Faith Daily Lectio Thursday, October 29, 2026 Evening Psalm
Thursday, October 29, 2026 · Thursday in the week of the Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 25)
Evening Psalm
Oratio (prayer)
Lord God, You brought Your people out of Egypt and long to fill them with good things. Send Your Holy Spirit as I pray Psalm 81 this evening, that I may hearken to Your voice through Jesus Christ. 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:
“Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!” (Psalm 81:13)
What other lines speak to you?
The Law God grieves: "But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me" (v. 11). So He let them go their own way: "they walked in their own counsels" (v. 12). Looking back on the day, we can see where we, too, followed our own counsel instead of His.
The Gospel Still God calls. "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). In Christ He has brought you out of a greater bondage, and He fills you with His forgiveness, His Word and His Supper. "Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee" (v. 7). He wants to satisfy you "with honey out of the rock" (v. 16).
Prayer Lord God, I confess that today I did not always listen to Your voice. Forgive me for Jesus' sake. Open my mouth wide, and fill me with Your good gifts. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Tentatio (trial)
We can feel weighed down by burdens we carry into the evening. Under trial it may help to hear God speak of what He did for Israel: "I removed his shoulder from the burden" (v. 6). He is still the God who lifts the load.
Evening prayer Lord, as this day ends, lift the burdens from my shoulders. Fill me with Your peace, and keep me this night. 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.
