Ps 81 was the Psalm to read today for my daily Bible reading plan:
To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm of Asaph.
1 Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.
2 Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery.
3 Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day.
4 For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob.
5 This 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 I removed his shoulder from the burden: his hands were delivered from the pots.
7 Thou 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 Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me;
9 There shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god.
10 I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.
11 But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me.
12 So I gave them up unto their own hearts’ lust: and they walked in their own counsels.
13 Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!
14 I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.
15 The haters of the LORD should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured for ever.
16 He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.
Notice the worship. God is commanding them to shout unto him. He tells them to blow the trumpet unto the Lord. They are to sing unto the Lord. When was the last time God heard you shout unto him?
When was the last time you cut loose and worshipped God?
God has delivered me from the bondage of a will that was intent on doing wrong every single waking moment of my life.
I too have been delivered from the bondage of Egypt. I too was a slave to sin with no hope outside of the almighty hand of God. I too was in need of a Savior who would deliver me from the oppression of the Evil one.
And my God my Lord and Savior has done just that. Praise the Lord.
Notice verse 8 God is admonishing them. God is the one who has rescued Israel and yet they are worshipping other gods.
May I be every so careful that I have no idols before God. None!
Verse 12 is scary. God forbid that I ever get to a point where God is giving me over to my stubborn heart. I don’t want the Sovereign God of the Universe to hand me over to my own counsel.
I don’t want the Creator God of the Universe expressing a desire that I follow him because I am consumed in idolatry after He rescued me from Egypt.
At the judgment Seat of Christ, I know I am going to be shocked at all that God intended to do for me but I would not. The finest wheat, the best honey, a mouth open wide are all ways of describing how God desires to bless fully devoted followers of Christ.
I don’t want to hear that God intended on protecting me from my enemies, that He had blessings that I forfeited because I would not serve Him with my whole heart.
May I head the admonishment of Psalm 81 today and every day.
