Psalms 81:9

9 Don't take up with strange gods, don't worship the latest in gods.

Psalms 81:9 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 81:9

There shall no strange god be in thee
Or in the midst of thee, owned and worshipped as God; or in thine heart, for whatever engrosses the affection, or a man puts his trust and confidence in, that he makes his god, and is a strange one: thus, if any friend or relation, father or mother, wife or children, are loved more than God, they are set up as such in his place; thus the epicure, that seeks the gratification of his carnal lusts, makes his belly his god; and the covetous man his money, in which he trusts, and therefore is called an idolater; and the self-righteous man his righteousness, on which he depends for salvation: hence we read of idols set up in the heart, from which they are disengaged in conversion, and kept from, ( Ezekiel 14:7 ) ( 36:25 ) ( Hosea 14:8 ) ( 1 John 5:21 )

neither shall thou worship any strange god;
only the Lord God is to be worshipped, ( Matthew 28:19 ) ( 2 Corinthians 13:14 ) ( Revelation 1:4 Revelation 1:5 ) and there is but one God; though this is to be understood not to the exclusion of the Son and Spirit, who are with the Father the one God, and to be worshipped equally with him, and are; see ( Matthew 28:19 ) ( 2 Corinthians 13:14 ) ( Revelation 1:4 Revelation 1:5 ) .

Psalms 81:9 In-Context

7 You called to me in your pain; I got you out of a bad place. I answered you from where the thunder hides, I proved you at Meribah Fountain.
8 "Listen, dear ones - get this straight; O Israel, don't take this lightly.
9 Don't take up with strange gods, don't worship the latest in gods.
10 I'm God, your God, the very God who rescued you from doom in Egypt, Then fed you all you could eat, filled your hungry stomachs.
11 "But my people didn't listen, Israel paid no attention;
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.