Worthy.Bible » STRONG » Psalms » Chapter 81 » Verse 3

Psalms 81:3 King James Version with Strong's Concordance (STRONG)

3 Blow up H8628 the trumpet H7782 in the new moon, H2320 in the time appointed, H3677 on our solemn feast H2282 day. H3117

Cross Reference

2 Chronicles 8:13 STRONG

Even after a certain rate H1697 every day, H3117 offering H5927 according to the commandment H4687 of Moses, H4872 on the sabbaths, H7676 and on the new moons, H2320 and on the solemn feasts, H4150 three H7969 times H6471 in the year, H8141 even in the feast H2282 of unleavened bread, H4682 and in the feast H2282 of weeks, H7620 and in the feast H2282 of tabernacles. H5521

2 Chronicles 2:4 STRONG

Behold, I build H1129 an house H1004 to the name H8034 of the LORD H3068 my God, H430 to dedicate H6942 it to him, and to burn H6999 before H6440 him sweet H5561 incense, H7004 and for the continual H8548 shewbread, H4635 and for the burnt offerings H5930 morning H1242 and evening, H6153 on the sabbaths, H7676 and on the new moons, H2320 and on the solemn feasts H4150 of the LORD H3068 our God. H430 This is an ordinance for ever H5769 to Israel. H3478

Colossians 2:16 STRONG

Let G2919 no G3361 man G5100 therefore G3767 judge G2919 you G5209 in G1722 meat, G1035 or G2228 in G1722 drink, G4213 or G2228 in G1722 respect G3313 of an holyday, G1859 or G2228 of the new moon, G3561 or G2228 of the sabbath G4521 days:

Nahum 1:15 STRONG

Behold upon the mountains H2022 the feet H7272 of him that bringeth good tidings, H1319 that publisheth H8085 peace! H7965 O Judah, H3063 keep H2287 thy solemn feasts, H2282 perform H7999 thy vows: H5088 for the wicked H1100 shall no more H3254 pass through H5674 thee; he is utterly cut off. H3772

Lamentations 2:6 STRONG

And he hath violently taken away H2554 his tabernacle, H7900 as if it were of a garden: H1588 he hath destroyed H7843 his places of the assembly: H4150 the LORD H3068 hath caused the solemn feasts H4150 and sabbaths H7676 to be forgotten H7911 in Zion, H6726 and hath despised H5006 in the indignation H2195 of his anger H639 the king H4428 and the priest. H3548

Psalms 98:6 STRONG

With trumpets H2689 and sound H6963 of cornet H7782 make a joyful noise H7321 before H6440 the LORD, H3068 the King. H4428

2 Chronicles 13:14 STRONG

And when Judah H3063 looked back, H6437 behold, the battle H4421 was before H6440 and behind: H268 and they cried H6817 unto the LORD, H3068 and the priests H3548 sounded H2690 H2690 with the trumpets. H2689

2 Chronicles 13:12 STRONG

And, behold, God H430 himself is with us for our captain, H7218 and his priests H3548 with sounding H8643 trumpets H2689 to cry alarm H7321 against you. O children H1121 of Israel, H3478 fight H3898 ye not against the LORD H3068 God H430 of your fathers; H1 for ye shall not prosper. H6743

2 Chronicles 5:12 STRONG

Also the Levites H3881 which were the singers, H7891 all of them of Asaph, H623 of Heman, H1968 of Jeduthun, H3038 with their sons H1121 and their brethren, H251 being arrayed H3847 in white linen, H948 having cymbals H4700 and psalteries H5035 and harps, H3658 stood H5975 at the east end H4217 of the altar, H4196 and with them an hundred H3967 and twenty H6242 priests H3548 sounding H2690 with trumpets:) H2689

Leviticus 23:24-25 STRONG

Speak H1696 unto the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 saying, H559 In the seventh H7637 month, H2320 in the first H259 day of the month, H2320 shall ye have a sabbath, H7677 a memorial H2146 of blowing H8643 of trumpets, an holy H6944 convocation. H4744 Ye shall do H6213 no servile H5656 work H4399 therein: but ye shall offer H7126 an offering made by fire H801 unto the LORD. H3068

1 Chronicles 16:42 STRONG

And with them Heman H1968 and Jeduthun H3038 with trumpets H2689 and cymbals H4700 for those that should make a sound, H8085 and with musical H7892 instruments H3627 of God. H430 And the sons H1121 of Jeduthun H3038 were porters. H8179

1 Chronicles 16:6 STRONG

Benaiah H1141 also and Jahaziel H3166 the priests H3548 with trumpets H2689 continually H8548 before H6440 the ark H727 of the covenant H1285 of God. H430

1 Chronicles 15:24 STRONG

And Shebaniah, H7645 and Jehoshaphat, H3146 and Nethaneel, H5417 and Amasai, H6022 and Zechariah, H2148 and Benaiah, H1141 and Eliezer, H461 the priests, H3548 did blow H2690 H2690 with the trumpets H2689 before H6440 the ark H727 of God: H430 and Obededom H5654 and Jehiah H3174 were doorkeepers H7778 for the ark. H727

2 Kings 4:23 STRONG

And he said, H559 Wherefore wilt thou go H1980 to him to day? H3117 it is neither new moon, H2320 nor sabbath. H7676 And she said, H559 It shall be well. H7965

Deuteronomy 16:15 STRONG

Seven H7651 days H3117 shalt thou keep a solemn feast H2287 unto the LORD H3068 thy God H430 in the place H4725 which the LORD H3068 shall choose: H977 because the LORD H3068 thy God H430 shall bless H1288 thee in all thine increase, H8393 and in all the works H4639 of thine hands, H3027 therefore thou shalt surely rejoice. H8056

Numbers 28:11 STRONG

And in the beginnings H7218 of your months H2320 ye shall offer H7126 a burnt offering H5930 unto the LORD; H3068 two H8147 young H1241 bullocks, H6499 and one H259 ram, H352 seven H7651 lambs H3532 of the first H1121 year H8141 without spot; H8549

Numbers 15:3 STRONG

And will make H6213 an offering by fire H801 unto the LORD, H3068 a burnt offering, H5930 or a sacrifice H2077 in performing H6381 a vow, H5088 or in a freewill offering, H5071 or in your solemn feasts, H4150 to make H6213 a sweet H5207 savour H7381 unto the LORD, H3068 of the herd, H1241 or of the flock: H6629

Numbers 10:1-10 STRONG

And the LORD H3068 spake H1696 unto Moses, H4872 saying, H559 Make H6213 thee two H8147 trumpets H2689 of silver; H3701 of a whole piece H4749 shalt thou make H6213 them: that thou mayest use H1961 them for the calling H4744 of the assembly, H5712 and for the journeying H4550 of the camps. H4264 And when they shall blow H8628 with them, H2004 all the assembly H5712 shall assemble H3259 themselves to thee at the door H6607 of the tabernacle H168 of the congregation. H4150 And if they blow H8628 but with one H259 trumpet, then the princes, H5387 which are heads H7218 of the thousands H505 of Israel, H3478 shall gather H3259 themselves unto thee. When ye blow H8628 an alarm, H8643 then the camps H4264 that lie H2583 on the east parts H6924 shall go forward. H5265 When ye blow H8628 an alarm H8643 the second time, H8145 then the camps H4264 that lie H2583 on the south side H8486 shall take their journey: H5265 they shall blow H8628 an alarm H8643 for their journeys. H4550 But when the congregation H6951 is to be gathered together, H6950 ye shall blow, H8628 but ye shall not sound an alarm. H7321 And the sons H1121 of Aaron, H175 the priests, H3548 shall blow H8628 with the trumpets; H2689 and they shall be to you for an ordinance H2708 for ever H5769 throughout your generations. H1755 And if ye go H935 to war H4421 in your land H776 against H6862 the enemy that oppresseth H6887 you, then ye shall blow an alarm H7321 with the trumpets; H2689 and ye shall be remembered H2142 before H6440 the LORD H3068 your God, H430 and ye shall be saved H3467 from your enemies. H341 Also in the day H3117 of your gladness, H8057 and in your solemn days, H4150 and in the beginnings H7218 of your months, H2320 ye shall blow H8628 with the trumpets H2689 over your burnt offerings, H5930 and over the sacrifices H2077 of your peace offerings; H8002 that they may be to you for a memorial H2146 before H6440 your God: H430 I am the LORD H3068 your God. H430

Commentary on Psalms 81 John Gill's Exposition of the Bible


Introduction

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 81

To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A cf15I Psalm of Asaph. Of "gittith", See Gill on Psalm 8:1. The Targum renders it,

"upon the harp which came from Gath;'

and so Jarchi says it was a musical instrument that came from Gath. The Septuagint, and the versions which follow that, render it, "for the winepresses". This psalm, according to Kimchi, is said concerning the going out of the children of Israel from Egypt; and was composed in order to be sung at their new moons and solemn feasts, which were typical of Gospel things in Gospel times; see Colossians 2:16 and so the Syriac version,

"a psalm of Asaph, when David by him prepared himself for the solemnities.'.


Verse 1

Sing aloud unto God our strength,.... The strength of Israel, who, by strength of hand, and a mighty arm, brought Israel out of Egypt, protected and upheld them in the wilderness, and brought them to, and settled and established them in the land of Canaan; and who is the strength of every true Israelite, from whom they have both their natural and spiritual strength; so that they can exercise grace, perform duty, bear afflictions, withstand temptations, fight with and conquer enemies, and hold on and out unto the end; and therefore have reason to sing the praises of God with great fervour, zeal, and affection:

make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob; or Israel, being the God that had made a covenant with them, had chosen them for his peculiar people, and had redeemed them out of the house of bondage, and bestowed peculiar favours upon them; and therefore were under obligation to show forth his praise vocally and audibly, and with strong expressions of joy; and the spiritual Israel of God much more so, who have an interest in the covenant of grace, and share in electing, redeeming, and calling grace, by all which he appears to be their God and Father, in a special sense.


Verse 2

Take a psalm,.... Or "lift one up"F25שאן "attollite", Piscator; "tollite", Cocceius, Amama, Gejerus. ; hold up the book, and read and sing it; or rather, lift up the voice in singing a psalm:

and bring hither the timbrel; or "give one"F26תנו "date", Pagninus, Montanus, &c. , put the hand to one:

the pleasant harp with the psaltery; make use of all these musical instruments in singing, and so make an agreeable melody: these were used in the times of the Old Testament, and were typical of the spiritual joy and melody in the heart, expressed by vocal singing, under the New Testament; see Revelation 5:8.


Verse 3

Blow up the trumpet in the new moon,.... Either in every new moon, or first day of the month, which was religiously observed by the Jews, 2 Kings 4:23 or rather the new moon, or first day of the seventh month, the month Tisri, which day was a memorial of blowing of trumpets, Leviticus 23:34, and so the Targum,

"blow the trumpet in the month of Tisri,'

when their new year began, and was typical of the year of the redeemed of the Lord, of the acceptable year of our God, of the famous new year, the Gospel dispensation, when old things passed away, and all things became new. The Jews say this blowing of trumpets was in commemoration of Isaac's deliverance, a ram being sacrificed for him, and therefore they sounded with trumpets made of rams' horns; or in remembrance of the trumpet blown at the giving of the law; though it rather was an emblem of the Gospel, and the ministry of it, by which sinners are aroused, awakened and quickened, and souls are charmed and allured, and filled with spiritual joy and gladness:

in the time appointed; so Aben Ezra, Jarchi, and Kimchi, interpret the word of a set fixed time; see Proverbs 7:20, the wordF1בכסה "quum tegitur luna", Piscator; "ad verbum in obtectione", i. e. "eum obtegatur luna a sole", Amama. used has the signification of covering; and the former of these understand it of the time just before the change of the moon, when it is covered, which falls in with the former phrase; and so the Targum,

"in the moon that is covered;'

though the Latin interpreter renders it,

"in the month which is covered with the days of our solemnities,'

there being many festivals in the month of Tisri; the blowing of trumpets on the first day of it, the atonement on the tenth, and the feast of tabernacles on the fifteenth. But De Dieu has made it appear, from the use of the word in the Syriac language, that it should be rendered "in the full moon", and so directs to the right understanding of the feast next mentioned;

on our solemn feast day, which must design a feast which was at the full of the moon; and so must be either the feast of the passover, which was on the fourteenth day of the month Nisan, and was a type of Christ our Passover, sacrificed for us, on which account we should keep the feast, Exodus 12:6, or else the feast of tabernacles, which was on the fifteenth of the month Tisri, kept in commemoration of the Israelites dwelling in booths, Leviticus 23:34 and which is called the feast, and the solemn feast, emphatically; see 1 Kings 8:2, and was typical of the state of God's people in this world, who dwell in the earthly houses of their tabernacles, and have no continuing city; and of the churches of Christ, which are the tabernacles in which God and his people dwell, and will abide in this form but for a time, and are moveable; and also of Christ's tabernacling in human nature, John 1:14.


Verse 4

For this was a statute for Israel,.... It was not a piece of will worship, or device of the children of Israel, but was of divine institution; that the passover should be kept at the time it was; and that the trumpets should be blown on the new moon, or first of Tisri; and that the feast of tabernacles should be kept on the fifteenth of the same month:

and a law of the God of Jacob; and therefore to be observed by Jacob's posterity: the law for the one is in Exodus 12:18 and for the other is in Leviticus 23:24 and so all the ordinances of Christ, and of the Gospel dispensation, are to be regarded on the same account, because they are the statutes and appointments of God; and the feast of tabernacles is particularly put for them all, Zechariah 14:16.


Verse 5

This he ordained in Joseph for a testimony,.... That is, this law concerning the blowing of trumpets on the new moon, and the keeping the solemn feast at the full of the moon, was made to be observed by all Israel, who are meant by Joseph, for a testimony of God's good will to them, and of their duty and obedience to him:

when he went out through the land of Egypt, or "over it"F2בצאתו על ארץ "in ipsum exeundo", Montanus; "cum exiret ipse super terram", Pagninus. ; which some understand of Joseph, who is said to go over all the land of Egypt, to gather in provision against the seven years of famine, Genesis 41:45 and Jarchi says that his deliverance from prison was at the beginning of the year, and was advanced in Pharaoh's court: and the meaning is, either "when he", the Lord, "went out against the land of Egypt", so Arama, in order to slay their firstborn; and when he passed over Israel, and saved them; marched through the land in his indignation, and went forth for the salvation of his people, Exodus 11:4 then was the ordinance of the passover appointed: or when Israel went out of Egypt, designed by Joseph, some little time after, while in the wilderness, and dwelling in tents, the feast of tabernacles was instituted; but rather this shows that the feast of passover is before meant, which was instituted at the time of Israel's going out of Egypt, and was the solemn feast day ordained for a statute, law and testimony in Israel; and that the new moon, or month rather, on which the trumpet was to be blown, was the month Abib, the beginning of months, by an ordinance of God, Exodus 12:2.

where I heard a language that I understood not; here the prophet represents the people of Israel in Egypt; though the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions, read,

he heard, and he understood not and the language is either the voice of God out of the fire, which before was never heard in this unusual manner, nor understood, Deuteronomy 5:24 or the speech of Moses, who had Aaron for his mouth and spokesman; or rather the Egyptian language, which was not understood by the Israelites without an interpreter, Genesis 42:23 which sense is confirmed by Psalm 114:1, and this is mentioned as an aggravation of their affliction in Egypt; see Jeremiah 5:15.


Verse 6

I removed his shoulder from the burden,.... These are the words of God, declaring how he had delivered the Israelites from the oppression and cruelty of the Egyptians; who made their lives bitter in hard bondage, and obliged them to carry heavy loads of bricks upon their shoulders:

his hands were delivered from the pots, or "baskets"F3מדוד "a sporta, a cophino", Gejerus, Amama, Michaelis. ; into which the bricks were put when made, and carried on their shoulders; or from making of pots, as Kimchi, who thinks the Israelites were employed in making pots of clay as well as bricks; see Psalm 68:13, the Targum is,

"his hands withdrew themselves from casting clay into the pots:'

the whole is typical of the saints' deliverance by Christ from the bondage of sin, Satan, and the law.


Verse 7

Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee,.... That is, when Israel were in trouble in Egypt, as the Targum adds, and they cried unto the Lord in their distress, he heard them, and answered them, and sent them a deliverer, and brought them out of all their troubles, Exodus 3:7.

I answered thee in the secret place of thunder; by bringing the plague of thunder and lightnings upon the Egyptians, when the Israelites were hidden from them; a sense given by some, as Kimchi observes: or rather this was done when the Lord looked out of the pillar of cloud at the Red sea upon the Egyptian host, and troubled them; at which time the voice of his thunder was heard in heaven, Psalm 77:16. Some think this has reference to the thunder at the giving of the law on Mount Sinai; but the sense before given is best:

I proved thee at the waters of Meribah; by withholding water from them to try them, and see whether they would behave patiently, and put their trust and confidence in the Lord, or not; see Exodus 17:4.

Selah. See Gill on Psalm 3:2.


Verse 8

Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee,.... Of himself, his being, and perfections; what he was unto them, had done for them, and would do for them, as in the following verses: or "testify in thee"F4אעידה בך "testificabor in te", Gejerus. , bear witness to their spirits, that they were his people, and he was their God; this is a witness which the people of God have in themselves; it is the inward testimony of the Spirit; besides which, there is the outward testimony of the word, and which also may be here meant; for it may be rendered,

I will give a testimony to thee: the law is a testimony of the will of God to his people, what he would have done, or not done; and the Gospel is a testimony of his grace, and the whole word testifies of Christ, his person, offices, obedience, sufferings, and death: some render it, "testify against thee"F5"Ut testificer contra te", Schmidt. , for their murmurings, rebellion, and idolatry, as in Psalm 50:7 and they are called upon to hear the voice of God in his word, and in his providences, being his people; and as such he addresses them, which bespeaks interest in them, affection to them, and an acknowledgment of them, and carries in it a reason why they should hear him:

O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me; this explains who are meant by the Lord's people, Israel, the posterity of Jacob, a chosen and special people, who are exhorted not only to hear, but to hearken and to obey; suggesting, it would be well with them, if they did as in Psalm 81:13, and someF6So Michaelis, and Gussetius, and Genevenses, in ib. Comment. Ebr. p. 431. take these words to be a wish, as there; "Israel, O that thou wouldest hearken unto me": see Isaiah 48:18.


Verse 9

There shall no strange god be in thee,.... Or in the midst of thee, owned and worshipped as God; or in thine heart, for whatever engrosses the affection, or a man puts his trust and confidence in, that he makes his god, and is a strange one: thus, if any friend or relation, father or mother, wife or children, are loved more than God, they are set up as such in his place; thus the epicure, that seeks the gratification of his carnal lusts, makes his belly his god; and the covetous man his money, in which he trusts, and therefore is called an idolater; and the self-righteous man his righteousness, on which he depends for salvation: hence we read of idols set up in the heart, from which they are disengaged in conversion, and kept from, Ezekiel 14:7.

neither shall thou worship any strange god; only the Lord God is to be worshipped, Matthew 28:19 and there is but one God; though this is to be understood not to the exclusion of the Son and Spirit, who are with the Father the one God, and to be worshipped equally with him, and are; see Matthew 28:19.


Verse 10

I am the Lord thy God,.... The true Jehovah, the Being of beings, in whom all live and move and have their beings, the covenant God of his people; and is a reason why they should hear him, and worship him, and no other:

which brought thee out of the land of Egypt; this, with what goes before, is the preface to the ten commands, the first and principal of which is urged in the preceding verse; and this is another reason why the Lord God should be had and worshipped, and not a strange god; and redemption from worse than Egyptian bondage, from the bondage of sin, Satan, and the law, and a deliverance from worse than Egyptian darkness, and from a state of wickedness and impiety, should lay under greater obligations still to serve the Lord, and worship him only; who adds, as a further reason for it,

open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it; which may be understood of opening the mouth either in prayer or in praise: to open the mouth wide in prayer is to pray with great freedom, to pour out the soul to God, lay open its whole case, and tell him all his mind and wants; to pray with great boldness, and with much importunity and fervency, and in full assurance of faith, pleading with great strength the promises of God, and asking in faith for much, according to them; and God may be said to fill this wide mouth of faith in prayer, when he grants the desires of the heart, gives his people what they will, even very largely and abundantly, yea, more than they can ask or think: to open the mouth wide in praise is to be abundantly thankful for mercies received; and when persons are so, the Lord fills them with more abundant matter for praise and thanksgiving; see Psalm 71:8, or this may be interpreted of opening the mouth wide in expressions of desire after spiritual food, hungering and thirsting after spiritual things, when the Lord fills or satisfies the mouths of his people with good things, Psalm 103:5, with the sincere milk of the word which they desire, and with the ordinances, the breasts of consolation they long for, and so satisfies them with the goodness and fatness of his house, Psalm 64:4, the metaphor seems to be taken from the young of birds, which open their mouths, and are filled by the old ones: the Targum is,

"open thy mouth to the words of the law, and I will fill it with every good thing.'


Verse 11

But my people would not hearken to my voice,.... Neither as exhorting them to the above duties, nor as promising the above favours; would neither hearken to the voice of the law, nor to the voice of the Gospel; but were like the deaf adder, which stops its ear to the voice of the charmer, charming never so wisely:

and Israel would none of me; would not attend to his word, acquiesce in his will, nor delight themselves in him, and in his worship and service; would have none of his salutary doctrines, or wholesome reproofs, nor of his laws and government; would not have him to reign over them, nor to be their Saviour, though the only one, and there is none beside him; though the chiefest good, and from whom all good things come, and is the portion and exceeding great reward of his people: see Proverbs 1:25.


Verse 12

So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust,.... Sometimes God gave them up, when they sinned, into the hands of the Moabites, or Ammonites, or Philistines, or other neighbouring nations, for their chastisement; but to be delivered up unto their own hearts' lust is worse than that; nay, than to be delivered to Satan: salvation may be the consequence of that, but damnation of this; and yet it is a righteous judgment; for as men like not to retain God in their knowledge, it is but just with him to give them up to vile affections, to a reprobate mind, to do things not convenient, Romans 1:24 there is nothing men are more desirous of than to have their hearts' lusts; and there is no greater judgment can befall them than to be left to the power of them, which must unavoidably issue in their ruin here and hereafter: and they walked in their own counsels; which were bad; after the imagination of their own evil hearts, and not after the counsels and directions of God in his word, and by his servants.


Verse 13

O that my people had hearkened unto me,.... This might have been expected from them, as they were his professing people; and it would have been to their advantage if they had hearkened to him, as well as it would have been well pleasing to him; for that is what is designed by this wish, which does not express the purposing will of God; for who hath resisted that? if he had so willed, he could have given them ears to hear; but his commanding will, and what is his approving one: to hearken to him is not only to hearken to what he commands, but to what he approves of; it is the good and acceptable will of God that men should hearken to the declarations of his will in the law, and to the declarations of his grace in the Gospel; and indeed it is the voice of Christ, the Angel of God's presence, who went before the children of Israel in the wilderness, which they were to hearken to and obey, that is here meant; see Exodus 23:20, and Hebrews 3:6,

and Israel had walked in my ways; which he marked out and directed them unto, meaning his ordinances and commandments; which to walk in, as it denotes progress and continuance, and supposes and requires life and strength, so it is both pleasant and profitable.


Verse 14

I should soon have subdued their enemies,.... The Canaanites, and others: this he would have done in a very little time, or at once, and that easily, and without any trouble; he would quickly have humbled them, and brought them on their knees, as the wordF7אכניע "flecterem", Cocceius. signifies, to terms of peace; for when a man's ways please the Lord, he makes his enemies to be at peace with him, Proverbs 16:7 so those that hearken to the voice of Christ, and walk in his ways, he subdues their iniquities, and will bruise Satan under their feet shortly, and make them more than conquerors: through himself, over the world; the men and things of it he has overcome:

and turned my hand against their adversaries; that troubled, distressed, and oppressed them; and it is a righteous thing with God to render tribulation to them that trouble his people; he turns his chastising hand off of them, which sometimes is heavy upon them, and presses them sore, and turns it in a way of wrath and vindictive justice against their adversaries; and so the Targum,

"and turned the stroke of my power against their adversaries;'

this is the lighting down of his arm with the indignation of his anger, which is intolerable, Isaiah 30:30.


Verse 15

The haters of the Lord should have submitted themselves unto him,.... Or, "lied unto him"F8יכחשו "mentientur", Montanus; "mentiti fuissent", Vatablus; "mentirentur", Musculus, Cocceius, Gejerus; "mendaciter se dedissent", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. ; feignedly submitted to him, flattered him, pretended friendship to him, and entered into a league with him; either Israel, mentioned Psalm 81:13, our God, whom and whose worship and people they hated; as every natural man is an hater of God, and all that is good, and enmity itself unto him; but these shall all submit to Christ, sooner or later, in one way or another, and acknowledge him Lord, and that he is superior to them, and themselves not a match for him; as Julian the emperor when wounded, said, Thou hast overcome me, O Galilean:

but their time should have endured for ever; which Jarchi and Aben Ezra interpret of the calamities and vengeance that should come upon the haters of God, who will be punished with everlasting destruction; their worm will never die, nor their fire be quenched; it is everlasting, and the smoke of their torment will ascend for ever and ever; in which sense the word is used, Isaiah 13:22 or rather this is to be understood of the time, or happy state and condition, of the Israelites, which would have been of long continuance, had they hearkened to the Lord, and walked in his ways; particularly, they would have long enjoyed the land of Canaan, which was given to Abraham and his seed for an everlasting possession, and which they held by the tenure of their obedience, Genesis 17:8, and so all truly gracious souls, that hearken to the voice of Christ, and walk in his ways, are in a happy state, which will endure for ever; they are blessed with all spiritual blessings, and those are for ever; the heavenly land of Canaan they shall dwell in for ever; their mansions or habitations in Christ's Father's house are everlasting; their house, not made with hands, is eternal in the heavens; their estate, possession, and inheritance is an eternal one; it is incorruptible, and fades not away; their being with Christ is for ever; and their happiness is often expressed by eternal life and eternal glory.


Verse 16

He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat,.... Or the "fat of the wheatF25מחלב חטה "ex adipe frumenti", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Musculus; "adipe tritici", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; so Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaelis. "; see Deuteronomy 32:14, with the finest flour of it: the Targum is,

"with the best bread of wheat;'

with the best of wheat, and the best bread that can be made of it: Aben Ezra interprets it of the manna, which was better than the fat, or finest, of the wheat, being the corn of heaven, and angels' food, Psalm 78:24, but it rather respects what the Israelites would have been continued to be fed with in the land of Canaan, which was a land of wheat, Deuteronomy 8:8, and such who hearken to the Lord, and walk in his ways, are fed by him with the Gospel, which is comparable to wheat, and the finest of it, for its choiceness and excellency, for its solidity and substantiality, for its purity and cleanness, and for its being of a nourishing and strengthening nature, see Jeremiah 38:28, and especially Christ, the sum and substance of the Gospel, may be figuratively meant, with whom the saints are fed, and who is compared to a corn of wheat, John 12:24 for his preciousness and excellency, for his purity and fruitfulness, and for being the food of his people, the bread of life, for which he was prepared by his sufferings and death; which may be fitly expressed by the threshing, winnowing, and grinding of wheat, and then of kneading the flour, and baking the bread:

and with honey out of the rock would I have satisfied thee; the land of Canaan abounded with hills and rocks, in which bees had their hives, and from whence honey dropped to lower places; and hence the land is said to flow with milk and honey, Exodus 3:8, nor is it unusual in other places to find honey in rocks; at Guadaloupe, in the West Indies, we are toldF26P. Martyr. Decad. 3. lib. 9. , honey was found in trees and caves of rocks. Aben Ezra interprets this of the water which flowed out of the rock at Horeb, which was sweeter than honey; but the former sense is best: the rock spiritually and mystically designs Christ, the Rock of salvation, 1 Corinthians 10:4, the honey out of the rock, the fulness of grace in him, and the blessings of it, the sure mercies of David, and the precious promises of the everlasting covenant; and the Gospel, which is sweeter than the honey or the honeycomb; and with these such are filled and satisfied, who hearken to Christ, and walk in his ways; for, as the whole of what is here said shows what Israel lost by disobedience, it clearly suggests what such enjoy who hear and obey.