13 “If my people would only listen to me,

if Israel would only follow my ways,

14 how quickly I would subdue their enemies

and turn my hand against their foes!

15 Those who hate the LORD would cringe before him,

and their punishment would last forever.

16 But you would be fed with the finest of wheat;

with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.” (Ps 81:13-16)

If only I had listened to God. The decision I made that I knew in my heart-of-hearts was not the Lord’s will. If I had only read God’s Word and sought Godly counsel, things may have turned out differently.

Psalm 81 sounds like it is set in the midst of a national festival, possibly the Feast of Trumpets or the Feast of Tabernacles. The first few verses explode with energy, music and joyful shouts of celebration, commemorating the ancient stories of God’s powerful rescue of a people from slavery in Egypt.

But then a mystery voice cuts the moment. The scene was only a dream, a memory, as if a sleeper has awoken to a harsh reality. Those days are long gone. God did do those things, and the sleeper remembers what the Lord said at the time:

“8 Hear me, my people, and I will warn you—

if you would only listen to me, Israel!

9 You shall have no foreign god among you;

you shall not worship any god other than me” (Ps 81: 8 – 9)

The one rubbing his eyes from sleep hears more from the Lord, spoken years later:

11 “But my people would not listen to me;

Israel would not submit to me.

12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts

to follow their own devices” (Ps 81: 11 – 12).

It is a frightening thing for the Lord to give people over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own devices. The reality of life for the one remembering and writing this psalm is that he and his family, and his nation, are exiles, held captive in a foreign land, a punishment inflicted by the Lord for continuous disobedience and the worship of false gods.

The Lord is a forgiving God, but he never lets us escape from the consequences of our decisions.

Human beings can be stubborn and, if we are honest, that includes you and me. Even as believers, we might sometimes pay more attention to our emotions and the spirit of the age than the Word of God. The mystery voice reveals the heart of our God, “if my people would only listen to me”.

The Lord wanted His people to be fed with the finest of wheat and be satisfied with honey from the rock. Today, He still wants the best for us. Life. Beautiful, purposeful life with an eternal celebration of relationship with the Father through faith in Jesus, within the bounds of His Word and His Ways and under the protective umbrella of the Lordship of Christ.

“If my people would only listen to me”.

“Take delight in the LORD,

and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

“The LORD makes firm the steps

of the one who delights in him” (Psalms 37: 4, 23)

Like much of the sayings in The Book of Proverbs, David has written a psalm contrasting the fate of the wicked with the righteous. In his black and white view of the world (compared to today), the righteous will shine like the dawn, enjoying peace and prosperity, while the wicked, though temporarily successful in their schemes, will eventually lose their power and perish (or “go up in smoke” v 20).

One of his reasons for composing the psalm is simply to say, “do not fret” (he says it 3 times). Do not be overly anxious when bad people continue to be bad people – God will hold them accountable.

Life, is of course, more complicated than that and God’s people are called to respond actively, not passively, to injustice in the world, the needs of the poor and destructive ripples that can flow from compromised leaders and flawed human beings.

But for those who seek to honour God with their lives, David’s psalm is timeless. Trust in the Lord; commit your way to Him; be patient. David then ends his psalm with a promise:

“The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD;

he is their stronghold in time of trouble.

The LORD helps them and delivers them;

he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,

because they take refuge in him” Ps 37: 39 – 40.

How might we take refuge in the Lord? One way is by delighting in Him.

The Westminster catechism tells us that “Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever”. We exist to worship Him – yes! To give glory and honour to Him – absolutely! But to enjoy Him too. To delight in Him. God wants us to find joy in Him.

When we stop and find space in the day to shut out our worries and stresses, we might reflect on how much the Lord has done for us. How He has changed us, transformed us from the person we once were. We can marvel at the fact that He includes us in His plans, even though we don’t deserve it. We can remember specific times of encouragement, a word that spoke to us or a remarkable answer to prayer.

We can be grateful for what we have. Material things. Money, the ability to earn money but more importantly, people. Those the Lord has brought into our lives and made precious to us. And the relationship with have with Him – our Father in heaven. Always present, always sovereign, always patient. Always kind.

So much to enjoy. And we haven’t even started to talk about the wonder of His creation, which we can delight in as we walk through that park or along that beach, side-by-side with the One who made it.

The promises of David's psalm are “firm steps” and the desires of our heart for those who delight in the Lord.

To be honest, I think to have a heart that daily delights in our maker is reward enough, but it is comforting to know that while we are simply enjoying Him, He is quietly planning good steps ahead for us.

Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So, they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.

He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No,” they answered.

He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” (John 21: 1 – 7).

One of the things I love about Jesus, is that no word or action is ever wasted. We know from other post-resurrection accounts that Jesus was not always recognised straight away. His appearance had changed in some way. Mary Magdalene didn’t know it was Jesus she saw outside the empty tomb and the two travelers walking to Emmaus spoke to him for the better part of a day before they figured out who He was.

Is it possible that that same thing is happening here? I think it is. Jesus does something that will make His disciples realise who He is. Particularly for Simon Peter and John. He repeated the very first miracle they ever saw Him do.

Recorded in Luke’s Gospel, we remember the account of Jesus calling His first disciples. Simon Peter seemed happy for Jesus to teach from His boat with the crowds gathered at the water’s edge and while he and his mates cleaned the nets. At the end of His teaching, Jesus told Simon to put the boat out again and throw the nets over. Even though the fishermen had worked hard all night with no catch (and had only just washed the nets), Simon did what he was asked.

Just like today’s story there was a huge catch of fish, way beyond normal expectations. No wonder the same disciples three years later exclaimed with a gasp, “it is the Lord!”. It’s Him! We have seen this before. Only He can do that.

God granted us a powerful gift when He gave us the ability to look back and re-live a moment. Although some life events can be painful to recall, the Bible is full of encouragements to remember the good. And good memories of the Lord at work may help us understand the present.

For example, a “blast from the past” recollection of a person may be a prompt to pray for them. An intentional look back to God’s grace on your life can only increase thankfulness and trust for the future. And perhaps when we are mindful of the Lord’s dealings in our lives, not forgetting what He has spoken and what He has done, we might more easily recognise His presence and His voice today. To be able to say again of His leading, “it is the Lord! This is what He wants me to do today”.