Honey from the Rock
- davidwperk
- Jun 18
- 6 min read
Devotional Reflection, Wednesday, June 18, 2025
Proper 6, the week of Trinity Sunday
The Rev. David W. Perkins,Th.D.
Key phrases for reflection from today’s Psalm reading:
7 You called on me in trouble, and I saved you; *
I answered you from the secret place of thunder
and tested you at the waters of Meribah.
. . . .
10 I am the Lord your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt and said, *
“Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.”
. . . .
13 Oh, that my people would listen to me! *
that Israel would walk in my ways!
14 I should soon 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 for ever.
16 But Israel would I feed with the finest wheat *
and satisfy him with honey from the rock.
(You will find the full text of Psalm 81 at the end of this reflection.)
Daily Office Lectionary Readings (BCP, 970)
AM Psalm 119:97-120; PM Psalm 81, 82
1 Samuel 2:12-26; Acts 2:1-21; Luke 20:27-40
Today we celebrate the Feast of Bernard Mizeki. (See below.)
David's Reflections
This Psalm presents God as eager to enrich and bless us. Verse 16, “Israel I would feed with the finest wheat and satisfy him with water from the rock.” Verse
7, “You called on me in trouble, and I saved you; I answered you from the secret place of thunder. Verse 10, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and said, ‘Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.’”
However, that divine intent gets frustrated by our refusal to receive. The poet reflects on Israel’s penchant for self deprivation. Their stubbornness and their refusal to listen to God’s word had deprived them of God’s blessings. God laments Israel’s stubbornness in verse 13, “Oh, that my people would listen to me.” I am prompted to wonder how often God utters similar words over you and me and our refusal to listen.
Those two lines--“Open your mouth wide and I will fill it,” and “Israel I would feed with the finest wheat and satisfy him with honey from the rock.”—caught my attention on first reading and caused me to slow down and reread. Honey from the rock probably refers to wild honey in a rocky place. The rock speaks of God’s providence coming from an unexpected source.
We don’t normally expect honey (or anything else) to flow from rocks. However, in Deuteronomy 32:13 water flows from the rock and in Job 29:6 the oil of God’s blessing flows from a rock. All three, wild honey, water, and oil—basic sustenance of life—flow from the rock.
Are you not struck by the intensity of God’s expressed desire to bless our lives? And, does it not encourage you to think that those blessings can come at the most unlikely times and from the most unexpected sources—oil, water, and wild honey from the rock?
Gracious, God, thank you for continuing the conversation with me even when my stubborn self-will blunts my ability to hear and receive. God grant me grace to listen more carefully to you. Grant me grace to be less stubborn. Grant me grace to open my mouth, even to press it against the rock of my deprivation, expecting you to fill it.
Collect of the Day, Proper 6, the week of Trinity Sunday
Keep, O Lord, your household the Church in your steadfast faith and love, that through your grace we may proclaim your truth with boldness, and minister your justice with compassion; for the sake of our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (BCP, 230)
Today we celebrate the Feast of Bernard Mizeki, catechist and martyr (died 18 June 1896). http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/Bernard_Mizeki.htm
Collect of the Feast of Bernard Mizeki
Almighty and everlasting God, who kindled the flame of your love in the heart of your holy martyr Bernard Mizeki: Grant unto us your servants a like faith and power of love, that we, who rejoice in his triumph, may profit by his example; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
A Collect for Grace
Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought us in safety to this new day: Preserve us with your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 100)
In the Morning
This is another day, O Lord. I know not what it will bring forth, but make me ready, Lord, for whatever it may be. If I am to stand up, help me to stand bravely. If I am to sit still, help me to sit quietly. If I am to lie low, help me to do it patiently. And if I am to do nothing, let me do it gallantly. Make these words more than words, and give me the Spirit of Jesus. Amen. (BCP, 461)
In the Order of Worship for Evening
Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers, creator of the changes of day and night, giving rest to the weary, renewing the strength of those who are spent, bestowing upon us occasions of song in the evening. As you have protected us in the day that is past, so be with us in the coming night; keep us from every sin, every evil, and every fear; for you are our light and salvation, and the strength of
our life. To you be glory for endless ages. Amen. (BCP, 113)
A Collect for Mission
Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace: So clothe us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you; for the honor of your Name. Amen. (BCP, 101)
Daily Office Psalm, Psalm 81 Exultate Deo
1 Sing with joy to God our strength *
and raise a loud shout to the God of Jacob.
2 Raise a song and sound the timbrel, *
the merry harp, and the lyre.
3 Blow the ram’s-horn at the new moon, *
and at the full moon, the day of our feast.
4 For this is a statute for Israel, *
a law of the God of Jacob.
5 He laid it as a solemn charge upon Joseph, *
when he came out of the land of Egypt.
6 I heard an unfamiliar voice saying *
“I eased his shoulder from the burden;
his hands were set free from bearing the load.”
7 You called on me in trouble, and I saved you; *
I answered you from the secret place of thunder
and tested 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 out of the land of Egypt and said, *
“Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.”
11 And yet my people did not hear my voice, *
and Israel would not obey me.
12 So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their hearts, *
to follow their own devices.
13 Oh, that my people would listen to me! *
that Israel would walk in my ways!
14 I should soon 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 for ever.
16 But Israel would I feed with the finest wheat *
and satisfy him with honey from the rock.
Daily Prayer Offices in The Book of Common Prayer
Morning Prayer, Rite 2, page 75, Book of Common Prayer
Noonday Prayer, p. 103, Book of Common Prayer
Order of Worship for Evening (Vespers), p. 109, Book of Common Prayer
Evening Prayer, Rite 2, page 115, Book of Common Prayer
Compline (Night Prayer), Page 127, Book of Common Prayer
Daily Devotionals, page 136, Book of Common Prayer
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