Psalms 81: Open Your Mouth Wide
A festival psalm that summons Israel to joyful worship and then voices God's grieving plea that his people would only listen to him.
Psalms 81 (WEB)
1 Sing aloud to God, our strength! Make a joyful shout to the God of Jacob!
2 Raise a song, and bring here the tambourine, the pleasant lyre with the harp.
3 Blow the trumpet at the New Moon, at the full moon, on our feast day.
4 For it is a statute for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob.
5 He appointed it in Joseph for a testimony, when he went out over the land of Egypt, I heard a language that I didn’t know.
6 “I removed his shoulder from the burden. His hands were freed from the basket.
7 You called in trouble, and I delivered you. I answered you in the secret place of thunder. I tested you at the waters of Meribah.” Selah.
8 “Hear, my people, and I will testify to you, Israel, if you would listen to me!
9 There shall be no strange god in you, neither shall you worship any foreign god.
10 I am Yahweh, your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
11 But my people didn’t listen to my voice. Israel desired none of me.
12 So I let them go after the stubbornness of their hearts, that they might walk in their own counsels.
13 Oh that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways!
14 I would soon subdue their enemies, and turn my hand against their adversaries.
15 The haters of Yahweh would cringe before him, and their punishment would last forever.
16 But he would have also fed them with the finest of the wheat. I will satisfy you with honey out of the rock.”
Psalms 81 (KJV)
1 Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.
2 Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery.
3 Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day.
4 For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob.
5 This he ordained in Joseph for a testimony, when he went out through the land of Egypt: where I heard a language that I understood not.
6 I removed his shoulder from the burden: his hands were delivered from the pots.
7 Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee; I answered thee in the secret place of thunder: I proved thee at the waters of Meribah. Selah.
8 Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me;
9 There shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god.
10 I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.
11 But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me.
12 So I gave them up unto their own hearts’ lust: and they walked in their own counsels.
13 Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!
14 I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.
15 The haters of the Lord should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured for ever.
16 He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.
Psalms 81 (ASV)
1 Sing aloud unto God our strength: Make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.
2 Raise a song, and bring hither the timbrel, The pleasant harp with the psaltery.
3 Blow the trumpet at the new moon, At the full moon, on our feast-day.
4 For it is a statute for Israel, An ordinance of the God of Jacob.
5 He appointed it in Joseph for a testimony, When he went out over the land of Egypt, WhereI heard a language that I knew not.
6 I removed his shoulder from the burden: His hands were freed from the basket.
7 Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee; I answered thee in the secret place of thunder; I proved thee at the waters of Meribah. [Selah
8 Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wouldest hearken unto me!
9 There shall no strange god be in thee; Neither shalt thou worship any foreign god.
10 I am Jehovah thy God, Who brought thee up out of the land of Egypt: Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.
11 But my people hearkened not to my voice; And Israel would none of me.
12 So I let them go after the stubbornness of their heart, That they might walk in their own counsels.
13 Oh that my people would hearken unto me, That Israel would walk in my ways!
14 I would soon subdue their enemies, And turn my hand against their adversaries.
15 The haters of Jehovah should submit themselves unto him: But their time should endure for ever.
16 He would feed them also with the finest of the wheat; And with honey out of the rock would I satisfy thee.
Summary
This psalm of Asaph begins as a festival call to worship, summoning Israel to sing aloud, shout for joy, and bring the tambourine, lyre, and harp to celebrate the God of Jacob. It recalls the appointed feast as a statute given when God brought his people out of Egypt, when he removed the burden from their shoulders and answered them in the secret place of thunder. Then the tone shifts, and God himself begins to speak. He reminds Israel of the first commandment—no strange god among them—and of his generosity: "I am Yahweh, your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it." But the song turns sorrowful as God laments that his people did not listen; Israel wanted none of him, so he gave them up to the stubbornness of their own hearts. The psalm closes with one of the most tender "if only" laments in Scripture: "Oh that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways!" Then God would subdue their enemies and feed them with the finest wheat and honey from the rock. Here is the heart of a God who longs to bless, grieved by a people who will not receive what he freely offers in his Son.
Voices
- Yahweh, the generous Redeemer — The God who freed Israel from Egypt and longs to fill their open mouths, who grieves that his people will not listen to him.
- The worshiping congregation — Israel summoned to joyful festival praise with song and instruments before the God of Jacob.
- The unlistening people — Israel who desired none of God and were given over to the stubbornness of their own hearts.
Key Verse
Psalm 81:10 (WEB)
I am Yahweh, your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
Lessons Learned
- Joyful, wholehearted worship is a fitting response to the God who has redeemed us.
- Remembering deliverance—God lifting the burden from our shoulders—fuels present praise.
- God is eager to give; our part is to come empty-handed and open wide to receive.
- The tragedy of sin is not that God withholds but that we will not listen and receive his good.
- Worship recalls redemption. "I am Yahweh, your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt" (Psalm 81:10, WEB). Our praise is rooted in what God has done to set us free.
- God invites us to receive abundance. "Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it" (Psalm 81:10, WEB). The God who delivers also delights to fill the empty and expectant.
- Refusing to listen is self-harm. "But my people didn’t listen to my voice. Israel desired none of me" (Psalm 81:11, WEB). God gives the stubborn over to their own counsels.
- God longs to bless his people. "Oh that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways!" (Psalm 81:13, WEB). His withheld blessings are grieved, not begrudged.
- How does the psalm describe Israel's worship in verses 1-3, and what does that teach about celebrating God?
- What past deliverance does God recall, and why does it ground his appeal?
- What is God inviting Israel to do in verse 10, and what does the image of an open mouth suggest?
- How would you describe the tone of God's lament in verses 11-16?
- Where might God be inviting you to "open your mouth wide" and receive more from him than you have asked?
- Israel is called to sing aloud, shout joyfully, and bring tambourine, lyre, harp, and trumpet at the feast (81:1-3). Worship is meant to be glad, loud, and whole-bodied, a celebration of the God of Jacob, not a grim duty.
- God recalls bringing Israel out of Egypt, removing the burden from their shoulders, and answering them in trouble (81:6-7). His past faithfulness gives weight to his present call; the God who saved is the God worth listening to.
- God invites them to open wide so he can fill them, picturing a hungry child or bird ready to receive (81:10). It suggests that God's generosity outruns our expectation, and our task is to come empty and expectant rather than self-sufficient.
- It is sorrowful and tender; God grieves that his people would not listen and pictures all the good he longed to give—victory and the finest wheat and honey (81:13-16). Help the group feel God's heartbreak over blessings his people refused to receive.
- This is a gentle personal-application question. Encourage members to consider areas where they live small and self-reliant rather than expecting God's abundance. As leader, gently reframe obedience and listening as the path into God's generosity, supremely his gift of Christ.