PSALM 81. THE ALTERNATIVES OF LIFE. What did happen? What could have happened? These are the strong items of Asaph's theme when he sings about the Message of God to the children of Israel.. The Psalm was either written for, or used at the Feast of Trumpets. In Jewish tradition, the world was created in TISRI (our month of September). If you want to know when it all began - by tradition it began in September. We are all aware that our calender starts at January. What we have to bear in mind is that our January is called after the Roman God JANUS, who had two faces, looking backwards , and looking forwards at the same time. The beginning of the year is the time when we look back and look forward at the same time. But we do not worship heathen Gods. We worship the God who made everything. The ancients of course believed in many gods ;for the Hebrews, who had One God, all things began in September. This psalm was probably used on the first day of TISRI. Creation - New Moon - Deliverance - are all in this psalm. The trumpet sounds and Time begins anew. What a terrible experience life would be if it were not possible for us to have a fresh start. If we never heard the sound of God's Trumpet till the end of life. For Israel, the Trumpet sound was a very special sound. It blew Jubilee - it blew deliverance - it blew the beginning of everything. All debts were cancelled. Everyone went back to the bosom of their families, healing estrangements. Family possessions, if lost in the intervening years, were restored at the sound of the Trumpet. The Trumpet sound in this psalm is the sound of a new beginning. There is a choice in life. Many have said, "I wish I could have a new start!. If only I could start all over again!" They long for a new beginning. That is what the blowing of the Trumpet in this psalm heralds. There is however one great problem in starting all over again. If we start again WITHOUT GOD, we will make the same mistakes all over again. It is inevitable, because it is in our nature. The only GOOD START is a start with God. There is a contrast in this psalm which reveals the choice which we have in life. God tells of what He could have done for His people. It is of no use spending days planning and having decided what to do, asking God to bless us. The contrast in the psalm is so clear - it is between what God could have done for His people and what His people HAD DONE for themselves. This is an important issue in all our lives. Here lies the answer to success or failure. There are times when we make fools of ourselves by our own choices. Like the six foot man, as broad as a barn door, who insists that he wants to be a jockey. Observe the contrasts as you read the psalm. THE PEOPLE AS THEY WERE. There are so many revealing phrases. God says, God says, "I proved thee at the waters of Meribah." referring Israel back to their experience there. Exodus 17 tells the story. "The people murmured and complained because there was no water." How many times do we take God for granted, when everything is exactly as we want it to be?. Then as soon as the things we want get scarce we complain. When you read at the end of this psalm, "He should have fed them withy the finest of the wheat, and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee." What God WOULD have done and the condition they found themselves in, was SO VASTLY DIFFERENT. But the choice was theirs. God was willing to do things for them, but they murmured and complained. It was at Horeb that a wonderful miracle took place, when the SMITTEN ROCK gave water. Christian believers can rejoice in the fact that all our needs are supplied in Christ the Rock of Ages, since He was smitten for us at Calvary. He died for us, and in Him we are made Joint Heirs. In Him there is provision for all our needs. In verse 7 God speaks again to His people, "Thou callest in trouble and I delivered thee; I answered the in the secret place of thunder: I proved thee at the waters of Meribah." God called the place MASSAH and MERIBAH - Temptation and Provocation. Even today, the Church of God suffers more from provocation and strife within it, than it does from persecution from without. The Egyptians failed to wipe out Israel, but if you read the story carefully you will discover that after 40 years everyone who provoked God died in the wilderness. They literally wiped themselves out by their provocation and strife. The lesson is clear; do not provoke God; do not strive with Him. There is another telling phrase here, "I gave them up to their own heart's lust; they walked on their own." They fell into the trap of self-seeking. Always bear in mind the old adage. "Life for self- you live in vain: Live for God - you'll live again." Self seeking is utterly destructive. "What do I want?." It is so easy to get to the place where nothing else matters but what YOU want. We even start telling the Almighty exactly what WE want. God readily supplies all our need, but He will not supply all our WANTS. In the nature of human beings, we will always have more wants than needs. We must never become childish in our own desires before God. There is a wonderful alternative in life. We can say to the Lord, "Lord I will accept whatever you give, and be happy with it." That would be really trusting our Heavenly Father. Remember, Self desire and Self seeking will always bring us to despair. If we seek for ourselves only, too often, we will come to the place where we begin to wonder, "Does God answer prayer?". The moment we ask that question we should closely examine the reason for our praying. In the case of Israel, what they really wanted was Egypt. What Israel got was Wilderness, because self seeking brought them despair. THIS is where the people were. Then the psalm reveals WHAT GOD WOULD HAVE DONE FOR THEM if only they had trusted Him. First, He would have given them the JOYFUL SOUND - the day the Trumpet sounded. In peace the trumpet was always accepted as a joyful sound. It was intended by God that it should sound for Jubilee - the Acceptable Year of the Lord. It was a year of freedom for all. This thought is mirrored in the Christian Hymn, "WE have heard the joyful sound, Jesus Saves." The clarion sound of the Trumpet was the voice of Jubilee. The Trumpet was also sounded at the Day of Feasting. On the 15th Day of TISRI there was a Day of Feasting - a Day of Tents or Tabernacles. Camp Conventions are no new thing. They go back to the days of Israel of old. All the nation was called to a day of feasting by the sound of a Trumpet. There was of course more than just a Joyful Sound. There was a Joyful Deliverance. "I removed his shoulder from the burden, his hands were delivered from the pots." This was a reference to their bondage in Egypt. Even today, the only truly free people are the people of God. The people referred to in this psalm had forgotten their brick making in Egypt. They were now filled with strife and self seeking. It is possible to be delivered from the bondage of sin, and be a slave to self. Hear the Trumpet sound, and find a happy deliverance from yourself. Out of this joyful deliverance there comes a joyful provision. Note the tenth verse of the psalm, "I am the Lord thy God that brought thee out of the land of Egypt; open thy mouth wide and I will fill it." This graphic phrase refers to an eastern potentate showing favour to someone by filling his mouth with a mixture of sweetmeats and jewels. The recipient went away reach beyond his dreams. (Especially of he had a big mouth. If only our mouths were as big when God blesses us, as they are when we complain.) God said that He would have fed them on the finest of the wheat and with honey out of the rock. Copyright (c) 1996, Hedley Palmer. All rights reserved. ---------------------------------------------------- file: /pub/resources/text/hpalmer/psalms: ps-081.txt .