Worship is Powerful – It Frees Us!

Psalm 81 NLT

1 Sing praises to God, our strength. Sing to the God of Jacob.

2 Sing! Beat the tambourine. Play the sweet lyre and the harp.

3 Blow the ram’s horn…

4 For this is required…

5 He made it a law for Israel when he attacked Egypt to set us free. I heard an unknown voice say,

6 “Now I will take the load from your shoulders; I will free your hands from their heavy tasks.”

10 For it was I the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it with good things.

In the OT sabbath was a command – in the NT it is a gift. I believe the same is true of worship. Here, in Psalm 81, worship is a decree, a regulation, but if you look closely the Lord is sharing something very powerful with us.

Israel was in need of deliverance. They didn’t need to worship for the Lord to free them but once they were free, once they were rescued, the Lord gave the command “open your mouth wide.” His intention was to fill it with good things; however, the people wouldn’t listen, in fact they didn’t even want their rescuer around (vs 11).

Little did Israel know that in worship God would continue delivering them from future enemies, but all Israel wanted to do was follow their own stubbornness and live according to their own ideas (vs 12).

Worship would have subdued their enemies. Worship would have kept them full with the finest food. Worship would have satisfied them with wild honey!

Worship is powerful – Worship frees us! Don’t underestimate the power of worshiping God, who is our strength!