Bible Study Psalms 81
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Psalms 81 · WEB

Open Wide Your Mouth and I Will Fill It

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Sing aloud to God, our strength! Make a joyful shout to the God of Jacob!
2Raise a song, and bring here the tambourine, the pleasant harp with the lute.
3Blow the trumpet at the New Moon, at the full moon, on our feast day.
4For it is a statute for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob.
5He appointed it in Joseph for a testimony, when he went out over the land of Egypt, where I heard a language that I didn't understand.
6"I removed his shoulder from the burden. His hands were freed from the basket.
7You called in trouble, and I delivered you. I answered you in the secret place of thunder. I tested you at the waters of Meribah." Selah.
8"Hear, my people, and I will testify to you, Israel, if you would listen to me!
9There shall be no strange god in you, neither shall you worship any foreign god.
10I am Yahweh your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
11But my people didn't listen to my voice. Israel desired none of me.
12So I let them go after the stubbornness of their hearts, to walk in their own counsels.
13Oh that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways!
14I would soon subdue their enemies, and turn my hand against their adversaries.
15The haters of Yahweh would cringe before him, and their punishment would last forever.
16He would also feed you with the finest of the wheat. I will satisfy you with honey out of the rock."
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Summary

Psalm 81 is a liturgical psalm for a festival — likely the Feast of Tabernacles — combining a call to exuberant worship with a divine oracle that is one of the most poignant in the Psalter. God speaks directly (vv. 6-16), recounting the exodus deliverance, commanding exclusive loyalty, and then in verse 10 — "open your mouth wide, and I will fill it" — making a remarkable offer of complete provision. The tragedy: "my people didn't listen" (v. 11). God allowed them to go their own way. The psalm closes with God's yearning: "oh that my people would listen to me!"

Themes

  • Festival worship as commanded and joyful — trumpets, tambourines, shouting
  • The divine oracle: God's direct speech about the exodus and the covenant
  • The "open wide" invitation — God's limitless provision waiting to be received
  • The tragedy of God letting his people go their own way
  • God's yearning for his people — "oh that they would listen!"

Key verses

  • Ps 81:10 — “I am Yahweh your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.”
  • Ps 81:11-12 — “But my people didn't listen to my voice. Israel desired none of me. So I let them go after the stubbornness of their hearts.”
  • Ps 81:13 — “Oh that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways!”

Context & background

The "Gittith" in the superscription may indicate a musical instrument or a melody from Gath (modern Gaza region). The festival context (v. 3) points to one of Israel's three pilgrimage feasts — most likely Tabernacles (Sukkot), which combined harvest celebration with remembrance of the wilderness. The divine oracle beginning in verse 6 creates a remarkable shift: God himself speaks to the congregation. "Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it" (v. 10) echoes the feeding imagery of Psalms 37:25 and 34:10 but in the most direct possible form — a wide-open mouth awaiting whatever God wishes to pour in. The divine "letting go" in verse 12 is a form of judgment: being given over to your own desires.

Cross-references

  • Deuteronomy 8:3 — "man does not live on bread alone but on every word from God's mouth" — v. 10's filling
  • Exodus 16-17 — God's provision in the wilderness — vv. 6-7's background
  • Luke 15:17-20 — the prodigal son "coming to his senses" — v. 13's longing for return
  • Matthew 7:7-8 — "ask, and it will be given to you... everyone who asks receives" — v. 10's open-mouth invitation
  • Romans 1:24-28 — "God gave them over" to their sinful desires — v. 12's judicial abandonment

Check your reading

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  1. Observe

    What is the invitation in verse 10, and its preceding condition?

  2. Observe

    What did God do when his people refused to listen (v. 12)?

  3. Interpret

    What does the wide-open mouth image say about God's provision?

  4. Interpret

    Why is being given over to one's desires a form of punishment (v. 12)?

  5. Apply

    What changes when one knows God yearns for them to walk with him (v. 13)?

  6. Apply

    What would "opening the mouth wide" look like in areas of self-counsel?

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