Psalm 81:8-13 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. I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me. So I gave them up unto their own hearts’ lust: and they walked in their own counsels. Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!
Paul told the Corinthians that the Old Testament Scriptures were written for our admonition and warning. (1 Corinthians 10:11). Our passages this morning need to be read in the first person. Place yourself in the sandals of Israel. Imagine God speaking these words to you. He promises to speak, if we will listen. He warns us about worshipping strange gods (like material things, other people, yourself!). He says that if you will worship Him alone, He would fill your soul to overflowing!
BUT (there is that word that speaks of the depraved desire of self rule) they would not listen.
Thus, God gave them up to walk in their own heart’s lusts. They chose to walk in their own counsels. Tragic, but does not your very own soul resonate with conviction of this same resistance and rebellion this morning, beloved? Do not writer and reader alike testify of the enemy of self rule that dwells within this citadel called our body?
Oh for the sanctifying grace to walk in submission to God today. Only in Christ do we find life and that more abundantly. May we pray for one another this morning, dear ones. Father, bless these precious readers with the desire for God’s will, in God’s way, and in God’s time. Be filled with The Lord Jesus today.
