Psalms81

Sing for Joy to God Our Strength

¹Sing for joy to God our strength;make a joyful noise to the God of Jacob.²Lift up a song, strike the tambourine,play the sweet-sounding harp and lyre.³Sound the ram’s horn at the New Moon,and at the full moon on the day of our Feast.⁴For this is a statute for Israel,an ordinance of the God of Jacob.⁵He ordained it as a testimony for Josephwhen he went out over the land of Egypt,where I heard an unfamiliar language:

⁶“I relieved his shoulder of the burden;his hands were freed from the basket.⁷You called out in distress, and I rescued you;I answered you from the cloud of thunder;I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah⁸Hear, O My people, and I will warn you:O Israel, if only you would listen to Me!⁹There must be no strange god among you,nor shall you bow to a foreign god.¹⁰I am the LORD your God,who brought you up out of Egypt.Open wide your mouth,and I will fill it.

¹¹But My people would not listen to Me,and Israel would not obey Me.¹²So I gave them up to their stubborn heartsto follow their own devices.¹³If only My people would listen to Me,if Israel would follow My ways,¹⁴how soon I would subdue their enemiesand turn My hand against their foes!¹⁵Those who hate the LORD would feign obedience,and their doom would last forever.¹⁶But I would feed you the finest wheat;with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”