66C*
A Call to Worship
Pentecost 26C [Ordinary 33C] or [Proper 28C] 2013
Psalm 98

Come, let us gather to sing to our God, and celebrate with a new song of praise.
Holy and Righteous God, we joyfully sing because of your acts of grace and mercy.

Come, all you past and present peoples of the earth, sing for joy before our Holy King.
Listening God, hear all of creation’s thankful songs as they echo all around the earth.

“The Lord our God is King forever, and God’s holy reign of justice and equity will continue—
because God does not forget the holy covenant promises made out of love for all creation.
Together we celebrate the ..... reign of God, who is our Faithful Lord and King forever;
and whose saving grace and generous mercy are the victory signs of God’s eternal kingdom. Amen.”

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Prayers of Praise
Pentecost 26C [Ordinary 33C] or [Proper 28C] 2013
Psalm 98

“Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation; O my soul, praise
him, for he is your health and salvation. Come all who hear, brothers and
sisters draw near, praise him in glad adoration....”¹ We come, as children of
our Glorious God, King and Lord of all creation, rejoicing in the opportunity
to praise and thank our God, and to sing new and inspiring songs of gratitude
and appreciation for God’s great goodness. Today, we celebrate with joy
God’s involvement with God’s people throughout the ages; and sometimes—
we have been sensitive enough to recognise how blessed we are by God.
We pray today, for a better sense of seeing, knowing and even understanding
God’s activities and presence with us, in all its beauty, grace and mercy.
Today, we offer our praises: honour, glory, power and majesty belong to God!

Today, we pray for a better sense of seeing, knowing and even understanding
God’s activities and presence with us, in all its beauty, grace and mercy.
Today, we offer our praises: honour, glory, power and majesty belong to God!

“Praise with joy the world’s Creator, God of justice, love and peace, Source
and end of human knowledge, Force of greatness without cease….”² We
come today as representatives of all of creation - in all its diversity - to honour
and revere our God and King! The rule of our God is a victory of holy power
as shown by our Lord and Creator - whose compassion and wisdom enables
people to receive and share in God’s generous love. The Psalmist suggests
that we need musical instruments to praise and glorify our Lord and King, but
each of God’s creatures have their own particular way of communicating, and
if we had ears to really hear, the chorus of praises to God would be deafening!
Today, we offer our praises: honour, glory, power and majesty belong to God!

“God himself is present, let us now adore him as with awe we come before
him. God is in our midst, now in our hearts keep silence, worshipping in
deepest reverence. Him we know, him we name, come and let us make
him our renewed surrender.........”³ Holy God, it is indeed with deep reverence
that we gather to worship the God whose creations surround us with things
we can touch or smell; or as we carefully look and listen, they surround us.
These are expressions of God’s self whom we worship now in reverent awe.
Today, we offer our praises: honour, glory, power and majesty belong to God! Amen.

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A Personal Meditation
Pentecost 26C [Ordinary 33C] or [Proper 28C] 2013
Psalm 98

There are times when the only way to really express ourselves is to use
the creative skills of other writers, especially when our imagination lets us
down! Countless times, I have used hymns - old and modern - as a source
of inspiration and prayer, and thus I have been very blessed by the spiritual
and meditative thoughts of others. One of our recently appointed ministers
always used the first verse of the following hymn as a “Call to Worship”, and
it never failed to reverently lift and take me into God’s holy presence: “God
himself is present, let us now adore him as with awe we come before him.
God is in our midst, now in our hearts keep silence, worshipping in deepest
reverence. Him we know, him we name, come and let us make him our
renewed surrender...³ Naming God, in all God’s known and imagined fullness,
is to begin to know the Unknowable, and to understand anew, acceptance of
God’s place and role in our life and loving in all things - as our Guide and Keeper.



This Psalm has been designated by some scholars as an “enthronement “or
“royal” song of praise to God the King of all creation. I have not had much
experience with “real” human royalty, but I did have lunch one-on-one with
the Queen of Tonga, and I did ride in the front seat of the royal limousine as
a special guest! Whilst this was a never-to-be-forgotten privilege and honour,
those experiences pale into insignificance beside the Royal Presence of God,
the Lord and King, who according to the Psalmist, “...has announced his victory
and has revealed his righteousness to every nation.....” Have the nations of the
world taken any notice of these Godly revelations, or even taken notice of God?



“Joy” is an over-used and yet under-estimated word that has been used for
many purposes, including selling perfume and apparel. Is “joy” the delight of
a new or renewed relationships; is it that special shiver of excitement at obtaining
a longed-for acquisition; or is it the totally uninhibited expressions of children
and youths in their delight in life? The “joy” list is endless, including naming
people “Joy” as a living expression of their happiness! Despite this, the Psalmist
does not limit “joy” to only being an expression for humanity. How many times
have you seen birds large or small doing aerial cartwheels simply for the joy of
being able fly so freely; or young lambs frolicking in springtime; or big mammals
leaping and playing in the water simply because they can? I have never ever seen
rivers clapping their hands, but I have seen them blowing big bubbles; nor trees
clapping either, but I have heard them whispering secrets and rustling in delight!

1 From “Together in Song” #111 “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty,...” Words in the Public Domain

2 From “Together in Song” #179 “Praise with joy the world’s Creator,…” Words by John Bell and Graham Maule © Wild Goose Resource Group, Iona Community Used with Permission, Word of Life International Licence #2425

3 From “Together in Song” #121 “God himself is present…” Words by Gerhard Tersteegen. Translated by Honor Mary Thwaites © M.R. Thwaites Used with personal permission.

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Acknowledgements:
Unless stated otherwise, all Bible readings and extracts used in these weekly Prayers and
Meditations are from the ‘New Living Translation’, © 1996. Copyright. All rights reserved.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189 USA.

*The additional weekly numbering is from the Revised COCU Indexing Scheme
COCU = ('Consultation on Church Union'); as it offers an easy sequential numbering
for the Revised Common Lectionary for the Church Calendar.

If any part of these Prayers and/or Meditations is used in shared worship, please provide
the following acknowledgement:
© 2013 Joan Stott – ‘The Timeless Psalms’ RCL Psalms Year C. Used with permission.

jstott@netspace.net.au
www.thetimelesspsalms.net

Download/view a pdf file of this document here: pentecost26[33]c_2013.pdf

© 2013 Joan Stott - " The Timeless Psalms" RCL Psalm Year C