The call to choose — God's desire, our defiance, and the path to blessing (Psalm 81)

From a Thanksgiving sermon · Psalm 81

The deliverance (vv. 1–7)

The psalm opens with a command to sing, shout, and sound the trumpet at the feast. Praise and thankfulness are meant to be on purpose — we don't drift into gratitude; we decide on it. Then it looks back: "I relieved his shoulder from the burden; his hands were freed from carrying the basket." Scripture puts enormous weight on remembering what God has done. We need to remember and recall His deliverance of us from sin the way Israel remembered Egypt. And verse 7 adds the part we'd rather skip: "I tested you at the Waters of Meribah." God will test and prove our faith in Him. "Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience" (James 1:2–4).

The declaration (vv. 8–10)

"Listen, my people, and I will admonish you. Israel, if you would only listen to me!" Two things: we need to be listening for God's voice — "My sheep hear my voice" (John 10:27) — and we need to be obeying it: "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love" (John 15:10). Do you hear the voice of Jesus?

Then the standard: "There must not be a strange god among you; you must not bow down to a foreign god." An idol is anything that replaces God (1 John 5:21). And the sufficiency: "I am the Lord your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it." Keep seeking Him and He'll direct you — "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart... in all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths" (Proverbs 3:5–6).

The defiance (v. 11)

"But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel did not obey me." They were God's redeemed people, and they stopped remembering His work in their lives. Forgetting led to forsaking. They followed their own path and pushed God out of it. That's the sequence every time: forget what He did, forget who He is, go your own way.

The destruction (v. 12)

"So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own plans."

Here's the line the whole psalm turns on: God's greatest punishment is often His allowance. They wanted their own things, their own way — and He let them. We tend to assume that because God is allowing something, He approves of it. Not so. A father may accept the boy who wants to marry his daughter without approving of him. Quite often God's allowing us to do our own thing our own way is the punishment. Romans 1 says it three times: "God delivered them over." So be very careful about imposing your desires on God. He might just let you have your way.

The disappointment (v. 13)

"If only my people would listen to me and Israel would follow my ways." Hear the ache in that. God wants us to listen to Him, and it grieves Him when we don't. His desire is a loving relationship with you — to show you His ways, and for you to follow His direction. And here's a principle worth underlining: God's will and His ways are always revealed through a loving relationship with Him. You should have no expectation of knowing or being shown God's will if you don't have a relationship with Him.

The destiny (vv. 14–16)

"I would quickly subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes." God's way is protection from our adversaries — "Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16). Those who choose their own way have chosen the wrong way. And then the last verse: "But he would feed Israel with the best wheat. I would satisfy you with honey from the rock." Satisfaction comes from submission. The finest wheat — God supplies what we need, physically and spiritually. Honey from the rock — God takes the hard, difficult places of life and brings sweetness out of them, sustaining us through what we'd never have chosen.

In six lines

Remember the great works of God in your life. Just because you got your way doesn't mean you got God's approval. Have a loving relationship with God. He will reveal His way through that relationship. Obey what He tells you. And He will give you the faith, grace, and protection to do it.

Two ways out of this psalm

God's heaviest punishment is often just letting you have exactly what you asked for. If you've never turned to Him, that's the road you're on, and the frightening part is how quiet it is. Nobody stops you. But there's a second way, and it costs you nothing except your own way: Jesus took the judgment your stubbornness earned, died under it, and rose. Ask Him to save you and He will. He would so much rather feed you than let you go.

For you who already know Him — honey from the rock. Sit down this week and write out three hard places God brought sweetness out of. Then read them out loud at your table with your people listening.

Remembering isn't a feeling that shows up. It's something you do on purpose.

Related: Romans 1 — what happens when people push God away and The destruction of bitterness.