November 30
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PSALM 81 SING ALOUD TO GOD WITH JOY
Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob!
2 Raise a song; sound the tambourine, the sweet lyre with the harp.
3 Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon, on our feast day.
4 For it is a statute for Israel, a rule of the God of Jacob.
5 He made it a decree in Joseph when he went out over the land of Egypt.
I hear a language I had not known: 6 “I relieved your shoulder of the burden;
your hands were freed from the basket. 7 In distress you called, and I delivered you;
I answered you in the secret place of thunder;
I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah
8 Hear, O my people, while I admonish you! O Israel, if you would but listen to me!
9 There shall be no strange god among you; you shall not bow down to a foreign god.
10 I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. – Psalm 81:1-10
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A poem inspired by this psalm by ILMA
All you people of God, sing out loud to him and rejoice
Raise a song, clap your hands, sound the trumpet to praise him
The Lord God had faithfully redeemed you out of your distress
He answered your prayers when you are desperate for help.
When you call on him for relief, he was there for you
He provides for all your needs and is always gracious
He wants you to worship only him and no other gods
But you rebelled and made other idols.
As a covenant people, you are to bow down to the Lord
Why have you turned your back on him and follow the world?
The Lord God who made heaven and earth rebukes the lawless
His wrath will be unleashed to all those who are rebels.
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REFLECTION
• In verse 4, it says that God commands his people to rejoice and sing aloud to him, do we always do this as our hearts worship him?
• Can a Christian worship God when he is depressed? Why or why not?