Psalms 81:9

9 You must never have a foreign god; you must not bow down before a false god.

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 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
8 “Listen to me, O my people, while I give you stern warnings. O Israel, if you would only listen to me!
9 You must never have a foreign god; you must not bow down before a false god.
10 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.
11 “But no, my people wouldn’t listen. Israel did not want me around.
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