WATCHMAN33
Musicians sound timbrel, harp, and trumpet at a new-moon feast while freed laborers pass empty baskets and untouched wheat and honey await.
KING JAMES VERSION

PSALMS 81

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CHAPTER VISUAL

Psalms 81 — A festival remembers deliverance from Egypt, yet God laments that His people would not listen and receive His abundant provision.

About this illustration

The image contrasts joyful ordinance with missed blessing; thunder and Meribah are recalled through distant weather and rock.

Scripture basis: Psalms 81:1–16
  1. 1To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm of Asaph. Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.
  2. 2Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery.
  3. 3Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day.
  4. 4For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob.
  5. 5This he ordained in Joseph for a testimony, when he went out through the land of Egypt: where I heard a language that I understood not.
  6. 6I removed his shoulder from the burden: his hands were delivered from the pots.
  7. 7Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee; I answered thee in the secret place of thunder: I proved thee at the waters of Meribah. Selah.
  8. 8Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me;
  9. 9There shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god.
  10. 10I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.
  11. 11But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me.
  12. 12So I gave them up unto their own hearts’ lust: and they walked in their own counsels.
  13. 13Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!
  14. 14I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.
  15. 15The haters of the LORD should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured for ever.
  16. 16He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.

King James Version · Standardized 1769 text with Strong’s numbering · Public domain outside the United Kingdom

EXPLORE THE MESSAGE

Related Watchman 33 Resources

Sermons

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Manifest Glory

In “Manifest Glory,” Pastor Dean Odle presents a Scripture-centered message about prayer, the glory of God, God’s commandments. Drawing especially from Isaiah 64, Psalm 63, Matthew 5, John 15, the teaching emphasizes that prayer expresses dependence on God and prepares believers to hear and obey Him. Odle connects that foundation with the conviction that God’s glory exposes sin, deepens reverence, and changes those who seek His presence.

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June 13, 2022Pastor Dean Odle

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In “A Root of Bitterness,” Pastor Dean Odle gives a candid, Scripture-centered warning about hidden offense and unforgiveness. Beginning with his own struggle to forgive someone who damaged family relationships, he urges believers to examine themselves honestly rather than cover resentment with religious language. From Psalm 81 and 2 Corinthians 13:5, he argues that spiritual strength depends upon hearing and obeying God, receiving His grace, and confronting sin when the Holy Spirit exposes it.

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