Psalm 81 - Praise for rescue

Rescuing God,

Lord, singing about you makes us strong, so we shout for joy to you, our Champion!  You have given us these seasons of joy, celebration, and rejoicing to remind us of your triumph over sin and death when Christ went to the Cross to wage war.  You have freed us from the backbreaking burdens of sin and shame through the gift of grace through Jesus.  You heard your people calling out in times of trouble and you came down from your secret place to save and rescue us.  For that and so much more, we give you thanks and praise. You are our only God, the living God, who breaks our strongholds and raises us up out of bondage.  Yet we struggle to listen and yield to you; we stubbornly live according to our selfishness. Remind us that we should never worship any other god besides you.  You open our mouths, give us your word, and then fulfill it - your words we speak will be!    Help us to listen to you and walk faithfully in your footsteps, following your ways. Feed us with spiritual bread; satisfy us with the honey-sweet fullness of your revelation-truth.  In the sweet name of Jesus we pray, Amen. 

1 Lord, just singing about you makes me strong!

    So I’ll keep shouting for joy to Jacob’s God, my champion.

2 Let the celebration begin!

    I will sing with drum accompaniment and with the sweet sound

    of the harp and guitar strumming.

3 Go ahead! Blow the jubilee trumpet to begin the feast!

    Blow it before every joyous celebration and festival.

4 For God has given us these seasons of joy,

    days that the God of Jacob decreed for us to celebrate and rejoice.

5 He has given these feasts to remind us of his triumph over Egypt,

    when he went out to wage war against them.

    I heard the message in an unknown tongue as he said to me,

6 “I have removed your backbreaking burdens

    and have freed your hands from the hard labor and toil.

7 You called out to me in your time of trouble, and I rescued you.

    I came down from the realm of the secret place of thunder,

    where mysteries hide.

    I came down to save you.

    I tested your hearts at the place where there was no water to drink,

    the place of your bitter argument with me.”

Pause in his presence

8 “Listen to me, my dear people.

    For I’m warning you, and you’d better listen well!

    For I hold something against you.

9 Don’t ever be guilty of worshiping any other god but me.

10 I am your only God, the living God.

    Wasn’t I the one who broke the strongholds over you

    and raised you up out of bondage?

    Open your mouth with a mighty decree;

    I will fulfill it now, you’ll see!

    The words that you speak, so shall it be!

11 But my people still wouldn’t listen;

    my princely people would not yield to me.

12 So I lifted my grace from off of their lives, and I surrendered them

    to the stubbornness of their hearts.

    For they were living according to their own selfish fantasies.

13 O that my people would once and for all listen to me

    and walk faithfully in my footsteps, following my ways.

14 Then and only then will I conquer your every foe

    and tell every one of them, ‘You must go!’

15 Those who hate my ways will cringe before me

    and their punishment will be eternal.

16 But I will feed you with my spiritual bread.

    You will feast and be satisfied with me,

    feeding on my revelation-truth like honey

    dripping from the cliffs of the high place.”  (Psalm 81 TPT)