Psalm Chapter 81

Psalm 81: The Open Mouth and the Feast Refused

Here is one of the strangest and most heartbreaking invitations in all of Scripture. God himself speaks — not in thunder, not in rebuke (not yet), but in the voice of a host at a banquet calling his guests to table. "I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it." That image is almost comically generous, like a parent coaxing a child to try something wonderful. And what follows is the tragedy that makes the psalm ache: "But my people would not hearken to my voice." The feast was laid. The mouth was to be opened. And they turned away to lesser bread. What Lewis would have recognized here is the absurd comedy of our condition — we are starving creatures who refuse food because we are too busy chewing on our own plans. God's punishment, such as it is, is simply to let us have what we chose: "So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust." There is no wrath quite so terrible as being given exactly what you wanted instead of what you needed.

00:00 Sing Aloud Unto God
01:00 The Voice from the Secret Place
02:00 Open Thy Mouth Wide