The text: Psalm 81 – NRSV
When we think of a psalm of lament, I would guess that most of us imagine the speaker to be human. That is, the voice of the psalm is that of a person crying out to God in distress, or perhaps in the case of a communal lament, that of an entire community. But in this psalm the tables are turned. Here, the speaker is God. Now, the psalm doesn’t start this way. It opens with a song of praise, likely used at a festival or other communal worship. Having called the worship to order, the shift happens in v. 6, just after the psalmist states, I hear a voice I had not known. That, perhaps, is the problem in a nutshell. For God then launches into a recounting of Israel’s faith history, beginning with the Exodus from Egypt. As we read, we would be well advised to do what Israel did not: listen. Three times God complains about their, and our, failing to listen. Listen for God’s anguish in this psalm, and allow yourself to ponder what it can possibly mean for God to experience this emotion. What does it say about God that God would cry out to us in pain? Isn’t that our role? How should we respond? To me, this brings to mind the parables of Luke 15, where God seeks out the lost coin, the lost sheep, and finally the lost son. Maybe this reminds you of Psalm 8 that celebrates a God who acts first, or the incredibly close relationship God desires with us described in Psalm 139. This is not the behavior of a God who stands aloof, but one who stands just outside the door of our hearts and minds, hoping that we will open it. When we do, when we listen, maybe we can learn to say, this is a voice that I know.
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