Would you turn to Psalm 81? How
many people didn't have power last night? Wow, a minority. I've been suffering. Psalm 81. 81st Psalm begins, sing aloud
unto God our strength. Make a joyful noise unto the
God of Jacob. Take a psalm and bring hither
the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery. Blow up the
trumpet in the new man. This is a reference to the Feast
of Tabernacles in the time appointed on our solemn feast day. For
this was a statute for Israel. and a law of the God of Jacob.
This he ordained in Joseph for testimony when he went out through
the land of Egypt, where I heard a language that I understood
not. I removed his shoulder from the burden. His hands were delivered
from the pots. Thou callest in trouble, and
I delivered thee. I answered thee in the secret
place of thunder, I prove thee at the waters of Meribah, Sila. Here, O my people, and I will
testify unto thee, O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me,
there shall no strange god be in thee, neither shalt thou worship
any strange god. I am the Lord thy God, which
brought thee out of the land of Egypt. Open thy mouth wide,
and I will fill it, but my people would not hearken to my voice,
and Israel would none of me. So I gave him up under their
own heart's lust, and they walked in their own counsels. Oh, that
my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in
my ways, I should have subdued their enemies and turned my hand
against their adversaries. The haters of the Lord should
have submitted themselves unto him, but their time should have
endured forever. He should have fed them also
with the finest of the wheat and with honey out of the rock
should I have satisfied thee." Let's pray. Lord, we're so grateful. That
your God beside the is none else. We're so thankful for your salvation,
we're so thankful for your power, we're so thankful for your grace,
we're so thankful for your wisdom. We're so thankful for your holiness,
we're so thankful that you made a way to be absolutely just and
accept us in your beloved son. We confess our sins, we pray
for forgiveness and cleansing, we pray for your blessing on
this service that you would speak to each heart here according
to your will. We ask that you would unite our hearts together
to fear your holy name. What we ask for ourselves, we
ask for all your people wherever they meet together. And Lord,
we. Pray for your healing hand upon
our dear friends that are sick according to your will. We ask once again that we might
be enabled to love you more and love one another more for Christ's
sake. In his name we pray, amen. This psalm deals with a very
important subject. Look in verse 13. I guess it's kind of dumb for
me to say this song deals with a very important subject. Of
course it does. This is the scriptures. And,
uh, but this is, uh, a different subject. I guess you might say,
look in verse 13. Oh, that my people had hearkened
unto me and Israel had walked in my ways. I should have subdued
their enemies. and turn my hand against their
adversaries. The haters of the Lord should
have submitted themselves unto him, but their time should have
endured forever. He should have fed them also
with the finest of the wheat, and with honey out of the rock
should I have satisfied thee. Now this Psalm speaks of what
could have been. We don't normally think of the
scriptures in that light but that's exactly what he's saying
in this passage of scripture. This psalm speaks of that which
could have been. This psalm speaks of missed opportunity. And this psalm speaks of unfulfilled
potential. That's the only way you can look
at this psalm. This is what I would have done If they would have
done this, but they didn't do this, therefore they did not
receive the blessings that they would have had, had they done
this. If I do not do this, this will
not take place. Now that's what is stated clearly
in this song. I think of the poem of all the words of tongue
and pen, there are none more sad than it could have been. And that's what this psalm is
about. Look in verse 10. The last part,
open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. And the picture is little
chicks in a nest, you've seen that? Their mouths open, open
your mouth wide, and I will fill it. What happens if I don't open
my mouth wide? It won't be filled. Now, like
I said, this is somewhat different, this psalm. God is absolutely sovereign,
and every event that takes place has already been determined and
decreed, and it will take place. That's just fact. It's what the
scripture teaches. Known unto God are all of his
works from the beginning. Everything is determined. And that does not take away from
verse 10, open your mouth wide. And I will fill it. While human free will. Does not
determine anything. Proverbs 1633 says the lot is
cast into the lap and the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.
That's true. This is true as well. Ask. Seek. And knock. You ask, and it shall be given
to you. You seek, and you shall find. You knock, and it shall be opened
to you. Now, this belief in the absolute
sovereignty of God, and we love God's sovereignty, that's who
he is, we love who he is, that does not in any way take away
from my Praying, seeking, asking, knocking. And if I don't ask,
I will not receive. If I don't seek, I shall not
find. And if I don't knock, it will not be opened to me. This belief in God's sovereignty
is not fatalism. Now, if I told you that God had
determined that you would have a successful crop, It's going to happen for sure.
Is there anybody in here that would say, well, that being the
case, that means I don't need to plow out the ground. Well,
I don't have to sow seed. I don't have to weed it. I don't have to water it. It's
just going to come up. Nobody would say something that
stupid, would they? And yet when it comes to the
gospel, men hear that God elected a people and only the elect will
be saved. Christ died for the elect, their salvation is accomplished.
God's grace is irresistible, invincible. And men will say,
well, what's the point in seeking then? What's the point in doing
anything? What's the point in calling on
the name of the Lord? What's the point in witnessing? What's the point
in evangelism? You see how men would never do something like
that with crops, but yet when they hear of God's sovereignty,
they'll use it as an excuse for apathy. indifference, and deadness. That kind of thinking is foolish,
it's wicked, willful, and false. There's no excuse for someone
to take the absolute sovereignty of God and use it as an excuse
Well, what's the point? Here I am. No point in seeking
the Lord. If he's going to save me, well,
if he's not, he won't. That kind of thinking is treacherous. And the psalmist is fighting
that kind of thinking in this particular psalm. So let's look
at what he says in Psalm 81. Sing aloud unto God our strength. I love the fact that God is my
strength. Strength is the power to do.
I can believe because he strengthens me. I can love because he strengthens
me. It's his strength. Paul said,
I can do all things through Christ, which strengthens me. Lord, strengthen
me. Strengthen me. Sing aloud unto
God our strength and make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob,
the covenant God. Jacob have I loved. Now, that's
a reason to sing loudly. You know, singing ought to be
loud, shouldn't it? And I'm not talking about trying
to impress somebody, but I mean the joyful noise we're making
in the gospel. When we sing, ask the Lord to
give us the grace to sing from the heart, these hymns that praise
him. When we sing, hear the specials.
These are songs with regard to him. Sing aloud, make a joyful
noise. And then he talks about the instruments
in verse two. Take a psalm and bring hither
the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery. I'm always
amazed that there are issues in certain religious camps about
whether or not you ought to use instruments, whether it ought
to be a cappella. Where do you get that? I mean,
look at the songs. I mean, yeah, use instruments.
Verse three, blow up the trumpet in the new moon in the time appointed
on our solemn feast day. Now, this trumpet is the ram's
horn that was to be blown for the people of Israel to gather
together for a special feast. The Feast of Tabernacles is specifically
what he's talking about, but they would blow a horn and people
would come. But what this is talking about is public worship. Now, listen to this statement.
I know you'll agree with it. The best private worship happens
in public worship. That's where God speaks through
the preaching of the word. When I'm worshiping publicly,
That's where the Lord speaks to me privately in the most powerful
way. And when public worship is neglected,
you can be sure of this, private worship is neglected as well. Public worship, private worship,
but this is a call, a summons for them to come to the appointed
feast. Verse four, for this was a statute
for Israel. And the law of the God of Jacob,
this gathering together for this public worship, this solemn feast,
the singing of Psalms, the singing aloud, this he ordained in Joseph. Now, how did Israel get into
Egypt in the first place. Joseph was sent there. And that's
what that's a reference to. Joseph was sent into Egypt, and
that's where they spent 400 years before Moses came. For this he
ordained in Joseph for a testimony when he went out through the
land of Egypt. This was God blessing them to
bring them out of the land of Egypt, where I heard a language
that I understood not. Now, I think this is interesting. There's a language God understands, His language, His language, the language of
His word, the language of His grace. And that's the language
God's people understand. And they don't understand any
other language as far as what speaks to their heart, only the
gospel. They hear the joyful sound. And we read of a language God
does not recognize. He says, I don't understand that
language, the language of works. I don't receive that. I'm not
pleased with it. Then he goes on to say in verse
six, I removed his shoulder from the burden. This is talking about
deliverance from Egyptian bondage. They spent 400 years making the
pyramids. They were the main source of
labor to make the pyramids. I read where they found a new
room in one of the pyramids this week. I'm always interested in
that kind of stuff, but they were used for that labor, and
he says, I took that labor away from them. I removed his shoulder
from the burden. His hands were delivered from
the pots. Thou callest in trouble, and I delivered thee. Well, that's talking about them
crying, sighing and crying by reason of their bondage in Egypt,
but isn't that true with us all the time? All the time. Trouble. man that's born of woman
is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward and if you're not
in trouble now you will be you can just write that down you
will be and you know what we do when we're in trouble we call
on his name in time of trouble thou callest in trouble and i
delivered thee i answered thee In the secret place of thunder,
I prove thee at the waters of Meribah, Selah. Now what that's referring to
is the place of thunder, the waters of Meribah. It's talking
about the smitten rock in Acts chapter 17. They heard the thunder
of Sinai and they, the waters of Meribah have to do with the
smitten rock where they said, what are we going to drink? And
we're given such a beautiful type of the gospel where God
said, I'm gonna stand on the rock. You smite it. God said
he would stand on it. You smite it. And waters will
come out. And that is the gospel of Christ. He is the smitten rock. When
he is smitten, that's God's reason for blessing and giving mercy. For no other reason but for Christ's
sake. I approve thee. I love to think
of where Paul said in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, that rock followed
them. And when they were going around through Israel, through
the wilderness, the rock was following them. Somebody says,
well, how could the rock follow them? Well, how could water come
out of the rock? I mean, it's all miraculous. It's all God's
work. But that rock followed them around
and supplied them with water in their wilderness journey. He says in verse 8, Here, O my
people, and I will testify unto thee. This is God's testimony.
Here, O my people, and I will testify thee, O Israel, if thou
wilt hearken unto me. Here's what takes place when
we hearken. There shall no strange God be in thee, neither shalt
thou worship any strange God. Now, what is a strange God? Any
God that is not the God of the Bible, any God that is not exactly
as he is revealed in this word, any God like that is a strange
God. And if I'm hearkening to God,
if I'm listening to what he says in his word, I'm not going to
accept a strange God. I'm not going to worship a strange
God. I'm not going to go where a strange God is preached, where
he's a God that's contrary to the God of the scripture. Now,
he says, if you'll hearken unto me, O my people, there shall
no strange God be in thee, neither shalt thou worship any strange
God. I am the Lord thy God, which
brought thee out of the land of Egypt. And then he says, open
thy mouth wide. And I will fill it. Now, I hope we have some wide
open mouths right now. He gives this promise, and I
have no doubt that this is a picture. You've seen the little chicks
in a nest when the mother brings back food, and they got their
mouths open waiting for the mother or the father, whoever it is,
to drop the food in their mouths. All they have is open mouths
waiting for him to drop something in. Open your mouth wide. Bring a big cup. Make sure it's
empty. I love where he said bring empty
vessels. Make sure it's empty. But bring
a big cup. I love John Newton's hymn. Come my soul thy suit prepared. Jesus loves to answer prayer. He himself has bid thee pray. Therefore will not say thee nay. Thou art coming to a king. Large
petitions with thee bring for his grace and power are such
that none can ever ask too much. Open your mouth wide. You know,
he's a glorious, gracious God. He delights in mercy. He delights in pouring his blessing
on his people. Open your mouth wide and he'll
feel it. That's his promise. But, verse
11, and this is, if there is a more distressing, more sad
verse in all of the word of God than this, I don't know what
it is. Verse 11, but my people would not hearken to my voice,
and Israel would none of me. Now, if that is not a testimony
of human depravity, I don't know what is. Israel would none of
me. I couldn't help but think of
that passage in Isaiah chapter 43, when God testifies to his
people, Israel is weary of me. weary of me. I'd rather have
the pots of Egypt. I'd rather have the leaks of
Egypt. I would rather Israel is weary of me. And what a sinful
testimony about us that we could actually, he says, Israel would
none of me. And if you don't see that in
yourself, where you get tired, you want something else, how
evil. How evil Israel would none of
me. So, verse 12, so I gave them
up unto their own hearts lust and they walked in their own
councils. That's the worst thing that can
happen for the Lord to leave me and myself. And that's what
I fear more than anything. Don't leave me to myself. Don't
leave me to my own desires, my corrupt desires. Don't leave
me to my will. Don't leave me to my understanding.
And this is a, you, you read something like this. God said,
I gave him up. Lord, don't, don't give me up.
Don't cast me off. Don't leave me to myself. The
worst thing that could happen to me is for the Lord to leave
me to my, as he said, their own heart's lust. And they walked
in their own council, in their own ways, in their own desires.
Now that, that happened when my people would have none of
me. I said, okay, have it your way. Have it your way. Then he says in verse 13, you know, when I, when I have
to go back to Psalm, when I think of, of this, I go back to Psalm
80. We looked at this last week. Verse three, turn us again. Oh God. We've turned away from you. Turn
us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine and we shall be
saved. Verse seven, turn us again, O
God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine and we shall be saved.
Verse 14, return we beseech thee, O God of hosts, look down from
heaven and visit this vine. Look in verse 18, so will we
not go back from thee quicken us and will call upon my name,
turn us again. Oh Lord God of hosts, cause thy
face to shine and we shall be saved. Now when I think of being
left to myself, I say, Lord, don't leave me to myself. Turn
me, turn me. I hope that's my prayer and I
hope that's your prayer when we hear this warning in the scripture. And do not, may the Lord deliver
us from a fatalistic and apathetic attitude. And that's what the
psalmist is fighting here. I gave them up into their own
hearts of lust and they walked in their own councils. And look
at what he said. And this is where I began the
introduction. Oh, that my people had hearkened
unto me. And Israel had walked in my ways,
walked in the way of faith, walked in the way of grace. Here's what
would have taken place if they did. I soon should have subdued their
enemies and turn my hand against their adversaries. This is what
would have taken place if they'd walked in my ways. Verse 15,
the haters of the Lord should have submitted themselves unto
him, but their time should have endured forever. Here's what
he would have done. Verse 16, he should have fed
them also with the finest of the wheat. Christ, the bread
from heaven, the finest of the wheat. Anything I don't have, it's my
fault. Amen. Anything I don't have,
it's my fault. He would. He would. He delights in mercy. He's gracious.
Don't ever, ever, ever look at the decrees of God or sovereign
grace as a reason to say, well, nothing I can do. No. Open your
mouth wide. He will fill it. He would have
done all these things. He should have fed them also
with the finest of the wheat. Somebody says, well, I'm not,
I'm not hearing. Whose fault is that? It's your
fault. If I'm not hearing the gospel,
it's my fault. If the gospel is being preached
and I'm not hearing, he would have fed me with the finest of
wheat. He should have fed them also
with the finest of wheat, and with honey out of the rock, should
I have satisfied thee. Now I love this picture of honey
out of a rock. You know, not only did water
come from a rock, what else comes from a rock? Honey. That's the
sweetness of the gospel. The sweetness of knowing that
God is pleased with me in Christ. Knowing that I'm accepted in
the beloved. Knowing that salvation really
is all of grace. You know what comes out of that?
This honey out of the rock. Not only the water, the smiting
of Christ, the water, the salvation that comes from him being smitten,
but all the good things of the gospel. honey out of the rock. And notice how he says I would
have satisfied thee with honey out of the rock. Now, satisfaction. Satisfaction. Here's what satisfies. I'm complete in Christ. And there's
nothing else needed. That only satisfies. I'm complete in Christ. He's made into me wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification. I don't have anything to look
for. I don't have anything to be unsatisfied. Somebody that's
unsatisfied because they're not looking to Christ. You look to
Christ. You will be satisfied simply
to be found in him and to be saved by him. That is true soul
satisfaction. And only the believer has that.
The unbeliever is always thirsting for something else. Not enough. And the reason they would say
it's not enough because they've never seen what it is they think
it's not enough is. The gospel satisfies. I'm not looking for anything
else. I'm satisfied. to be saved by Jesus Christ the
Lord in a way that he gets all the glory and none comes to me
because I know I don't have any coming and I'm completely satisfied
with that. Honey out of the rock. God our rock. Now, I hope this song reminds us, like I said initially,
if I said that about a garden, God's determined you'd have a
garden, nobody would say, well, I'm not gonna plow the ground
then. I'm not going to sow the seed. I'm not going to weed it.
I'm not going to water it. If I'm gonna have a garden, it'll
just pop up. You'd never say that. And may
we never take the glorious truth of God's sovereignty and then
just Use it as a way to indifference and doing nothing not seeking. Amen.