Psalms 81:10
EXPOSITION
Ver. 10. I am the Lord thy God,
which brought thee out of the land of Egypt. Thus did Jehovah usually introduce
himself to his people. The great deliverance out of Egypt was that claim upon his people's
allegiance which he most usually pleaded. If ever people were morally bound to their God,
certainly Israel was a thousand times pledged unto Jehovah, by his marvellous deeds on
their behalf in connection with the Exodus.
Open thy mouth wide, and I will
fill it. Because he had brought them out of Egypt he could do great things for them.
He had proved his power and his good will; it remained only for his people to believe in
him and ask large things of him. If their expectations were enlarged to the utmost degree,
they could not exceed the bounty of the Lord. Little birds in the nest open their mouths
widely enough, and perhaps the parent birds fail to fill them, but it will never be so
with our God. His treasures of grace are inexhaustible,
"Deep as our helpless miseries
are,
And boundless as our sins."
The Lord began with his chosen
nation upon a great scale, doing great wonders for them, and offering them vast returns
for their faith and love, if they would but be faithful to him. Sad, indeed, was the
result of this grand experiment.
EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT
SAYINGS
Ver. 10. Open thy mouth wide, and I
will fill it. Surely this teaches us, that the greater and more valuable the blessings
are which we implore from the divine beneficence, the more sure shall we be to receive
them in answer to prayer...But, though men are to be blamed, that they so seldom
acknowledge God in any thing, yet they are still more to be blamed, that they seek not
from him the chief good. Men may, however, possibly cry to God for inferior things, and
apply in vain. Even good men may ask for temporal blessings, and not receive them; because
the things we suppose good, may not be good, or not good for us, or not good
for us at present. But none shall seek God for the best of blessings in vain. If we
ask enough, we shall have it. While the worldling drinks in happiness, if it will
bear the name, with the mouth of an insect, the Christian imbibes bliss with the mouth of
an angel. His pleasures are the same in kind, with the pleasure of the infinitely happy
God. John Ryland.
Ver. 10. Open thy mouth wide, and I
will fill it. You may easily over expect the creature, but you cannot over expect God:
"Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it; "widen and dilate the desires and
expectations of your souls, and God is able to fill every chink to the vastest capacity.
This honours God, when we greaten our expectations upon him, it is a sanctifying of God in
our hearts. Thomas Case (1598-1682), in "Morning Exercises."
Ver. 10. Open thy mouth wide.
This implies,
1. Warmth and fervency in prayer.
To open the mouth is in effect to open the heart, that it may be both engaged and
enlarged... We may be said to open our mouths wide when our affections are quick and
lively, and there is a correspondence between the feelings of the heart and the request of
the lips; or when we really pray, and not merely seem to do so. This is strongly and
beautifully expressed in Psalms 119:131: I opened my mouth,
and panted: for I longed for thy commandments.
2. It implies a holy fluency and
copiousness of expression, so as to order our cause before him, and fill our mouths with
arguments. When the good man gets near to God, he has much business to transact with him,
many complaints to make, and many blessings to implore; and, as such seasons do not
frequently occur, he's the more careful to improve them. He then pours out his whole soul,
and is at no loss for words; for when the heart is full, the tongue overflows. Sorrow and
distress will even make those eloquent who are naturally slow of speech.
3. Enlarged hope and expectation.
We may be too irreverent in our approaches to God, and too peremptory in our application;
but if the matter and manner of our prayer be right, we cannot be too confident in our
expectations from him... Open thy mouth wide then, O Christian; stretch out thy desires to
the uttermost, grasp heaven and earth in thy boundless wishes, and believe there is enough
in God to afford the full satisfaction. Not only come, but come with boldness to the
throne of grace: it is erected for sinners, even the chief of sinners. Come to it then,
and wait at it, till you obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Those who
expect most from God are likely to receive the most. The desire of the righteous, let it
be ever so extensive, shall be granted. Benjamin Beddome.
Ver. 10. I will fill it.
Consider the import of the promise: Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.
"Ask, and ye shall receive; seek, and ye shall find." Particularly,
1. If we open our mouths to God in
prayer, he will fill them more and more with suitable petitions and arguments. When we
attempt to open the mouth, God will open it still wider. Thus he dealt with Abraham when
he interceded for Sodom; the longer he prayed, the more submissive and yet the more
importunate he became. By praying we increase our ability to pray, and find a greater
facility in the duty. "To him that hath shall be given, and he shall have more
abundantly."
2. God will fill the mouth with
abundant thanksgivings. Many of David's psalms begin with prayer, and end with the most
animated praises. No mercies so dispose to thankfulness as those which are received in
answer to prayer; for according to the degree of desire will be the sweetness of
fruition...
3. We shall be filled with those
blessings we pray for, if they are calculated to promote our real good and the glory of
God. Do we desire fresh communications of grace, and manifestations of divine love; a
renewed sense of pardoning mercy, and an application of the blood of Christ? Do we want
holiness, peace, and assurance? Do we want to hear from God, to see him, and be like him?
The promise is, My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in
glory by Christ Jesus, Phillippians 4:19. You shall have what you desire, and be satisfied: it shall be
enough, and you shall think it so. "The Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing
will he withhold from them that walk uprightly." Benjamin Beddome.
Ver. 10. The custom is said
still to exist in Persia that when the king wishes to do a visitor, an ambassador for
instance, especial honour, he desires him to open his mouth wide; and the king then crams
it as full of sweetmeats as it will hold; and sometimes even with jewels. Curious as this
custom is, it is doubtless referred to in Ps 81:10: Open thy mouth wide, and I will
fill it; not with baubles of jewels, but with far richer treasure. John Gadsby.
HINTS TO THE VILLAGE PREACHER
Ver. 10.
1. Emptiness supposed in poor
sinners: they have lost God.
2. A fill proposed and offered to
empty sinners. This is a soul fill; a filling with all the fulness of God.
3. The party communicating this
soul fill to the sinner: I, more generally, I the Lord, in opposition to strange
gods.
4. The sinner's duty in order to
this communication: Open thy mouth wide. Thomas Boston.
Ver. 10.
I. The God of past mercy: which
brought thee out of Egypt.
II. Expects present petitions: Open
thy mouth wide.
III. Promises future good: I
will fill it.
Check out other Psalms in Spurgeon's "Treasury
of David"
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