Psalm 81

Refrain:    O come, let us sing to the Lord.

1    Sing merrily to God our strength,  

shout for joy to the God of Jacob.

2    Take up the song and sound the timbrel,  

the tuneful lyre with the harp.

3    Blow the trumpet at the new moon,  

as at the full moon, upon our solemn feast day.

4    For this is a statute for Israel,  

a law of the God of Jacob,

5    The charge he laid on the people of Joseph,  

when they came out of the land of Egypt. [R]

6    I heard a voice I did not know, that said:  

‘I eased their shoulder from the burden;

their hands were set free from bearing the load.

7    ‘You called upon me in trouble and I delivered you;  

I answered you from the secret place of thunder

and proved you at the waters of Meribah.

8    ‘Hear, O my people, and I will admonish you:  

O Israel, if you would but listen to me!

9    ‘There shall be no strange god among you;  

you shall not worship a foreign god.

10  ‘I am the Lord your God,

who brought you up from the land of Egypt;  

open your mouth wide and I shall fill it.’ [R]

11  But my people would not hear my voice  

and Israel would not obey me.

12  So I sent them away in the stubbornness of their hearts,  

and let them walk after their own counsels.

13  O that my people would listen to me,  

that Israel would walk in my ways!

14  Then I should soon put down their enemies  

and turn my hand against their adversaries.

15  Those who hate the Lord would be humbled before him,  

and their punishment would last for ever.

16  But Israel would I feed with the finest wheat  

and with honey from the rock would I satisfy them.

Refrain:    O come, let us sing to the Lord.

Father of mercy,

keep us joyful in your salvation

and faithful to your covenant;

and, as we journey to your kingdom,

ever feed us with the bread of life,

your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ.

 

Common Worship: Daily Prayer, material from which is included here,
is copyright © The Archbishops' Council 2005 and published by Church House Publishing.

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