Psalms 81:11

“But my people would not hearken to my voice, etc.] 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…”

“But my people ... - See Psalms 78:10-11, Psalms 78:17-19. “And Israel would none of me.” Literally, “Did not will me;” that is, “did not incline to me; were not attached to me; were not disposed to worship me, and to find happiness in me.” Compare Isaiah 1:19; Job 39:9; Proverbs 1:25. They refused or rejected him. See Exodus 32:1; Deuteronomy 32:15, Deuteronomy 32:18. return to 'Top of Page'”

“81:11-16 The Lord helps Israel to understand that their failure was not because of his weakness.”

“people: Psa 106:12, Psa 106:13; Jer 2:11-13, Jer 7:23, Jer 7:24; Zac 7:11 would none: Exo 32:1; Deu 32:15, Deu 32:18; Pro 1:30; Heb 10:29 Psalms 81:12”

“The Passover discourse now takes a sorrowful and awful turn: Israel's disobedience and self-will frustrated the gracious purpose of the commandments and promises of its God. "My people" and "Israel" alternate as in the complaint in Isa 1:3. לא־אבה followed by the dative, as in Deu 13:9 (\[8\], ου ̓ συνθελήσεις αὐτῷ). Then God made their sin their punishment, by giving them over judicially (שׁלּח as in Job 8:4) into the obduracy of their heart, which rudely shuts itself up against His mercy (from שׁרר, Aramaic שׁרר, Arabic sarra, to make firm = to cheer, make glad), so that they went on (cf. on the sequence of tense, Psa 61:8) in their, i.e., their own, egotistical, God-estranged…”