WEBVTT 00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:07.259 This song is a good segue to Psalm 81. It's about singing praise to God and Psalm 81 tells us to praise Him. 00:00:08.040 --> 00:00:10.980 And I'll read it out loud first for us. 00:00:13.960 --> 00:00:18.900 Sing aloud to God our strength. Shop for joy to the God of Jacob. 00:00:19.440 --> 00:00:23.620 Raise a song. Sound the tambourine, the sweet lyre with the harp. 00:00:24.359 --> 00:00:27.760 Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon on our feast day. 00:00:27.760 --> 00:00:31.960 For it is a statute for Israel, a rule of the God of Jacob. 00:00:32.359 --> 00:00:36.340 He made it a decree in Joseph when he went out over the land of Egypt. 00:00:37.120 --> 00:00:39.240 I hear a language I had not known. 00:00:39.980 --> 00:00:41.900 I relieved your shoulder of burden. 00:00:42.640 --> 00:00:44.620 Your hands were freed from the basket. 00:00:45.520 --> 00:00:48.460 In distress you called, and I delivered you. 00:00:48.939 --> 00:00:51.120 I answered you in the secret place of thunder. 00:00:51.240 --> 00:00:54.920 I tested you at the waters of Meribah, Selah. 00:00:54.920 --> 00:00:58.160 Hear, O my people, while I admonish you. 00:00:58.300 --> 00:01:00.440 O Israel, if you would bud, listen to me. 00:01:00.940 --> 00:01:03.040 There shall be no strange God among you. 00:01:03.079 --> 00:01:05.280 You shall not bow down to a foreign God. 00:01:05.960 --> 00:01:09.980 I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. 00:01:10.560 --> 00:01:12.879 Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. 00:01:13.520 --> 00:01:15.820 But my people did not listen to my voice. 00:01:16.599 --> 00:01:18.200 Israel would not submit to me. 00:01:18.200 --> 00:01:22.200 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own counsels. 00:01:23.159 --> 00:01:25.240 O that my people would listen to me. 00:01:25.299 --> 00:01:27.240 That Israel would walk in my ways. 00:01:27.480 --> 00:01:31.159 I would soon subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes. 00:01:31.500 --> 00:01:35.120 Those who hate the Lord would cringe toward him, and their fate would last forever. 00:01:35.960 --> 00:01:38.840 But he would feed you with the finest of the wheat. 00:01:39.219 --> 00:01:42.140 And with honey from the rock, I would satisfy you. 00:01:42.140 --> 00:01:47.780 You guys have all heard the advice. 00:01:47.960 --> 00:01:50.980 You've probably read Steve Jobs' biography. 00:01:51.700 --> 00:01:53.960 One of the advice he'd like to give people was, 00:01:54.239 --> 00:01:56.659 have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. 00:01:57.180 --> 00:01:59.079 You somehow know what you truly want to become. 00:01:59.680 --> 00:02:02.400 That might be good advice when it comes to career choices. 00:02:02.400 --> 00:02:07.760 But when it comes to, obviously, our ethical and spiritual choices, 00:02:07.960 --> 00:02:09.879 it's not a good idea to follow our heart. 00:02:10.140 --> 00:02:12.060 And this passage tells us why. 00:02:12.140 --> 00:02:15.000 It says that our hearts are sinful and stubborn. 00:02:15.700 --> 00:02:19.599 And it's a sign of God's judgment when we are given over to the ways of our hearts 00:02:19.599 --> 00:02:21.400 and to follow our own counsels. 00:02:22.460 --> 00:02:25.360 And because of that, in our own sinfulness, in the sinfulness of our hearts, 00:02:25.420 --> 00:02:29.319 our tendency is to seek fulfillment and satisfaction in things other than God. 00:02:29.319 --> 00:02:34.219 But Psalm 81 here teaches us that we should listen to the Lord, 00:02:34.459 --> 00:02:37.560 obey him, and listen to the Lord who alone can satisfy us. 00:02:38.319 --> 00:02:42.199 So in verses 1 to 7, we find the invitation to sing to God. 00:02:42.859 --> 00:02:47.400 And then in verses 8 to 16, we find an admonition to listen to God. 00:02:48.400 --> 00:02:51.319 And first is a command to sing, invitation to sing. 00:02:51.959 --> 00:02:55.419 And we see in verses 1 to 3, four different commands 00:02:55.419 --> 00:02:58.500 that all deal with some kind of musical expression of worship. 00:02:58.500 --> 00:03:03.580 So first it's sing aloud, then shout for joy, then raise a song, 00:03:03.979 --> 00:03:07.180 and then sound the tambourine, and then blow the trumpet. 00:03:07.280 --> 00:03:09.740 They're all commands that deal with some kind of musical expression. 00:03:10.039 --> 00:03:13.099 And the occasion seems to be, as indicated by verse 3, 00:03:13.539 --> 00:03:15.319 a feast day of the new moon. 00:03:15.719 --> 00:03:21.240 So according to, you know, this will come up later, 00:03:21.240 --> 00:03:23.219 but according to Numbers 10.10, 00:03:23.400 --> 00:03:25.900 God had appointed a feast for every month, 00:03:26.000 --> 00:03:27.340 the beginning of the month at the new moon, 00:03:27.700 --> 00:03:29.340 to celebrate and thank God for the new month. 00:03:29.659 --> 00:03:32.219 And it's easy to kind of gloss over these things 00:03:32.219 --> 00:03:34.040 because you see it's so frequent in the psalm. 00:03:34.039 --> 00:03:39.519 But it's important to pause and note the significance of singing 00:03:39.519 --> 00:03:41.199 in Christian community, right? 00:03:41.239 --> 00:03:44.899 Because the Bible contains over 400 general references to singing 00:03:44.899 --> 00:03:48.399 and almost 50 direct commands to sing in Scripture, 00:03:48.659 --> 00:03:49.620 including in this psalm. 00:03:50.319 --> 00:03:54.099 And obviously the whole book of psalms actually is music, right? 00:03:54.280 --> 00:03:56.500 It's the longest book in the Bible, 00:03:56.620 --> 00:04:00.060 but it's a collection of songs complete with musical notations, right? 00:04:00.060 --> 00:04:03.060 So if you look at the superscription of the psalm, 00:04:04.140 --> 00:04:06.039 it says to the choir master, right? 00:04:06.439 --> 00:04:07.860 According to the gitith. 00:04:08.680 --> 00:04:13.319 The gitith is probably a reference to some kind of instrument 00:04:13.319 --> 00:04:14.879 made by people of Gath. 00:04:15.539 --> 00:04:18.079 And so there's an instrumental notation, musical notation. 00:04:18.420 --> 00:04:19.720 It references choir. 00:04:20.220 --> 00:04:21.699 And then later it says selah, 00:04:21.779 --> 00:04:23.800 which is also kind of a musical pause, right? 00:04:23.879 --> 00:04:26.860 So it's like it's God, music is so important 00:04:26.860 --> 00:04:29.480 that God put music into Scripture. 00:04:31.060 --> 00:04:34.300 And that's, I think, 00:04:34.759 --> 00:04:39.040 I think that's why every Christian, you know, 00:04:39.079 --> 00:04:41.579 really should sing and would be commanded to sing. 00:04:41.699 --> 00:04:43.639 But it's even a non-singer, 00:04:43.759 --> 00:04:46.040 when he or she becomes a Christian, becomes a singer, right? 00:04:46.139 --> 00:04:47.340 That's the, that's, 00:04:47.740 --> 00:04:49.920 we are called to worship him through song. 00:04:50.660 --> 00:04:53.340 And I think, and he gives reasons for that. 00:04:53.399 --> 00:04:55.439 He doesn't just stop there and tells us to sing. 00:04:55.439 --> 00:04:57.040 He gives us reasons why we should sing. 00:04:57.040 --> 00:05:00.960 And first reason is given in verses four to five. 00:05:01.100 --> 00:05:01.300 It says, 00:05:02.000 --> 00:05:05.460 for it is a statute for Israel, a rule of the God of Jacob. 00:05:05.680 --> 00:05:09.180 He made it a decree in Joseph when he went out over the land of Egypt, right? 00:05:09.520 --> 00:05:12.260 So this was the first reason that it's a command, right? 00:05:12.260 --> 00:05:13.520 That God commanded us to sing. 00:05:14.020 --> 00:05:15.040 And he is our king. 00:05:15.120 --> 00:05:15.800 He is our God. 00:05:15.960 --> 00:05:19.220 And it is right for us to obey him and sing to him in praise. 00:05:19.980 --> 00:05:21.320 But that's not the only reason. 00:05:21.319 --> 00:05:24.680 And another reason that is given for singing is in verses five to seven. 00:05:25.040 --> 00:05:25.959 It begins by saying, 00:05:26.060 --> 00:05:27.779 I hear a language I had not known. 00:05:28.439 --> 00:05:33.839 So that's probably a reference to a prophetic kind of oracle that this, 00:05:33.839 --> 00:05:35.779 this psalmist is receiving from the Lord. 00:05:36.139 --> 00:05:38.360 And then he basically starts to quote the oracle, 00:05:38.500 --> 00:05:39.100 which is from God, 00:05:39.180 --> 00:05:39.699 God speaking. 00:05:39.699 --> 00:05:40.839 And, and, 00:05:40.899 --> 00:05:42.420 and he's saying that he heard it in it. 00:05:42.480 --> 00:05:45.240 Maybe he heard it in a language he had not previously known, 00:05:45.439 --> 00:05:46.459 especially in a foreign tongue, 00:05:46.519 --> 00:05:47.699 or he could be meaning that he, 00:05:47.839 --> 00:05:49.759 it was hard for him to understand, 00:05:49.759 --> 00:05:51.519 or it's like he didn't understand the fullness of it, 00:05:51.560 --> 00:05:52.519 or it's, 00:05:52.800 --> 00:05:54.839 but the oracle goes like this. 00:05:54.920 --> 00:05:55.159 It says, 00:05:55.259 --> 00:05:57.379 I relieved your shoulder of the burden. 00:05:57.839 --> 00:05:59.899 Your hands were freed from the basket. 00:06:00.319 --> 00:06:01.120 In distress, 00:06:01.259 --> 00:06:03.079 you called and I delivered you. 00:06:03.360 --> 00:06:05.740 I answered you in the secret place of thunder. 00:06:06.099 --> 00:06:08.420 I tested you at the waters of Meribah, 00:06:08.620 --> 00:06:08.959 Selah. 00:06:09.759 --> 00:06:14.620 So the reason given here for why we should sing and worship is because he's our 00:06:14.620 --> 00:06:15.180 deliverer, 00:06:15.219 --> 00:06:15.379 right? 00:06:15.579 --> 00:06:19.120 Because he relieved us from the heavy burden of slavery in Egypt, 00:06:19.120 --> 00:06:21.699 because God delivered us out of Egypt, 00:06:21.780 --> 00:06:22.480 of the Israelites. 00:06:22.860 --> 00:06:25.899 And he revealed himself to us in mighty thunder on Mount Sinai. 00:06:26.139 --> 00:06:30.220 And he even tested us in order to sanctify us and to prove us true at the 00:06:30.220 --> 00:06:31.160 waters of Meribah, 00:06:31.259 --> 00:06:31.420 right? 00:06:31.980 --> 00:06:35.720 And it's this great salvation that we have from God that impels us to sing. 00:06:36.519 --> 00:06:36.860 And even, 00:06:37.120 --> 00:06:38.420 and that's why, 00:06:38.600 --> 00:06:40.879 even in a Christian, 00:06:40.959 --> 00:06:43.639 that's not a good singer is nonetheless a genuine singer. 00:06:43.800 --> 00:06:46.920 We all sing from our hearts because of what God has done. 00:06:46.920 --> 00:06:51.000 So that's the first half of the song is an invitation to sing to God. 00:06:51.660 --> 00:06:55.500 And then the psalmist transitions in verse eight to an admonition to listen to 00:06:55.500 --> 00:06:55.680 God, 00:06:55.740 --> 00:06:57.800 because in this exhortation to sing to God, 00:06:58.220 --> 00:07:01.500 the psalmist realizes that God's people have been unfaithful repeatedly. 00:07:01.500 --> 00:07:01.939 And, 00:07:01.939 --> 00:07:03.300 and so he says, 00:07:03.500 --> 00:07:03.779 hear, 00:07:03.899 --> 00:07:04.019 oh, 00:07:04.040 --> 00:07:04.480 my people, 00:07:04.579 --> 00:07:05.319 this is God speaking, 00:07:05.459 --> 00:07:06.639 while I admonish you, 00:07:07.019 --> 00:07:07.199 oh, 00:07:07.279 --> 00:07:07.720 Israel, 00:07:07.879 --> 00:07:09.839 if you would but listen to me. 00:07:11.040 --> 00:07:11.740 This is, 00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:14.980 actually ties really well into our Sunday sermons coming up, 00:07:15.019 --> 00:07:18.540 but the word hear and listen are the same Hebrew words. 00:07:19.060 --> 00:07:20.500 And in the same way in the English, 00:07:20.600 --> 00:07:21.660 when you tell someone to listen, 00:07:21.819 --> 00:07:23.480 you could mean to just listen to you, 00:07:23.759 --> 00:07:24.600 auditory sense, 00:07:24.939 --> 00:07:26.420 but also you could mean listen, 00:07:26.600 --> 00:07:27.379 meaning obey, 00:07:27.579 --> 00:07:27.819 right? 00:07:28.199 --> 00:07:30.000 So the Hebrew also has two nuances, 00:07:30.159 --> 00:07:30.680 both of those. 00:07:30.920 --> 00:07:30.939 And, 00:07:31.000 --> 00:07:31.699 and, 00:07:31.759 --> 00:07:34.240 and that's God's using it in both senses. 00:07:34.399 --> 00:07:34.459 They, 00:07:34.540 --> 00:07:35.699 he wants them to hear him. 00:07:35.759 --> 00:07:37.019 He also wants them to obey him, 00:07:37.120 --> 00:07:37.759 listen to him. 00:07:38.240 --> 00:07:39.019 But instead, 00:07:39.159 --> 00:07:40.959 God's people had turned a deaf ear to him, 00:07:41.060 --> 00:07:42.019 have had turned to idols. 00:07:42.219 --> 00:07:44.079 And so God says in verses nine to 10, 00:07:44.300 --> 00:07:46.659 there shall be no strange God among you. 00:07:46.659 --> 00:07:48.779 You shall not bow down to a foreign God. 00:07:49.180 --> 00:07:50.039 I am the Lord, 00:07:50.079 --> 00:07:52.039 your God who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. 00:07:52.319 --> 00:07:54.159 Open your mouth wide and I will fill it. 00:07:54.699 --> 00:07:56.939 These two verses are really a summary of, 00:07:56.939 --> 00:07:57.439 uh, 00:07:57.779 --> 00:08:00.699 the prologue and the first two commandments of the 10 commandments. 00:08:00.839 --> 00:08:02.000 So in Exodus 20, 00:08:02.219 --> 00:08:02.459 uh, 00:08:02.459 --> 00:08:03.740 two to five and Deuteronomy five, 00:08:03.819 --> 00:08:04.300 six to nine, 00:08:04.839 --> 00:08:08.879 because there God introduced himself in exactly the same way. 00:08:08.899 --> 00:08:09.100 He says, 00:08:09.180 --> 00:08:09.800 I am the Lord, 00:08:09.839 --> 00:08:12.040 your God who brought you up out of land of Egypt. 00:08:12.720 --> 00:08:13.079 Uh, 00:08:13.120 --> 00:08:13.399 and, 00:08:13.500 --> 00:08:13.620 uh, 00:08:13.620 --> 00:08:16.720 and then he gives the 10 commandments and first two of which is, 00:08:16.720 --> 00:08:18.839 you shall have no other gods besides me. 00:08:19.000 --> 00:08:19.899 And then second is, 00:08:19.959 --> 00:08:21.939 you shall not make gifts and image in the form of anything. 00:08:22.040 --> 00:08:24.959 And you shall not bow down to them or worship them. 00:08:25.040 --> 00:08:25.139 Right? 00:08:25.139 --> 00:08:28.099 So those two commands are really distilled in verses nine to 10. 00:08:28.419 --> 00:08:29.819 There shall be no strange God among you. 00:08:30.079 --> 00:08:31.599 You shall not bow down to foreign God. 00:08:31.959 --> 00:08:32.960 And then the introduction, 00:08:33.139 --> 00:08:33.799 I am the Lord, 00:08:33.840 --> 00:08:35.480 your God who brought you up out of land of Egypt. 00:08:35.980 --> 00:08:38.500 And that verse 10 is really emphatic because, 00:08:38.500 --> 00:08:39.460 uh, 00:08:39.500 --> 00:08:40.779 if you look back, 00:08:40.980 --> 00:08:42.799 you scan back to kind of verse six, 00:08:42.860 --> 00:08:43.879 where the Oracle began, 00:08:44.500 --> 00:08:47.399 it's actually not clear who's speaking. 00:08:47.600 --> 00:08:48.019 Right? 00:08:48.059 --> 00:08:48.840 Cause the Psalmist says, 00:08:48.960 --> 00:08:49.159 Oh, 00:08:49.240 --> 00:08:50.059 like I got this, 00:08:50.200 --> 00:08:50.620 I didn't, 00:08:50.620 --> 00:08:51.440 I got this, 00:08:51.539 --> 00:08:51.840 you know, 00:08:51.899 --> 00:08:53.740 Oracle in a language I did not understand. 00:08:53.899 --> 00:08:55.320 And he starts giving the Oracle, 00:08:55.580 --> 00:08:57.080 but it's not clear who the speaker is. 00:08:57.080 --> 00:09:00.179 The speaker is not introduced until verse 10. 00:09:00.759 --> 00:09:02.580 So it's really emphatic when in verse 10, 00:09:02.700 --> 00:09:03.159 God says, 00:09:03.299 --> 00:09:04.279 I am the Lord, 00:09:04.419 --> 00:09:04.980 your God, 00:09:05.340 --> 00:09:05.480 right? 00:09:05.480 --> 00:09:06.840 Who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. 00:09:06.960 --> 00:09:07.360 And in fact, 00:09:07.360 --> 00:09:09.919 the Hebrew pronoun I is in, 00:09:09.919 --> 00:09:11.139 it's an emphatic form. 00:09:11.220 --> 00:09:12.500 So it means like I myself, 00:09:12.800 --> 00:09:14.340 I myself am the Lord, 00:09:14.379 --> 00:09:16.580 your God who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. 00:09:16.980 --> 00:09:18.139 And so this is, 00:09:18.240 --> 00:09:22.759 you can kind of feel God's passion here because he's saying, 00:09:22.940 --> 00:09:25.180 I'm the one that brought you out of your slavery. 00:09:25.279 --> 00:09:26.740 I'm the one that had a relationship with you. 00:09:26.820 --> 00:09:28.480 I'm the one that knows you. 00:09:28.879 --> 00:09:29.740 I'm your savior. 00:09:30.139 --> 00:09:31.000 And instead, 00:09:31.120 --> 00:09:32.980 Israel's turned to a strange God, 00:09:33.159 --> 00:09:34.320 God that they never knew. 00:09:34.980 --> 00:09:35.180 Uh, 00:09:35.180 --> 00:09:36.360 they've turned to a foreign God. 00:09:36.360 --> 00:09:37.440 That's not theirs, 00:09:37.440 --> 00:09:37.980 uh, 00:09:37.980 --> 00:09:39.019 to another person's God, 00:09:39.080 --> 00:09:40.180 to another nation's God. 00:09:41.320 --> 00:09:42.440 But in spite of that, 00:09:42.460 --> 00:09:44.360 God still approaches them, 00:09:44.539 --> 00:09:46.000 comes to them and tells them, 00:09:46.100 --> 00:09:48.919 open your mouth wide and I will fill it. 00:09:49.399 --> 00:09:50.580 It's a great image, 00:09:50.759 --> 00:09:50.960 right? 00:09:51.080 --> 00:09:51.639 It's like a, 00:09:52.279 --> 00:09:52.600 um, 00:09:52.720 --> 00:09:53.060 I don't know. 00:09:53.080 --> 00:09:53.399 It's almost, 00:09:53.500 --> 00:09:55.000 you could picture them in the wilderness, 00:09:55.200 --> 00:09:55.360 right? 00:09:55.419 --> 00:09:59.720 Just like keeping their mouths agape and then waiting for the manna to fall or like, 00:09:59.759 --> 00:10:00.120 I don't know, 00:10:00.139 --> 00:10:00.740 it's just like a, 00:10:01.259 --> 00:10:01.480 uh, 00:10:01.480 --> 00:10:02.539 the quail to come down. 00:10:02.620 --> 00:10:02.879 It just, 00:10:03.080 --> 00:10:03.180 uh, 00:10:03.500 --> 00:10:06.340 and cause it's so easy to think of God as someone who is stingy, 00:10:06.639 --> 00:10:06.840 right? 00:10:06.879 --> 00:10:08.440 Or sparing with us or someone, 00:10:08.879 --> 00:10:09.519 this strict, 00:10:09.779 --> 00:10:10.100 you know, 00:10:10.980 --> 00:10:14.399 parental figure that wants to withhold all the good and fun things from us, 00:10:14.399 --> 00:10:14.639 right? 00:10:14.680 --> 00:10:15.080 Or like, 00:10:15.080 --> 00:10:15.399 it's like, 00:10:15.419 --> 00:10:16.779 that's how we can think of it. 00:10:16.820 --> 00:10:21.720 So we could feel like we have to have all our way or finagle something to get what we want from him. 00:10:21.879 --> 00:10:22.960 But that's not, 00:10:23.039 --> 00:10:23.480 you know, 00:10:23.480 --> 00:10:23.960 the truth. 00:10:24.039 --> 00:10:25.279 The truth is God says, 00:10:25.340 --> 00:10:28.300 open your mouth wide and I will fill it. 00:10:28.300 --> 00:10:28.659 Right? 00:10:29.379 --> 00:10:31.299 It's how simple is that? 00:10:31.360 --> 00:10:32.919 We don't need to beg or, 00:10:33.039 --> 00:10:33.299 you know, 00:10:33.419 --> 00:10:34.339 bargain with him, 00:10:34.659 --> 00:10:35.379 barter with him. 00:10:35.480 --> 00:10:39.019 We simply believe and open our mouths and God's not a Scrooge, 00:10:39.059 --> 00:10:39.199 right? 00:10:39.259 --> 00:10:39.659 He says, 00:10:39.759 --> 00:10:40.600 open it wide. 00:10:41.419 --> 00:10:42.959 Expect God to fill it. 00:10:43.400 --> 00:10:45.139 And then he will fill it generously. 00:10:46.620 --> 00:10:46.639 And, 00:10:46.639 --> 00:10:46.960 and, 00:10:47.060 --> 00:10:51.879 and so God who delivered Israel out of their slavery has been exceedingly generous with them. 00:10:51.940 --> 00:10:52.060 Yet, 00:10:52.120 --> 00:10:53.120 in spite of all this, 00:10:53.160 --> 00:10:54.100 it says in verse 11, 00:10:54.519 --> 00:10:56.980 but my people did not listen to my voice. 00:10:57.480 --> 00:10:59.240 Israel would not submit to me. 00:10:59.240 --> 00:11:00.440 Um, 00:11:00.440 --> 00:11:02.060 so God laments, 00:11:02.440 --> 00:11:02.820 uh, 00:11:02.820 --> 00:11:04.100 this disobedience. 00:11:04.200 --> 00:11:07.000 And then he promises his people in verses 13 to 16. 00:11:07.720 --> 00:11:08.159 Oh, 00:11:08.240 --> 00:11:10.100 that my people would listen to me, 00:11:10.100 --> 00:11:10.759 uh, 00:11:10.759 --> 00:11:12.560 that Israel would walk in my ways. 00:11:13.399 --> 00:11:16.940 I will soon subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes. 00:11:17.080 --> 00:11:20.240 Those who hate the Lord would cringe toward him and their fate would last forever. 00:11:20.539 --> 00:11:24.919 But he would feed you with the finest of the wheat and with honey from the rock. 00:11:24.919 --> 00:11:26.919 I would satisfy you. 00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:28.240 Um, 00:11:28.240 --> 00:11:31.720 so you probably hear the repetition of the command right here. 00:11:31.960 --> 00:11:32.320 Listen, 00:11:32.580 --> 00:11:33.060 listen, 00:11:33.340 --> 00:11:33.560 uh, 00:11:33.560 --> 00:11:34.860 repeat four times, 00:11:34.860 --> 00:11:35.519 uh, 00:11:35.519 --> 00:11:36.700 in the second half of the Psalm. 00:11:37.139 --> 00:11:37.539 Uh, 00:11:37.539 --> 00:11:39.879 and this is a great promise in verses 13 to 16. 00:11:39.940 --> 00:11:41.539 And notice how the person, 00:11:42.120 --> 00:11:42.639 the pronoun, 00:11:42.799 --> 00:11:49.039 personal pronoun changes from the first person to the third person and then back to the first person in verses 15 to 16. 00:11:49.519 --> 00:11:51.379 It could be a little confusing when you're just reading it. 00:11:51.419 --> 00:11:53.019 Like who in the world is talking, 00:11:53.159 --> 00:11:53.440 right? 00:11:53.700 --> 00:11:54.299 And then, 00:11:54.340 --> 00:11:54.539 uh, 00:11:54.539 --> 00:11:58.220 because it's still God talking the whole time and God's referring to himself as a third person. 00:11:58.240 --> 00:11:59.240 Uh, 00:11:59.240 --> 00:12:00.240 uh, 00:12:00.240 --> 00:12:00.519 uh, 00:12:00.519 --> 00:12:01.019 uh, 00:12:01.019 --> 00:12:01.299 and, 00:12:01.399 --> 00:12:01.519 uh, 00:12:01.519 --> 00:12:02.659 and that's called, 00:12:02.659 --> 00:12:04.820 it's a literary device called eleism. 00:12:05.500 --> 00:12:05.960 Uh, 00:12:05.960 --> 00:12:07.460 basically it's, 00:12:07.560 --> 00:12:08.200 uh, 00:12:08.560 --> 00:12:12.060 what you do when you refer to yourself in the third person, 00:12:12.060 --> 00:12:15.840 you create a sense of distance and a sense of dignity, 00:12:15.840 --> 00:12:16.379 uh, 00:12:16.379 --> 00:12:17.299 and grandeur. 00:12:17.299 --> 00:12:19.079 So you're conveying the fact that, 00:12:19.179 --> 00:12:19.219 no, 00:12:19.279 --> 00:12:21.259 I'm not someone that you can just approach lightly. 00:12:21.519 --> 00:12:21.959 Uh, 00:12:21.959 --> 00:12:23.359 I'm this grand figure, 00:12:23.519 --> 00:12:23.740 right? 00:12:23.799 --> 00:12:24.039 That, 00:12:24.039 --> 00:12:24.359 that's, 00:12:24.439 --> 00:12:25.839 that has some distance from you, 00:12:25.839 --> 00:12:25.939 right? 00:12:25.939 --> 00:12:26.519 That's kind of, 00:12:26.839 --> 00:12:28.479 that's what the literary device does. 00:12:28.579 --> 00:12:29.399 And so it's, 00:12:29.659 --> 00:12:29.879 for example, 00:12:29.939 --> 00:12:30.859 Shakespeare uses it, 00:12:30.859 --> 00:12:31.279 uh, 00:12:31.279 --> 00:12:32.120 in some of his writings, 00:12:32.120 --> 00:12:32.939 uh, 00:12:32.979 --> 00:12:34.099 and he puts it in characters, 00:12:34.259 --> 00:12:37.099 makes characters referred to themselves as the third person. 00:12:37.299 --> 00:12:37.620 Um, 00:12:37.719 --> 00:12:38.439 Julius Caesar, 00:12:38.439 --> 00:12:40.319 in his writing in the Gallic Wars, 00:12:40.399 --> 00:12:42.120 he writes like that in the third person. 00:12:42.219 --> 00:12:42.679 He's obviously, 00:12:42.779 --> 00:12:43.719 he has too big of a head, 00:12:43.779 --> 00:12:43.979 right? 00:12:43.980 --> 00:12:45.840 He's writing of himself in that way. 00:12:46.440 --> 00:12:46.759 Um, 00:12:47.360 --> 00:12:48.139 and so God's saying, 00:12:48.200 --> 00:12:48.420 God, 00:12:48.519 --> 00:12:52.920 I'm a great God and you can't approach me on your own terms whenever you want. 00:12:52.980 --> 00:12:53.100 No, 00:12:53.120 --> 00:12:54.879 you have to approach him on his terms. 00:12:55.240 --> 00:12:55.680 And, 00:12:55.720 --> 00:12:55.940 and, 00:12:55.940 --> 00:12:57.480 and notice that the third person, 00:12:57.480 --> 00:13:01.740 he shifts the third person when God's talking about the enemies of his people. 00:13:02.379 --> 00:13:04.060 So he distances himself from them. 00:13:04.539 --> 00:13:04.560 Uh, 00:13:04.560 --> 00:13:04.840 they say, 00:13:04.960 --> 00:13:05.200 he says, 00:13:05.300 --> 00:13:10.360 those who hate the Lord would cringe toward him and their fate would last forever. 00:13:10.539 --> 00:13:13.360 So God's not approachable to these enemies of God's people. 00:13:13.980 --> 00:13:14.379 Uh, 00:13:14.399 --> 00:13:14.980 but he, 00:13:15.159 --> 00:13:18.500 the same great God would feed you with the finest of the wheat. 00:13:18.500 --> 00:13:19.560 And once the, 00:13:19.560 --> 00:13:23.420 the object that switch shifts back to God's people, 00:13:23.659 --> 00:13:25.340 he reverts to the first person. 00:13:25.440 --> 00:13:25.680 He says, 00:13:25.960 --> 00:13:27.139 with honey from the rock, 00:13:27.279 --> 00:13:29.139 I would satisfy you, 00:13:29.539 --> 00:13:29.740 right? 00:13:30.000 --> 00:13:31.639 So when addressing his own people, 00:13:31.960 --> 00:13:32.139 God, 00:13:32.220 --> 00:13:32.620 once again, 00:13:32.659 --> 00:13:34.960 uses the intimate relational first person pronoun. 00:13:35.120 --> 00:13:35.240 No, 00:13:35.300 --> 00:13:35.800 these people, 00:13:35.879 --> 00:13:36.460 they don't know me. 00:13:37.039 --> 00:13:38.060 I'm a hymn to them. 00:13:38.220 --> 00:13:40.220 I'm the great God that they cannot approach. 00:13:40.220 --> 00:13:41.379 But yet to you, 00:13:41.779 --> 00:13:42.060 uh, 00:13:42.060 --> 00:13:42.980 I am this God. 00:13:43.060 --> 00:13:44.580 I would satisfy you personally. 00:13:45.460 --> 00:13:45.660 Uh, 00:13:45.660 --> 00:13:46.300 and so this, 00:13:46.440 --> 00:13:47.259 we see again, 00:13:47.340 --> 00:13:48.300 going back to that, 00:13:48.300 --> 00:13:48.580 uh, 00:13:49.620 --> 00:13:50.220 um, 00:13:50.399 --> 00:13:51.620 invitation early in verse 10, 00:13:51.680 --> 00:13:53.879 open your mouth wide and I will fill it. 00:13:54.120 --> 00:13:54.879 And similarly here, 00:13:54.940 --> 00:13:59.279 God promises to feed them with the finest of the wheat and with honey from the rock. 00:13:59.639 --> 00:14:00.160 Uh, 00:14:00.160 --> 00:14:02.580 this is an allusion to Deuteronomy 32, 00:14:02.940 --> 00:14:03.220 13, 00:14:03.320 --> 00:14:03.639 14, 00:14:03.639 --> 00:14:07.480 where Moses recounts all the great things that God did after delivering them out of Egypt. 00:14:07.899 --> 00:14:09.600 And he specifically says that God, 00:14:09.720 --> 00:14:10.360 uh, 00:14:10.639 --> 00:14:11.179 you know, 00:14:11.220 --> 00:14:12.299 made them suckle, 00:14:12.480 --> 00:14:12.740 uh, 00:14:12.740 --> 00:14:16.460 with honey out of the rock and he fed them with the very finest of the wheat. 00:14:16.559 --> 00:14:16.679 So, 00:14:17.360 --> 00:14:17.720 um, 00:14:18.399 --> 00:14:20.100 I was doing some research and looking, 00:14:20.259 --> 00:14:23.639 it turns out that bees actually have been documented to, 00:14:23.840 --> 00:14:24.279 you know, 00:14:24.460 --> 00:14:26.220 make honeycombs between rocky crags. 00:14:26.439 --> 00:14:26.460 And, 00:14:26.460 --> 00:14:27.259 uh, 00:14:27.279 --> 00:14:27.399 you, 00:14:27.460 --> 00:14:29.240 I found some pictures of it was really cool looking. 00:14:29.500 --> 00:14:29.539 And, 00:14:29.600 --> 00:14:29.720 uh, 00:14:29.720 --> 00:14:29.919 and, 00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:31.100 and so it's basically raw, 00:14:31.240 --> 00:14:31.700 wild honey. 00:14:31.939 --> 00:14:33.500 It's like the best thing you can find. 00:14:33.639 --> 00:14:33.819 You know, 00:14:33.879 --> 00:14:34.699 in the ancient world, 00:14:34.799 --> 00:14:36.340 we eat and the finest wheat. 00:14:36.399 --> 00:14:36.919 So God's saying, 00:14:37.000 --> 00:14:39.779 I will give you the best of fares. 00:14:40.120 --> 00:14:41.779 I would richly satisfy you. 00:14:41.960 --> 00:14:41.980 And, 00:14:42.580 --> 00:14:42.740 and, 00:14:42.819 --> 00:14:43.000 and, 00:14:43.100 --> 00:14:45.319 but they still stubbornly refuse to listen. 00:14:45.460 --> 00:14:45.639 Right. 00:14:45.679 --> 00:14:45.840 And, 00:14:45.899 --> 00:14:47.860 and how often is this the case with us? 00:14:47.860 --> 00:14:48.159 Right. 00:14:48.699 --> 00:14:49.120 It's, 00:14:49.240 --> 00:14:50.879 if only we would turn to him, 00:14:51.419 --> 00:14:52.879 he would richly satisfy us, 00:14:52.899 --> 00:14:55.259 but we instead turn to the fleeting pleasures of this world. 00:14:55.460 --> 00:14:55.580 Right. 00:14:55.860 --> 00:14:57.059 If only we turn to him, 00:14:57.120 --> 00:14:57.519 we have, 00:14:57.720 --> 00:14:58.939 you open our mouth toward him, 00:14:58.980 --> 00:14:59.819 he will fill us. 00:15:00.139 --> 00:15:00.419 Instead, 00:15:00.559 --> 00:15:03.620 we turn to the esteem and approval of men and women. 00:15:03.639 --> 00:15:06.480 And instead we turn to the riches of this world. 00:15:06.480 --> 00:15:09.360 And then we leave dissatisfied with the bad taste in our mouths. 00:15:09.539 --> 00:15:09.639 Right. 00:15:10.299 --> 00:15:10.559 Uh, 00:15:10.559 --> 00:15:13.799 but God offers us the finest of the wheat and honey from the rock. 00:15:14.220 --> 00:15:14.659 Uh, 00:15:14.659 --> 00:15:16.899 and he promised to satisfy us. 00:15:17.419 --> 00:15:22.139 And so Israel was then foolish to turn away from the God who had delivered them from their slavery in Egypt. 00:15:22.139 --> 00:15:22.500 And, 00:15:22.500 --> 00:15:24.100 and as Christians, 00:15:24.220 --> 00:15:24.480 right, 00:15:24.559 --> 00:15:24.919 uh, 00:15:24.919 --> 00:15:25.259 we, 00:15:25.460 --> 00:15:25.679 uh, 00:15:25.679 --> 00:15:29.419 we'd be foolish then to turn away from the God who delivered us also from the slavery, 00:15:29.700 --> 00:15:30.639 our slavery to sin. 00:15:31.259 --> 00:15:32.879 Cause as first Corinthians 10, 00:15:33.000 --> 00:15:36.840 Paul compares Israel's exodus to the salvation that we have as Christians. 00:15:36.840 --> 00:15:37.159 Right. 00:15:37.500 --> 00:15:38.340 And the, 00:15:38.340 --> 00:15:44.659 the exodus from Egypt ultimately points to and foreshadows our exodus from our slavery to sin. 00:15:44.759 --> 00:15:45.039 Right. 00:15:45.539 --> 00:15:45.819 Uh, 00:15:45.819 --> 00:15:50.799 and that's what Christ accomplished for us by dying on the cross as the ransom price for our freedom. 00:15:50.799 --> 00:15:52.399 And so then as we, 00:15:52.639 --> 00:15:56.419 whenever we are tempted to doubt God's good province in our lives, 00:15:56.519 --> 00:15:56.699 right, 00:15:56.759 --> 00:16:01.740 whenever we are tempted to ever to think that God's withholding something good from us, 00:16:01.799 --> 00:16:02.039 right, 00:16:02.479 --> 00:16:02.740 uh, 00:16:02.740 --> 00:16:03.799 like these Israelites doing. 00:16:03.919 --> 00:16:07.439 And then as whenever we're tempted to turn to other things for satisfaction and fulfillment, 00:16:07.979 --> 00:16:11.399 then we have to remember the cross and remember the exodus from us. 00:16:11.479 --> 00:16:16.439 So that that's what God did to free us and then listen to the Lord who alone can satisfy us. 00:16:16.440 --> 00:16:18.120 And that's why God says, 00:16:18.300 --> 00:16:19.140 God saying to us, 00:16:19.300 --> 00:16:19.940 I am, 00:16:20.120 --> 00:16:21.820 I am not anyone else. 00:16:22.160 --> 00:16:22.920 I am the Lord, 00:16:23.000 --> 00:16:26.360 your God who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. 00:16:26.800 --> 00:16:27.740 Open your mouth. 00:16:28.180 --> 00:16:28.500 Why? 00:16:28.860 --> 00:16:30.600 And I will fill it. 00:16:32.600 --> 00:16:39.460 Let's take that as an invitation to us and approach God in prayer and ask him to fill us and open up our mouths of faith. 00:16:39.460 --> 00:17:09.440 Let's take that as an invitation to us and pray for us.