Sing praises to God, our strength. Sing to the God of Jacob. Sing! Beat the tambourine. Play the sweet lyre and the harp. Blow the ram’s horn at new moon, and again at full moon to call a festival! For this is required by the decrees of Israel; it is a regulation of the God of Jacob. He made it a law for Israel when he attacked Egypt to set us free. I heard an unknown voice say, “Now I will take the load from your shoulders; I will free your hands from their heavy tasks. You cried to me in trouble, and I saved you; I answered out of the thundercloud and tested your faith when there was no water at Meribah. Interlude “Listen to me, O my people, while I give you stern warnings. O Israel, if you would only listen to me! You must never have a foreign god; you must not bow down before a false god. For it was I, the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it with good things. “But no, my people wouldn’t listen. Israel did not want me around. So I let them follow their own stubborn desires, living according to their own ideas. Oh, that my people would listen to me! Oh, that Israel would follow me, walking in my paths! How quickly I would then subdue their enemies! How soon my hands would be upon their foes! Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him; they would be doomed forever. But I would feed you with the finest wheat. I would satisfy you with wild honey from the rock.”
Psalms 81:1-16 NLT
Worship is so important! This psalm is a call to worship the Lord who saves us, warns us, and forgives us. We worship our God because of who He is and all He has done. Worship is giving God the honor and glory that He deserves. In this psalm, worship includes tambourines, stringed instruments, and horns. We are commanded to sing—showing more energy than we do for our favorite teams or celebrities.
Worship changes our focus, taking our attention off ourselves and onto the Savior. It doesn’t matter if we like the songs; it matters if God is pleased with our hearts as we praise His name. When worship is done well, it transforms hearts and leads to greater goodness and justice flowing out of our lives—because we want to become more like the One we are worshiping. The experience of God changes us. We are called to worship together with other believers, reminding us again that worship is not about ourselves.
Why would you say that worship is important? Have you made a commitment to weekly worship with God’s people? How can you grow as a worshiper?
