1 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.
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.
Praise! Sing! Make music to God your strength! For those who God has called into His family & given faith, these are uplifting and beautiful commands. We feast and remember God who has given us all things, the same God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. You're reminded that God also relieves your burdens, He delivers you from your distress & troubles. Most importantly, God sets you free from sin, death and the power of the devil! Who wouldn't want to shout for joy & raise up songs of thanksgiving?
I love the image in verse seven: I answered you in the secret place of thunder. God answers our prayers, especially those as we suffer alone and struggle with powerful temptations and failures. God loves you more than you can ever understand or even imagine!
God gives you all things and does all these things for you; and He has one warning. Don't worship anyone or anything else, other than Him. ...but who'd want to?
Your servant in Christ,
Pilgrim Lutheran Church, LCMS Burton, Michigan
office: 810.744.1188
We are Pilgrims with a Purpose:
Sharing God’s Love & Mercy with Each Other & the World.
