54C*
A Call to Worship
After Pentecost 15C [Ordinary 22C] or [Proper 17C] 2016
Psalm 81: 1, 10-16

Listening God, we gather to celebrate the wonders of your gracious love.
It is only through God’s generosity that we dare to worship and praise you.

Hearing God, we gather to give thanks that you know all our deepest needs.
It is only through God’s care of us that we knowingly trust in God’s promises.

Answering God, we gather to praise your acceptance of us, even as we fail to
live up to our calling as your people; forgive and renew us in our worship of you.
It is only through God’s merciful forgiveness; and God’s gracious gift of faith that
renews our inner beings, that we can gather in trust and hope to worship our God. Amen.

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Psalm 81: 1, 10-16
For the choir director: A psalm of Asaph,
to be accompanied by a stringed instrument.

1 Sing praises to God, our strength. Sing to the God of Jacob.

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.
12 So I let them follow their own stubborn desires,
living according to their own ideas.

13 Oh, that my people would listen to me!
Oh, that Israel would follow me, walking in my paths!
14 How quickly I would then subdue their enemies!
How soon my hands would be upon their foes!
15 Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him;
they would be doomed forever.
16 But I would feed you with the finest wheat.
I would satisfy you with wild honey from the rock.”

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Prayers of Confession and Trust
After Pentecost 15C [Ordinary 22C] or [Proper 17C] 2016
Psalm 81: 1, 10-16

“…Oh, that my people would listen to me! Oh, that they would follow me, walking
in my paths…!” Generous God, it is only because of your gracious love for all your
creation, and especially for your people that today, we dare to worship and praise
you; so in trust and hope, we gather to celebrate the wonders of your gracious love.
You have also given us the gift of being able to trust in you, and we are so grateful
that: “....in the world’s despair and turmoil one firm anchor holds us fast...”¹ Faithful
God, we confess that our prayers to you are mostly about our own needs and our
selfish desires; and we only occasionally remember to pray for other people in their
needs. We also confess that we frequently fail to stop and be silent before you, so
that we can hear your understanding words of grace and merciful forgiveness to us.
“...God, the One... still speaks, his word unchanging, God the first, and God the last.”¹

“…Oh, that my people would listen to me! Oh, that they would follow me, walking
in my paths…!” Listening God, your patience with us in amazing and we are not
deserving of such loving care from you, when we so often fail to even be aware of
your presence with us. We confess to you - and to each other - that whilst we often
think about our blessings in life, that we often take these gifts of yours for granted.
So often our choices in life are self-centred, and that we fail to take into account
other people’s needs; and that we often fail to even recognise other people’s needs.
We know deep in our hearts that God has made many promises to God’s people—
and we are grateful for these promises made through God’s love for humanity and
all of creation; yet we must confess that we have not always trusted those promises.
Forgive us our lack of trust, and kindle within us a new reliance on our constant God.

“…Oh, that my people would listen to me! Oh, that they would follow me, walking
in my paths…!” Answering God, we gather to thank you for your acceptance of us,
even as we fail to live up to our calling as your people. We confess to you that we
have been influenced by the ambitions and ideas of people who do not worship you,
or offer any level of commitment to you. We have tried to keep up with people whose
ideals and values are not in accordance with godly ways; and we are impoverished
spiritually because of this. Forgive and renew us, so that our worship of you is worthy
of your great and gracious mercy towards us; and give us a fresh start with our God.
“...God, the One... still speaks, his word unchanging, God the first, and God the last.”¹ Amen.

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A Personal Meditation
After Pentecost 15C [Ordinary 22C] or [Proper 17C] 2016
Psalm 81: 1, 10-16

Listening and hearing are issues in my home as I ‘baby-sit’ a very old Labrador dog,
who needs to be able to see me to know that all is well in her world, as she is totally
deaf. In addition, I have recently had a hearing test, because my mid-20’s grandsons
talk so fast I am unable to comprehend them; no matter how carefully I listen to them
to hear what interests and concerns them - yet how else am I able to relate to them
if I cannot understand their speech? “Listen, my people...” appears 29 times in the Old
Testament, and five times in the Psalms, and “listen” appears four times in Psalm 81!
The amazing thing about this psalm was the way God yearned to relate to the people
of Israel; and to create a new covenant with them; whilst being willing to forget their
past failures of listening to God’s words of command; and they did not hear God’s
words to them offering them loving and gracious forgiveness and another new beginning.



In “Worship in Ancient Israel” Professor Walter Brueggemann writes thus about Psalm 81:
“...According to the tradition of Deuteronomy that comes to dominate the theme of Torah
in the Old Testament, it is most probable that Israel assembled regularly....in order to
hear the commands of YHWH reiterated and to make fresh assent to them... Psalm 81,
moreover, is commonly taken to be a residue of what was a regular, periodic assembly
for covenant making and renewal... Verse 10 then identifies the One who speaks as the
God of the Exodus who will bless Israel...”² Brueggemann also writes in “Psalms”: “...the
oracle suggests that God is not interested in dwelling on the past and Israel’s history of
disloyalty but rather on learning the lesson of history and moving beyond it to a new era
of hearing...”³ Recalling and revisiting Israel’s history and its covenant relationship with
God is the thrust of Psalm 81, where the Israelites were urged to hear again and remember
God’s words to their forebears. But Israel’s ability and willingness to listen and hear these
sacred reminders seemed to be an ongoing issue throughout their many, many generations.



The yearning voice of God’s gracious love for these wayward people is heard in these
words of hope and promise – if only the people of Israel would listen and hear! “…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.”
But the crunch line appears in the earlier verse: “...Oh that my people would listen to me!
Oh, that Israel would follow me, walking in my paths…! The early Christians were called
“people of the way”, because they walked in the path of their Lord and Liberator, Jesus—
the “New Covenant” - the new agreement between God and all creation for fullness of life—
which is more nourishing than “…the finest wheat…” and “…wild honey from the rock.”



1 From “Together in Song” #158
God has spoken by his prophets
Words by George Wallace Briggs
© 1953 Used with Permission,
LicenSing License No. 604543

2 Text by Professor Walter Brueggemann from “Worship in
Ancient Israel – An Essential Guide” Chapter 3, page 26
© 2005 Abingdon Press

3 Text by Professor Walter Brueggemann
& William H Bellinger Jr from “Psalms”
Psalm 81, page 353
© 2014 Cambridge University Press
201 Eighth Avenue South,
Nashville TN 37202-0801 USA

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Acknowledgements:
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation,
copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

*Revised Indexing Scheme from 'Consultation on Church Union' (COCU).

I acknowledge and give heartfelt thanks for the theological inspiration available from the scholarship and writings of
Professor Walter Brueggemann; and through the resources from the internet and “The Text this Week” (Textweek).

If the Prayers and/or Meditations are used in shared worship, please provide this acknowledgement:
© 2016 Joan Stott – ‘The Timeless Psalms’ RCL Psalms Year C. Used with permission.

jstott@netspace.net.au
www.thetimelesspsalms.net

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