Psalms 81:8-9

Psalms 81:8-9

"Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me; There shall no strange god be in thee, neither shalt thou worship any strange god."

There will always be a bondage that leads to a certain freedom. When the 'new man' is freed; then the 'old man' is put into bondage. If the 'old man' is freed, then the 'new man' is put into bondage! When I read these two verses it sounds like this: "Hear, O my people, if you will listen to me; there will not be a strange god in you."

If we listen to God, He will guide us, provide for us through all our trials and rejoicings. The 'strange god' here is what the old man feeds upon. He feeds on the god of self-pride, ignorance, worldliness, etc. The 'old man' does not like to surrender/submit to anyone. The 'new man' knows that there is more and longs for it. He has a willingness to listen and submit even when he is in a time where he does not understand.  

In this verse we see 'O Israel' meaning the children of Israel whom God gave to them a leader to free them, but they did not allow their 'new man' to stay free. They submitted to the 'old man' and they were punished because the 'old man' choose to worship idols and caused the people to believe that God freed them from Eygpt just to lead them into a wilderness to die.

We need to get to the place where the 'old man' is bound and the 'new man' is free to worship our Lord. Just like one of my favorite uplifting songs I sing:

Set free to worship,

I'm set free to praise,

I'm set free rejoice before the Lord.

I'll laugh, i'll shout, i'll dance, i'll sing,

Hallelujah, Amen

Let praises ring.

Set free to rejoice forevermore!

It is easier to give up, just like the Israelites did and let the 'old man' free, but we must strive for the strength of God to keep the 'old man' bound and the 'new man' freed, so that we may worship our God, Savior, and King (especially in the dark times)!

Amen!

God Bless You All 8*)