Honey Out Of The Rock

HONEY OUT OF THE ROCK.

Psalm 81:8-16.

If we allow that the summons to praise (Psalm 81:1) is a call to celebrate the kingship of the LORD, it is because He, and He alone, is God (Psalm 81:9-10; cf. Deuteronomy 6:4-5).

Psalm 81:8. “Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto you: O Israel, if you will hearken unto me.” This sounds quite like another court case (cf. Psalm 50:7). We could almost forget that this is a psalm, and not a chapter out of Deuteronomy. There are echoes here of: ‘Today, if you will hear His voice, harden not your heart’ (cf. Psalm 95:7-8). Of Jesus, too: ‘If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear’ (cf. Mark 4:23).

Psalm 81:9. The LORD reminds His people of the first COMMANDMENT: ‘no other gods’ (cf. Exodus 20:3). As Christians, we owe our all to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is no other who has a claim upon us, and we must banish anything which seeks to usurp His place in our lives.

Psalm 81:10. “I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt.” We sometimes need to be reminded of what God has done for us in leading us ‘out of the house of bondage’ (cf. Exodus 20:2) - out of the bondage of sin and death and into His glorious kingdom!

Past mercies are the foundation of present prayers, and present prayers are the channel towards future blessings.

“Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.” What a PROMISE! The picture is of chicks in the nest, anticipating the return of a parent with a morsel. ‘Ask, and you shall receive; seek, and you shall find’ (cf. Matthew 7:7).

Yet it would be sad to limit this just to food. The more we open our mouths in prayer, the more the Holy Spirit assists us in prayer (cf. Romans 8:26-27). The more we pray, the more the Lord shall fill us with the blessings we crave (cf. Philippians 4:19). The more God answers prayer, the more we should open our mouths in praise (cf. Ephesians 3:20-21).

Psalm 81:11. “But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me.” The DISOBEDIENCE began even while Moses was still in the mountain (Exodus 32:1). It continued throughout the days of the prophets (Jeremiah 2:11-13). The same lament is found on the mouth of our Saviour (cf. Matthew 23:37).

Psalm 81:12. “So I gave them up to their own hearts’ lust: and they walked in their own counsels.” It is a terrible thing for stubborn hearts to be given up to their own desires (cf. Romans 1:24-25). Left to his own devices, man will only wax worse and worse. And sin is aggravated where God’s voice was heard, but not heeded.

Psalm 81:13. The LORD upbraids His people: “Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways.” We can almost feel the ANGUISH of the parent. The Father’s love is still reaching out to His wayward children. ‘He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked’ (cf. Ezekiel 33:11); ‘not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance’ (cf. 2 Peter 3:9).

If only they had hearkened, then God would have been their ‘strength’ (Psalm 81:1), and they would not have suffered the setbacks hinted at in the following verses.

Psalm 81:14. “I should have soon subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.”

‘We wrestle not against flesh and blood’ (cf. Ephesians 6:12), so ‘the weapons of our warfare are not carnal’ (cf. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5). Spiritual enemies are best combatted by an obedient spiritual life.

Psalm 81:15. If the LORD’s people hearkened, then “the haters of the LORD should have submitted themselves unto Him.” I wonder how often believers’ lack of faithfulness proves to be a stumbling block to others.

“But” if the LORD’s people had hearkened, then, “their time should have endured for ever.” ‘Righteousness exalts a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people (cf. Proverbs 14:34).

However, despite the disobedience, despite the reproach, despite the regret, our God still furnishes another PROMISE for those who will hearken:

Psalm 81:16. “He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat.” He “fills” (Psalm 81:10) us with ‘the finest of wheat’ (cf. Psalm 147:14). ‘He that spared not His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things’ (Romans 8:32).

“And with honey out of the Rock should I have satisfied thee,” says the LORD. ‘And that Rock is Christ’ (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:4). There is no greater satisfaction than to abide in Him, and He in us (cf. John 15:7).