Read Psalm 81 at Bible Gateway.
The Hebrew paragraph divisions:
I am discovering the structures of the psalms of Asaph can be very different from the structures of the psalms of David, so I am adjusting my searching accordingly. This is the pattern I was able to discover this morning (the Hebrew paragraph divisions are marked within the structure):
1a) Psa 81:1-4, Praise to God at new moons + feast days, for this is a law of the God of Jacob;
1b) Psa 81:5-7, Israel delivered from slavery:
1a) Psa 81:5a, This He established in Joseph as a testimony;
1b.1) Psa 81:5b, When He went forth against the land of Egypt; {n}
1b.2) Psa 81:5c, The speech of one I knew not, did I hear;
1c) Psa 81:6a, “I removed his shoulder from the burden;
2c) Psa 81:6b, His hands were freed from the baskets;
2b.1) Psa 81:7a, You called in trouble, and I delivered you; {n}
2b.2) Psa 81:7b, I answered you in the secret place of thunder;
2a) Psa 81:7c, I tested you at the waters of Meribah; Selah
2a) Psa 81:8-10a, Hear My law: You shall not worship foreign gods, for I am the Lord your God who brought you from Egypt; {n}
2b) Psa 81:10b-16, Israel would be delivered from enemies:
1a) Psa 81:10b, Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it;
1b) Psa 81:11, “But My people would not heed My voice, And Israel would have none of Me;
1c) Psa 81:12, So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, To walk in their own counsels;
central axis) Psa 81:13, “Oh, that My people would listen to Me, That Israel would walk in My ways!
2c) Psa 81:14, I would soon subdue their enemies, And turn My hand against their adversaries;
2b) Psa 81:15, The haters of the Lord would pretend submission to Him, But their fate would endure forever;
2a) Psa 81:16, He would have fed them also with the finest of wheat; and with honey from the rock I would have satisfied you.” {p}
The repeating pattern of the psalm seems to be saying that the law of God did not arise willy nilly, but it is rooted in the real history of Israel. We praise God at set times which are anniversaries and memorials of historical deliverances. But it is more than a memorial, for Israel’s history prophesies of Messiah and of events and deliverances to come. Today Israel does not face Egypt, but new enemies; however her God has not changed. If Israel would have Him (for regard for His Law comes from a place of regard for Him, first and foremost), He would soon subdue their enemies today as He has in the past.
And a note of trivia on the reverse parallelism of the main 1B pair: testimonies come from tests!
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