Today is Sunday, the “first day” of the week, a day that has been recognized for centuries
by Christians as a special day of week that has been set aside to come together
with God’s people to experience and enjoy cooperate worship. The Jewish people meet
together for the reading of the Law and worship on Saturday, the “seventh day”
of the week that is call Sabbath, the day of rest. We believe the disciples of
Jesus begin gathering on the “first day” because it is the day of the week that
Jesus rose from grave.
I mention all of that to say it is interesting that on this Sunday morning, as we
begin looking at Psalm 81, that it is basically a call to worship by a man
named Asaph. Remember that there were a number of men named Asaph in Israel’s
history. The “original” Asaph was one of David’s three chief Musicians that was
appointed by him to lead worship in Jerusalem and the tabernacle after he became
king. Asaph’s sons and descendants formed a musical guild within the Levitical
tribe that continued this ministry for centuries to come. We find them mentioned
in Ezra 2:41, when the captives return from Babylon.
According to the titles given to most of the Psalms, we know that at least 12 of them
were written by a man named Asaph. Psalm 81 is another of the Psalms of Asaph, those
belonging to an Asaph collection, possibly grouped together because of similarities
of thought, style, and purpose. The Asaph Psalms are marked for their prophetic
character and their emphasis on the sanctuary. When it comes to Psalm 81, we
have no clue at all as to when this Psalm was written. It is considered one of
the historical Psalms in that it recounts afresh the early history of Israel.
In Psalm 81, Asaph called the people together to worship the Lord (vv. 1-5), but
then the Lord's messenger received a special message from God and delivered it
to the people (vv. 6-10). The occasion was a stated feast on the Jewish
calendar, but we are not told which feast it was. Passover is suggested by
verses 5-7 and 10, but the mention of the new moon and the full moon in verse
3, suggests Trumpets and Tabernacles.
The trumpets mentioned here are not the silver trumpets (Num. 10) but the
"shofar," the ram's horn, as was used at Jericho (Josh. 6). This
argues for the occasion being the Feast of Tabernacles, although perhaps Asaph blended
Passover and Tabernacles, for they go together. Passover celebrated the
deliverance from Egypt and Tabernacles the Lord's care of His people during
their wilderness years. Tabernacles was also a joyful harvest festival. The Psalm
reminds us of three different aspects of true worship.
The leader first called everyone together to praise God's Name (vv. 1-5). This
included the people (v. 1), the musicians (v. 2), and the priests to blow the
trumpets (v. 3). In the Old Testament Law, you find stated times of worship
(the weekly Sabbath, the annual feasts, etc.) as well as spontaneous times of
worship (at the defeat of the enemy, for example). Both are essential to
balanced worship, and both should focus on the goodness of the Lord.
If all worship were personal and spontaneous, there would be diversity but no
unity; but if all worship only followed a schedule, there would be uniformity
and no diversity. Both voices and instruments were used in worship. The nation
is called "Jacob, Israel, and Joseph" (vv. 4-5). Jacob and his wives
built the family, and Joseph preserved them alive in Egypt. God gave Jacob the
name "Israel," which means "he strives with God and
prevails" (Gen. 32:22-32).
I trust that on this Lord’s Day you will join with others in unity to praise and
worship our risen Savior!
God bless!
