Faith Daily Lectio Sunday, October 18, 2026 Evening Psalm
Sunday, October 18, 2026 · The Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 24); St. Luke, Evangelist
Evening Psalm
Oratio (prayer)
Lord God our strength, as this evening comes, send Your Holy Spirit as I pray Psalm 81, that I may hear Your call to open my mouth wide and receive what You alone can fill. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Meditatio (meditation)
Psalm 81
To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm of Asaph.
1Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.
2Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery.
3Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day.
4For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob.
5This he ordained in Joseph for a testimony, when he went out through the land of Egypt: where I heard a language that I understood not.
6I removed his shoulder from the burden: his hands were delivered from the pots.
7Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee; I answered thee in the secret place of thunder: I proved thee at the waters of Meribah. Selah.
8Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me;
9There shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god.
10I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.
11But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me.
12So I gave them up unto their own hearts’ lust: and they walked in their own counsels.
13Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!
14I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.
15The haters of the LORD should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured for ever.
16He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.
Consider even rereading in another translation.
You could also consider listening to this chapter, narrated:
KJV (Max McLean) · ESV (Max McLean) · NIV (dramatized)
You might read the whole reading slowly, aloud, more than once.
Consider this verse, for example:
“I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.” (Psalm 81:10)
What other lines speak to you?
The Law "But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me" (v. 11). God offered Himself, and His people chose their own counsels. We know that stubbornness. "So I gave them up unto their own hearts’ lust" (v. 12). Left to ourselves we walk in empty ways and refuse the God who brought us out.
The Gospel "I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it" (v. 10). Rescue comes first; then the open mouth. In Jesus God has brought you out of a greater bondage, and He still fills the hungry with good things: His Word, His forgiveness, His body and blood. He does not ask you to fill yourself.
Prayer Lord, I confess that I have not hearkened and have walked in my own counsels. Forgive me. Thank You for bringing me out in Jesus and for promising to fill the mouth I open to You. Feed me tonight with Your gifts. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Tentatio (trial)
By evening we may feel the ache of what we refused or the thinness of what we chased. God says, "Oh that my people had hearkened unto me" (v. 13). That longing is mercy, not scorn. Under trial it may help to open the mouth wide in prayer and to trust that He still desires to satisfy you "with honey out of the rock" (v. 16).
Evening prayer Heavenly Father, when I have closed my mouth to You or stuffed it with lesser things, forgive me. Open my mouth again to Your Word, fill me with Christ, and give me rest under Your care tonight. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Scripture quotations are from the King James Version.
My church home: Peace Lutheran Church, McMurray, PA. Looking for a church? See About Daily Lectio.
