Psalm 81:8-9 Hear, O my People, and I will testify unto thee, O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me. There shall no strange god be in thee, neither shalt thou worship any strange god.
The Lord comes to His people, delivers them, and provides for them. In response, their part of the covenant is to listen and obey. The obedient response to God’s grace is that they will “have no other gods before Me” There is no other God but the Lord, who saves them. Other gods are strange, false, helpless, and hopeless. So we do not look to them, trust in them, or worship them. We listen to the Lord alone, and we fear, love and trust in nothing or no one else.
This is the First Commandment, and all the others flow from it. Then life is good. Living God’s way is the only way to a peaceful, prosperous, happy, and contented life. The good life, the only life, begins with God who is good and gracious, who saves us. It continues through us as we listen to Him, to His Law and Gospel. God’s good and true and eternal life flows into us when we listen.