth ovr th land of Egypt: I hard a voic that I was not familiar with. Th tstimony is ach fast day in Isral. As w hav studid in Lviticus and Numbrs, th fast days spok of Jsus Christ; ach on was a tstimony to Him. Asaph is placing th origins of ths fasts back in thir historical contxt. H mntions Josph, as a mtonymy for th nation Isral mbddd in Egypt, bcaus Josph was takn to Egypt in slavry and vntually movd his ntir family thr. God placd Isral in Egypt that way, by taking Josph thr and xalting him to a rulrship status. In th scond lin, it is a mistak to suppos that this is th xodus out of Egypt bcaus w do not hav th corrct prpositions for th moving out of Isral from Egypt. Furthrmor, it would confus th intrprtation of th last lin. In th xodus, Isral, ld by Y howah, marchd out of Egypt; thy did not go forth ovr Egypt. Th formr 2 sns is that of an xit; howvr, hr w hav mor of a rconnaissanc, or, bttr yt, rounds. This scond lin is lik an anthropopathism. Thr must b a nam for this kind of xprssion. Until thn, I will call it a faunapopathism. Th pictur is of God flying ovr a country, as if H wr a bird flying ovr from country to country 3 to s what was going on. God is simply making His rounds throughout th arth, going from plac to plac, xamining th harts of man. As H gos of Egypt, H hars a voic that H had not hard for a long tim; so long, 1 Josph hr is splld slightly diffrntly than lswhr. Elswhr it is yôçêph and hr it is y hôçêph; I would chalk this up to potic licns. 2 S Kil & Dlitzsch s Commntary on th Old Tstamnt; h1966 Hndrickson Publishrs, Inc.; Vol. V, pp for a m or dtaild xplanation. 3 In truth, this is not xactly a faunapopathism. If you would lik, imagin God in a hlicoptr or running a scannr ovr th various channls. Obviously, God is omniprsnt and H in Hi s om ni potnc, H knw what would happn in Egypt in trnity past. Howvr, this is how such an vnt would sm to humankind.

6 Psalm 81 6 that H didn t know who it was at first. Now, obviously, this is not what happnd, but this is languag of accommodation combind with potic licns. Anything could happn! Th last lin is a bit confusing: Th Amplifid Bibl Th Emphasizd Bibl KJV NASB NIV NRSV Own's Translation Young's Lit. Translation Th spch of on whom I knw not did I har [saying]... A languag I likd not usd I to har;...whr I hard a languag that I undrstood not. I hard a languag that I did not know:...whr w hard a languag w did not undrstand. I har a voic I had not known:......a voic which I had not known I har. A lip, I hav not known I har. Th first problm is whthr this gos with th prvious lin, whthr it stands by itslf, or whthr it gos with th nxt vrs. Th conncting advrb whr is not found in th Hbrw. Th first word is sâphâh (ä ô È È ) [pronouncd saw-fawh] and, according to BDB, it mans lip, spch, dg. Lt m go with Rothrham s work: lip (I Sam. 1:13 Psalm 22:7); mouth, spch, languag (Gn. 11:1 Isa. 19:18 33:19); th bordr of a garmnt (Ex. 28:32); th 4 boundary of land (Judgs 7:22); th shorlin or a bank (Gn. 22:17 41:3 Ex. 14:30). Ths ar all tid togthr as th dg or brink of somthing (th lips ar th dg of th mouth); and languag and dialct coms from this. 5 In this cas, I would go with spch or dialct. Strong s #8193 BDB #973. This is followd by th ngativ and st th 1 prson singular, Qal prfct of yâda< (ò ÇÈ ãé) [pronouncd yaw-dahì], a vrb which mans to know. Strong s #3045 BDB #393. Th intrprtation of this ovrall passag is not difficult. tough. Howvr, if you will not, thr is no first prson until now to b found in this vrs. From th nxt vrs on, vrything in th first prson can b asily attributd to God th psalmist spaking for God in th first prson. Thrfor, it would only mak sns to attribut this rmark to God. This would lav us with two rasonabl xplanations: (1) Th gist of this dos not man that God has just hard a languag which H dos not undrstand but that th prayrs and rligious rits of th Egyptians ar not raching Him; it is as though thy ar spaking in a languag which H dos not undrstand. (2) Th othr xplanation is that God has suddnly hard th voic of th popl of Isral ca lling to Him for hlp (this is if w translat th word sâphâh as voic, spch. (3) Finally, th ky to th intrprtation is contxt; in v. 7, still in th first prson, th psalmist, spaking in th plac of God, spaks of th rmoval of th burdn of slavry from th Isralits. What could b mor natural than th following chronological sris of vnts: O God, in His rounds ovr th arth, travls ovr Egypt. O Suddnly, from Egypt blow, H hars an unfamiliar voic. You s, 400 yars hav passd sinc Josph movd his family to Egypt. Now, suddnly, th sons of Isral signd bcaus of th slavry, and thy crid out; and thir cry for hlp bcaus of slavry ros up to God (Ex. 2:23b). O God rmovs th burdn of slavry from thir shouldrs (v. 6). O Quit simply put, th Jws crid out to God in distrss and H dlivrd thm (v. 7a). 4 Th Complt Word Study Old Tstamnt; Dr. S. Zodhiats; p Isral has alrady bn promisd to b invadd and ovrthrown by thos whos languag thy do not know. Y howah will bring a nation against you from afar, from th nd of th arth, as th agl swoops down, a nation whos languag you do not undrstand; a nation of firc countnanc who shall hav no rspct for th ol d nor w i ll it show favor to th young. (Dut. 28:49 50; s also Jr. 5:15). Howvr, this is not what v. 5 is spaking of. What w nd to do is to ti th nd of v. 5 with vv. 6 7, as this is all spokn by God through th psalmist. That w will do in v. 7.

7 Th Pntatuch Addndum th Psalms 7 God Spaks His Provision for His Popl Is Wll-Documntd

8 Psalm 81 8 I causd th rmoval from a burdn his shouldr; his hands from th brick rcptacl passd through. Psalm 81:6 I causd th rmoval from th burdn his shouldr; his hands from th brick rcptacl passd through. Th first vrb is translatd I rlivd (NASB, Owns), I turnd asid (Young), I took away (Rothrham); th word is th Hiphil prfct of çûwr (ø ñ ) [pronouncd soor] gnrally mans to turn asid, howvr, in th Hiphil, it mans to caus to dpart, to rmov, to tak away. Strong's #549 3 BDB #693. To undrstand what is bing said, w s th burdn as somthing bing carrid upon th shouldr and w would think that this should rad I causd th rmoval of a burdn from his shouldr. That is, w think of th burdn as somthing which thy ar carrying on thir shouldrs. Howvr, th burdn is a hug block of clay bricks in front of thm and thy ar pushing it forward with thir shouldrs. God rmovs that burdn from thm. This potically stats that God rmovd from thm th burdn of slavry. And th Egyptians complld th sons of Isral to forcd labor; and thy Egyptians mad thir livs bttr with hard labor in mortar and bracks and labor in th fild all th labors which thy rigorously imposd upon thm...and thy crid out for hlp bcaus of thir slavry, and this cry ros up to God and God hard thir groaning (Ex. 1:13 14, 2:23b 24a). God has hard our cris from this bondag to our flsh, in this lif of slavry and H has rachd down to dlivr us as wll. Th scond lin rads: his hand from a and thn w hav th word dûd (ã ) [pronouncd dood ], which mans pot, jar, kttl (I Sam. 2:14 II Chron. 35:13 Job 41:20); and it is usd for a rcptacl for carrying (II Kings 10:7 Jr. 24:2); hr, it is usd for a rcptacl for th carrying of bricks.* Strong s #1731 BDB #188. Th final vrb is in th 3 rd prson fminin plural (matching hands) of <â b var (ø áç òè ) [pronouncd aw-bahr or aw b - VAR] and it mans pass ovr, pass through, pass on. Strong s #5674 BDB #716. What is bing said is that Isral was rlivd from slavry by God. In distrss you calld, thn I dlivrd you I answrd you in a scrt plac of thundr [or, black thundr cloud]. I tstd you concrning th watrs of M ribah. S lah! Psalm 81:7 Whn in distrss you calld, and I dlivrd you I answrd you in a scrt plac of a black thundr cloud. I tstd you at th watrs of Mribah. S lah! rd Notic th chang of prson. In v. 6, God spaks of th Isralits in th 3 prson and in v. 7 in th scond prson. rd In th 3 prson, this would b primarily gn x thos who wr twnty and abov at th xodus. Thy calld to God for hlp and God snt thm Moss. Th first lin was th cry for hlp whil undr a svr form of slavry. It is a potic rpat of v. 6 with a chang of prson. This also ncompasssss thir cry to God for hlp whn pursud by th Egyptians as thy lft Egypt. And as Pharaoh drw nar, th sons of Isral lookd, and obsrvd th Egptians wr marching aftr thm, and thy bcam vry frightnd, so that th sons of Isral crid out to Y howah (Ex. 14:10). Th psalmist ignors thir immdiat failur of thn going to Moss and whining in Ex. 14:11. H focuss on th dlivranc by thir God. Moss told thm, Do not far! Stand by and obsrv th dlivranc of Y howah which H will accomplish for you today; for th Egyptians whom you hav sn today, you will nvr s thm again forvr. So Moss strtchd out his hand ovr th sa, and th sa rturnd to its normal stat at daybrak, whil th Egyptians wr fling right into it. Thn Y howah shook off th Egyptians in th midst of th sa (Ex. 14:13b, 27). In th scond lin, w hav th spcific manifstation with which God dlivrd th Isralits from th Egyptians. And th angl of God, Who had bn going bfor th camp of Isral, movd and wnt bhind thm and th pillar of cloud movd from in front of thm and stood bhind thm. So it cam btwn th camp of Egypt and th camp of Isral. And thr was th cloud and th darknss, yt it gav light at night. Thus th on camp did not com nar th othr all night (Ex. 14:19 20). W had a cloud of light on th sid with th Isralits, providing thm nough light to s th way that God would dlivr thm. Howvr, on th othr sid was th cloud of darknss.

9 Th Pntatuch Addndum th Psalms 9 It was th sam cloud, but th sid of th cloud facing Egypt was dark. Th sam God is light to som, and judgmnt to othrs. Th rason that th cloud on th sid of th Isralits was light was so that th Isralits could s God mov asid th watrs and so that thy would hav light by which to cross. Th darknss on th othr sid kpt th camp of Egypt from th camp of Isral, placing Isral into a scrt plac, as it wr. Whn it bcam day and th Egyptians wnt to march across, God was still manifstd as a black cloud of thundr. 6 And it cam to pass in th morning watch that Y howah lookd down on th camp of th Egyptians in th pillar of fir and cloud and brought th camp of th Egyptians into confusion. And H causd thir chariot whls to swrv and H mad thm driv with difficulty, so th Egyptians said, Lt us fl from Isral, for Y howah is fighting for thm against th Egyptians. (Ex. 14:24 25). Howvr, dspit th marvlous wondrs and signs which Isral obsrvd, Isral was wak. Thir tru charactr was tstd whn thy had no watr. Rathr than to turn toward God and ask for dlivranc, thy turnd to Moss and bitchd and moand. And th popl thirstd thr for watr; and thy grumbld against Moss and said, Why, now hav you brought us up from Egypt? To kill us and our childrn and our livstock with thirst? (Ex. 17:3). Having taught for yars, I can tll you th most irritating sound is incssant whining. At th bginning of vry school yar, whn my studnts would find out that I actually xpctd thm to larn somthing and that I would not do ach and vry thing for thm, svral would whin and it was th most galling sound. Fortunatly, I did not hav th sam manifstation of powr that God allowd Moss or ls vry yar, on day on of vry class priod, I would hav struck down tn studnts as an xampl. I prsonally cannot imagin bing in th position of Moss, with hundrds of grown mn coming to him and bitching and complaining and whining. In his plac, had God givn m th choic to wip out this gnration and start from scratch, I would hav takn God up on that offr in a hartbat. God tstd thm and brought out thir tru charactr in th no-watr tsts. As I hav mntiond svral tims, w nd to xamin God s Word bit by bit, word by word, and phras by phras. Howvr, w somtims los th contxt and th train of thought. Thrfor, lt s xamin ths last fw vrss as a continguous whol: In His going forth ovr th land of Egypt, God said, I har a voic that I was not familiar with. I causd th rmoval from th burdn his shouldr; his hands from th brick rcptacl passd through. Whn in distrss you calld, and I dlivrd you I answrd you in a scrt plac of a black thundr cloud. I tstd you at th watrs of Mribah. Slah! (Psalm 81:5b 7). Isral livd for som tim in Egypt 400 yars during which tim, w hav no rcordd Scriptur (xcpt, prhaps, th book of Job, which was not writtn in Isral). Thr was th sam passag of tim btwn th two tstamnts. Thn, suddnly, God hars Isral, calling to him, calling for hlp. And th sons of Isral signd bcaus of th slavry, and thy crid out; and thir cry for hlp bcaus of th slavry ros up to God. So God hard thir groaning; and God thn rcalld His covnant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Ex. 2:23b 24). This was th voic which God had not known. It was th voic of His popl, a nw gnration, svral gnrations rmovd from that of Josph and his family. God had not hard thir voics bfor and thn thy thought of thir God and prayd to Him and, suddnly, God hard ths voics with which H was unfamiliar. Howvr, h rspondd to thir call for hlp and rmovd th burdn of slavry from thm. Listn, O my popl and I would admonish you O Isra l, if you would list n to m! Psalm 81:8 Plas listn, O my popl and I would admonish you O Isra l, if you would only list n to m! God had communicatd with Isral in a numbr of ways. Thy had sn His signs and wondrs; H spok dirctly to vry on of thm; H spok through Moss; and H spok through His Word which Moss rcordd. God calls out to Isral to just listn to Him! Th writr of Hbrws, hoping to rach God s popl, wrot: Thrfor, just as th Holy Spirit says, Today, if you har His voic, do not hardn your harts as whn thy provokd M; as in th day of trial in th wildrnss whr your fathrs trid M by tsting M. And thy had sn My works for forty yars. Thrfor, I was disgustd with this gnration, and said, Thy always go astray in thir hart and thy did not know My ways. As I swor in My wrath, thy will not ntr My rst. So tak car, brothrs, so that thr should 6 Thr ar many passags whr God manifsts Himslf in th form of a thundrous black cloud Ex. 14:24 19:19 20:18.

10 Psalm not b in any on of you an vil, unbliving hart which rvolts against th living God (Hb. 3:7 12 Psalm 95:7 11). To paraphras th NIV Study Bibl, God had listnd to thir calls for hlp and H answrd thm; now thy ar to listn to Him. 7 Thr will b no unauthorizd god among you and you will not bow down to a forign god. Psalm 81:9 Thr should b no unauthorizd god among you and you will not bow down to a forign god. Th thrust of this psalm is idolatry. Th Isralits had a tndancy to chas aftr othr gods. Th first vrbal adjctiv to dscrib god is th Qal activ participl of zûwr (ø æ ) [pronouncd zoor] and this mans strangd, sparatd, disngagd, alinatd, squstrd, unauthorizd. Strong's #2114 BDB #266. Th scond dscriptor of god is th adjctiv nâk rîy (é ø ò ë ðè ) [pronouncd nawck -REE], and it mans forign, alin. Strong s #5237 Ó BDB #648. All roads do not lad to Rom. God continually taught that only H was to b worshippd. Thr is no doctrin in th Bibl indicating that w all worship th sam God; w just hav diffrnt nams for Him. From th vry bginning, it has bn taught that thr is but on God, Y howah of th Old Tstamnt and Jsus Christ of th Nw, Who ar On and th Sam. 8 I [am] Y howah your God, th On bringing you up out of a land of Egypt. Enlarg your mouth and I will fill it. Psalm 81:10 I [am] Y howah your God, I brought you up out of th land of Egypt. Opn your mouth wid and I will fill it. All Isral had to do was to plac bfor God thir nds and God would fulfill thm. If thy wr hungry, God would fd thm. If thy wr thirsty, H would rfrsh thm. Dlight yourslf in Y howah and H will giv you th dsirs of your hart. Commit your way to Y howah, trust also in Him, and H will bring it to pass (Psalm 37:4 5). Bcaus of God s provision, vn in thir rvrsionism, Man at th brad of angls and God snt thm mat in abundanc in th wildrnss (Psalm 78:25). For H [God] has satisfid th thirsty soul and th hungry soul H has filld with what is good (Psalm 107:9). If you abid in M and My words abid in you, ask whatvr you wish and it will b don for you. (John 15:7). God Would Pour out Additional Grac If His Popl Would Only Listn to Him And my popl did not listn to My voic; and Isra l would not yi ld to M! Psalm 81:11 But my popl did not listn to My voic; in fact, Isra l would not yi ld to M! b B Th final vrb is th Qal prfct of â vâh (ä áè àè ) [pronouncd aw- VAW H], which is almost always found with a ngativ. It mans would, consnt, yild, willing. Strong s #14 BDB #2. Thn thy dspisd th plasant land. Thy did not bliv in His word, but thy grumbld in thir tnts. Thy did not listn to th voic fo Y howah. Thrfor, H swor to thm that H would cast thm down in th wildrnss (Psalm 106:24 26). Rmmbr do not forgt how you provokd Y howah your God to wrath in th wildrnss; from th day that you lft th land of Egypt until you arrivd at this plac, you hav bn rbllious against Y howah. (Dut. 9:7). And you nglctd all of my counsl and you did not want my rproof (Prov. 1:25). 7 Th NIV Study Bibl; 1995; p W hav covrd in grat dtail idolatry in th pas t. For your furthr study, xamin Ex. 20:3 Dut. 32:12 Psalm 44:20 Isa. 43:12.

11 Th Pntatuch Addndum th Psalms 11 And so I snt thm ovr into th sphr of stubbornss of thir hart; thy will walk in own counsls. Psalm 81:12 And so I gav thm ovr into th sphr of th stubbornss of thir hart; thy will pursu thir own counsls. Th first vrb is th Pil imprfct of th vrb shâlach (ç ì Ç È ) [pronouncd shaw-lahkh], which mans to snd, to snd forth, to snd away, to dismiss. Strong s #7971 BDB #1018. I suffrd thm to hav what, in th hardnss of thir harts thy dsird, or what thir hard and rbllious harts promptd thm to dsir. I indulgd thm in thir wishs. I gav thm wha thy askd, and lft thm to thmslvs to work out th problm about succss and 9 happinss in thir own way. Th scond vrb is th Qal imprfct of th vrb which mans to walk, to go, to com. Strong s #1980 (3212) BDB #229. It is God who circumciss th hart (s Dt 30:6; s also 1Ki 8:58; Jr 31:33; Ez 11:19; 36:26). Thus for God to abandon his popl to thir sins is th most farful of punishmnts. 10 Furthrmor, Y howah your God will circumcis your hart and th hart of your dscndants to lov Y howah your God with all your hart and with all your soul, in ordr that you may liv. (Dut. 30:6). Th concpt that choosing to sin can rsult in bing trappd furthr in th sin that you yildd too is as old as th scond oldst book of th Bibl: If your sons sinnd against Him, thn H dlivrd thm into th hand of thir transgrssion. (Job 8:4). Thrfor, God gav thm ovr in th lusts of thir harts to immunity, that thir bodis might b b dishonord among thm. For thy xchangd th truth of God for a li and worshipd and srvd th cratur rathr than th Crator, Who is blssd forvr; Amn. For this rason, God gav thm ovr to dishonorabl passions; for thir womn xchangd th natural function for that which is unnatural, and, in th sam way, also th mn abandond th natural function of th womn and turnd in thir dsir towards on anothr, mn with mn committing indcnt acts and rciving in th ir own prsons th du pnalty of thir rror (Rom. 1:24 27). 11 O that My popl would listn to M; [that] Isra l would walk in M y ways! Psalm 81:13 O that My popl would listn to M; if only Isra l would walk in M y ways! This vrs is in dirct contrast to th prvious vrs. In th prvious vrs, God has snt Isral ovr to th stubbornss of thir own harts. This is bcaus thy would not listn to God. Isral walks in thir own counsl (v. 12); thy will not walk in God s ways (v. 13). In this vrs, God stats His prfrnc. H has givn all of Isral fr will, and thy continually chos against Him. Oh, that thy had such a hart in thm, that thy would far M and kp all My commandmnts always, that it may b wll with thm and with thir sons forvr! (Dut. 5:29). Do I hav any plasur in th dath of th wickd? dclars Lord Y howah, Is it not that h would turn from his wickd ways and liv? Thrfor, I will judg you, hous of Isral, ach according to his conduct, dclars Lord Y howah God. Chang your mind and turn away from all your transgrssions, so that iniquity may not bcom a stumbling block to you Cast away from you all your transgrssions which you hav committd, and mak yourslvs a nw hart and a nw spirit! For why will you di, hous of Isral? For I hav no plasur in th dath of anyon who dis, dclars Lord Y howah. Thrfor, chang your mind and liv. (Ezk. 18:23, 30 32). If only you had paid attntion to My commandmnts! Thn your wll-bing would hav bn lik a rivr, and your rightousnss lik th wavs of th sa. (Isa. 48:18). But this is what I commandd thm, saying, Oby My voic, and I will b your God and you will b My popl; and you will walk in all th way which I command you, that it may b wll with you. Yt, thy did not oby or inclin thir ar, but thy walkd in thir own counsls and in th stubbornnss of thir vil hart, and wnt backward and not forward. Sinc th day that your fathrs cam out of th land of Egypt until this day, I hav snt you all My srvants th prophts, daily rising arly and snding thm. 9 Barns Nots, Vol. IV, book 2, p Th NIV Study Bibl; 1995; p I can t hlp but tak this sidbar and point out what th Nw Tstamnt says about homosxuality as illustrativ of this principl. Th mor a prson practics acts of homosxuality, th furthr in thy ar draggd into it. Thir ar crtain sins which affct th soul in that way. Th mor you commit th sin, th gratr hold it has ovr you. And, lik it or not, this vrs indicats that most if not all homosxual bhavior bgins with an xprinc which pulls th homosxual furthr into th sin.

12 Psalm Yt thy did not listn to M or inclin thir ar, but thy stiffnd thir nck; thy did vil mor than thir fathrs. And you will spak all ths words to thm, but thy will not listn to you; and you will call to thm, but thy will not answr you. (Jr. 7:23 27). For God dos not wish that any should prish but that all will com to a chang of mind (II Ptr 3:9b). This is in accordanc with all th statmnts, all th commands, all th invitations, all th warnings, in th Bibl. In th ntir volum of inspiration thr is not on commmand addrssd to mn to walk in th ways of sin; thr is not on statmnt that god dsirs that thy should do it; thr is not on intimation that h wishs th dath of th sinnr. Th contrary is implid in all th dclarations which god has mad, in all his commands, warnings, and invitations, in all his arrangmnts for th salvation of mn...whn mn, thrfor, do not walk in th ways of God it is impossibl that thy should tak rfug, as an xcus for it, in th pla that god dsirs this, or that h commands it, or that h is plasd with it, or that h apporvs it. Thr is no possibl sns in which this can b tru; in vry sns, and on vry account, h prfrs that mn should b obdint, and not disobdint; food, and not bad; happy, and not misrabl; savd, and not lost. 12 As a littl thing, I would subdu thir nmis; and I would turn My hand against thir advrsaris. Psalm 81:14 It would b nothing to M to subdu thir nmis; and I would turn My hand against thir advraris. V. 14 bgins with th prfixd prposition as, lik and th word m aþ (è òç îó ) [pronouncd m-ìaht], which mans a littl, fwnss, fw. Strong s #4592 BDB #589. Although som rndr this as soon, th ida hr is that it would b a littl thing to God to prform such an act. H could rid Isral of thir nmis instantly, if ncssary. Y howah livs and blssd b my Rock; and xaltd b th God of my salvation. Th God Who xcuts vnganc for m and subdus popls undr m. H dlivrs m from my nmis. Surly, You lift m abov thos who ris up against m; You rscu m from th violnt man. Thrfor, I will giv thanks to You among th nations, O Y howah and I will sing praiss to Your nam (Psalm 18:46 49). Som popl, particularly unblivrs and stuffy slf-rightous typs dislik what is implid by all of this, but it is a fact that God will avng us against our nmis. W don t hav to worry about thos who hurt us, who tak advantag of us, who run roughshod ovr us (unlss w ar in a position of authority ovr thm; thn w hav to xrcis our authority). God taks car of ths popl. All w hav to do is to lt Him. Thr is no disciplin for th unblivr from God. Howvr, on of th rasons an unblivr will suffr in this lif is that h has causd a blivr to suffr. 13 Thos dspising Y howah would fign obdinc to Him and thir tim would b for trnity [or, and H is thir tim to th ags]. Psalm 81:15 Thos dspising Y howah would fign obdinc to Him and thir tim would b for trnity [or, and H would b thir tim for trnity]. W hav som significant diffrncs in th rndring of this vrs. Th Amplifid Bibl Th Emphasizd Bibl KJV [Had Isral listnd to M in Egypt, thn] thos who hatd th Lord would hav com cringing bfor Him, and thir dfat would hav lastd forvr. Th hatrs of Yahwh should com cringing unto him, Thn lt thir own good tim b ag-abiding! Th hatrs of th LORD should hav submittd thmslvs unto him: but thir tim should hav ndurd forvr. 12 Barns Nots, Vol. IV, book 2, pp Othr raons an unblivr will suffr is (1) that thy choos sins which rs ult in prsonal suffring; (2) God givs thm ovr to Satan as an instrumnt of Satan, who has littl or no rgard for our suffring; (3) God somtims causs unblivrs to suffr in ordr to turn to Him. As w hav s n, fw popl turn to God whn vryhing is going wll. If you ar an unblivr and haring this, thn sav yourslf a lot of suffring and hartach bliv in Jsus Christ. God can spak to you and you can rspond, or H can hit you ovr th had and you can rspond. It is your choic.

13 Th Pntatuch Addndum th Psalms 13 NASB NIV NRSV Own's Translation Young's Lit. Translation Thos who hat th LORD would prtnd obdinc to Him; and thir tim of punishmnt would b forvr. Thos who hat th LORD would cring bfor him, and thir punishmnt would last forvr. Thos who hat th LORD would cring bfor him, and thir doom would last forvr. Thos who hat Yahwh would cring toward him and would last thir fat for vr. Thos hating Jhovah fign obdinc to Him, But thir tim is to th ag. W bgin with th Pil participl of hat. This is followd by th ttragrammaton YHWH. This would b rndrd thos hating God or thos dspising God. Th nmis of God ar oftn rprsntd in Scriptur with such phrass as hatrs of God (Ex. 20:5 Rom. 1:30), of Jsus Christ (John 7:7 15:18, 23 25), of blivrs in J s u s Christ (Psalm 25:19 Prov. 29:10 Luk 6:22 I John 3:13), of His Word (Prov. 1:29 5:12); thrfor, thy dspis His plan, His charactr, and His govrnmnt. Th first main vrb is th Pil imprfct of kâchash ( çç È ) [pronouncd kaw-khahsh], a word which indicats lying and dcption. Kachash is found primarily in th Pil (Joshua 7:11 24:27 Lv. 19:11 Zch. 13:4), and it mans to dfraud, to dciv. It could possibly man to fign dvotion and to fign obdinc. Strong's #3584 BDB #471. This is followd by a conjunction, th vrb to b (in th Qal imprfct) and th word êth (ú òå ) [pronouncd ìayth], and it mans tim, th right tim, th propr tim. Strong s #6256 BDB #773. What throws rd rd m for a loop is that th vrb to b is in th 3 prson masculin singular whil <êth is in th 3 prson fminin singular. Litrally, this should b h is thir tim to trnity. Howvr, I just don t know xactly what this vrs mans. Our othr option, if w allow this phras to lack subjct and vrb agrmnt, is: and thir tim is to trnity. Howvr, what dos appar that God is spaking, but in ths last two vrss, Y howah is in th third prson. Lt m attmpt an intrprtation: if thos who dspisd God that is, th Gntil unblivrs vn just trid to fign obdinc to Him, thn God would blss thm as wll. In fact, God would vn provid for thm a plac in trnity and, as w will s in th nxt vrs, God would vn blss thm with prosprity. Th ida hr is that thr ar crtain divin oprational laws for govrnmnt that, if a Gntil govrnmnt just attmptd to structur itslf in accordanc with thos laws, vn as fignd obdinc (that is, as unblivrs), thy would b blssd. God s laws and principls work for blivrs and unblivrs alik. Th tmpranc, slf-control and work-thic found in th Bibl would caus any unblivr to b blssd by th fruits of his labor had h participatd in ths things. This is why Mormans and Jhovah s Witnsss and Black Muslims can njoy grat prosprity in this lif; thy ar unblivrs, thy blong to a cult, thy will, for th most part, spnd trnity in hll, but thy follow many of th principls found in th Bibl and ar thrfor blssd. On a national lvl, th sam thing is tru. Evn attmptd obdinc on th part of a nation an ffort to follow God s Laws rsults in national blssing in trms of tim on this arth and in trms of matrial prosprity. A nation prptually basd upon Biblical principls, vn filld with unblivrs, would b prsrvd until th nd of this ag. Thn H would fd him with th fat of th what and from th rock with hony, I would satisfy you. Psalm 81:16 Thn H would fd him with th finst of th what and from th rock with hony, I would satisfy you. Th chang of prson confusd m at first; and I was not th only prson who had troubl with th changing of prson in this vrs. Th Sptuagint, Syriac and Vulgat codics rad: would I satisfy him; and Ginsburg s Hbrw Nots rads: would h satisfy him. Hr is what som translators did: Th Amplifid Bibl Th Emphasizd Bibl God would fd Isral [now] also with th finst of th what, and with hony out of th rock would I satisfy you. Thn would h fd thm from th marrow of th what, Yah out of th rock with hony would I satisfy th.

14 Psalm KJV NASB NIV Own's Translation Young's Lit. Translation H should hav fd thm also with th finst of th what: and with hony out of th rock should I hav satisfid th. But I would fd you with th finst of th what; and with hony from th rock I would satisfy you. But you would b fd with th finst of what; and hony fromth rock I would satisfy you. And h would fd him with th finst of th what and from th rock with hony I would satisfy you. H causth him to at of th fat of what, And with hony from a rock I satisfy th! Th ky is to xamin this vrs in contxt. God s will is for vry prson to com to a plac of rpntanc (chang of mind) moral and immoral, His chosn, Isral, as wll as Isral s nmis, who ar also th nmis of God. God graciously wants to blss His nmis as H dsirs to blss Isral. O that My popl would listn to M; if only Isral would walk in My ways! It would b nothing to M to subdu thir nmis; and I would turn My hand against thir advraris. Thos dspising Y howah would fign obdinc to Him and thir tim would b for trnity [or, and h would b thir tim to th ags]. Thn H would fd him with th fat of th what and from th rock with hony, I would satisfy you. (Psalm 81:13 16). On option for intrprtation is that th middl fw sntncs ar parnthtical, spokn dirctly by th Psalmist rathr than by God, as in: O that My popl would listn to M; if only Isral would walk in My ways! It would b nothing to M to subdu thir nmis; and I would turn My hand against thir advraris. [Thos dspising Y howah would fign obdinc to Him and thir tim would b for trnity [or, and h would b thir tim to th ags]. Thn H would fd him with th fat of th what] And from th rock with hony, I would satisfy you. (Psalm 81:13 16). Th problm with that ida is that th psalmist has no rason to butt in for a sntnc or two; and this ruins th paralllism of th last two lins, as on is spokn by th psalmist and on by God. It is mor rasonabl to suppos that all th Gntils had to do is just act as though thy wr dvotd to God and that would hav bn nough. H would hav takn car of thm throughout trnity, providing for thir vry nd, fding thm with th fat (th bst) of th what. Simultanously, God would fd Isral from th rock with hony, indicating a miraculous and swt xistnc. W do hav a chang of prson hr; howvr, it sms rasonabl that this is mrly potic licns; that th first prson singular (I ) is God and th third prson singular subjct (H) is God. Th third prson plural (thir) and third prson singular would rfr to th Gntils and th scond prson singular (you) is Isral. In othr words, O that My popl [Isral] would listn to M [God]; if only Isral would walk in My ways! It would b nothing to M [God] to subdu thir nmis [Gntil unblivrs]; and I would turn My hand against thir advraris. Thos dspising Y howah [Isral s nmis; Gntil unblivrs] would fign obdinc to Him [Y howah] and H [Y howah] would b thir [th Gntil s] tim to trnity. Thn H [Y howah] would fd him [th Gntil] with th fat of th what. And from th rock with hony, I [God] would satisfy you Isral]. (Psalm 81:13 16). With rspct to th imagry of hony from a rock, th psalmist borrowd this from th song of Moss. Rcall th translation: H mad him rid upon high placs of th arth; thn h causd him to at th fruits of fild; and H causd him to nurs hony out from a cliff and oil out of a flint of rock. (Dut. 32:13). Hony and oil ar not producd from cliffs or from a flint of rock. Thr wr svral possibl intrprtations hr: vn though w hav th apparanc of impossibility; bs would somtims build thir hivs in th clft of rocks; and oliv trs 14 grw on rocky hillsids (hnc th nam, Mount of Olivs). Barns also notd, that hony was obviously a wlllikd food, mntiond many tims in th Bibl (Gn. 43:11 Dut. 8:8 I Sam. 14:25 26). Barns prsonally tstifid to th purst and whitst hony coming fromchamouni in Switzrland. Thn h quotd Dr. Thompson from Land and th Book, Vol. II, whr Thompson tstifis to th hony bing in such grat abundanc in on ara that it drippd down from th trs onto th ground. Thompson also prsonally obsrvd wild bs in th clfts of th rocks in Isral. 14 Barns notd that Isral was abl to produc grat produc from unproductiv aras and Frman that that th flinty rock is what th oliv prss is mad from.