John Calvin Commentary Psalms 81:6

"I removed his shoulder from the burden: His hands were freed from the basket." — Psalms 81:6 (ASV)

I have removed his shoulder from the burden. Here God begins to recount the benefits which he had bestowed upon the Israelites, and the many ways in which he had laid them under obligations to him. The more galling the bondage was from which they had been delivered, the more desirable and precious was their liberty.

Therefore, when it is affirmed that their burdens were so heavy that they stooped under them, and that they were doomed to the labor of making bricks and to other slavish and toilsome occupations, the comparison of their former state with their condition afterwards is introduced to illustrate more strikingly the greatness of the blessing of their deliverance.

Let us now apply this to ourselves, and elevate our minds to a higher subject, of which it was an image. Since God has not only withdrawn our shoulders from a burden of brick, and not only removed our hands from the kilns, but has also redeemed us from the cruel and miserable tyranny of Satan, and drawn us from the depths of hell, our obligations to him are much stricter and more sacred than those of his ancient people.