57A*
A Call to Worship
Pentecost 15A [Ordinary 25A] or [Proper 20A] 2014
Psalm 105: 1-6, 37-45

Hospitable God, we come to worship you in response to your generous care of us all.
“Our God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come...and our eternal home:”¹

Sustaining God, we come to worship you in response to your compassion towards us.
“God, our help in ages past, remain our guard while troubles last, and our eternal home.”¹

Eternal God, we come to worship you because you have blessed and guided us all our
life, and the symbols of your presence surround us every day, and we offer our thanks.
“God, our help in ages past...from everlasting you are God to endless years the same.”¹
Timeless God, we come now to sing the praises and proclaim the greatness of our God. Amen.

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Psalm 105: 1-6, 37-45

1 Give thanks to the LORD and proclaim his greatness.
Let the whole world know what he has done.
2 Sing to him; yes, sing his praises.
Tell everyone about his miracles.
3 Exult in his holy name; O worshipers of the LORD, rejoice!
4 Search for the LORD and for his strength, and keep on searching.
5 Think of the wonderful works he has done,
the miracles and the judgments he handed down,
6 O children of Abraham, God's servant,
O descendants of Jacob, God's chosen one.

37 But he brought his people safely out of Egypt,
loaded with silver and gold;
there were no sick or feeble people among them.
38 Egypt was glad when they were gone,
for the dread of them was great.
39 The LORD spread out a cloud above them
as a covering and gave them a great fire to light the darkness.
40 They asked for meat, and he sent them quail;
he gave them manna -- bread from heaven.
41 He opened up a rock, and water gushed out
to form a river through the dry and barren land.
42 For he remembered his sacred promise to Abraham his servant.
43 So he brought his people out of Egypt with joy,
his chosen ones with rejoicing.
44 He gave his people the lands of pagan nations,
and they harvested crops that others had planted.
45 All this happened so they would follow his principles
and obey his laws. Praise the LORD!

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Prayers of Thankfulness and Praise
Pentecost 15A [Ordinary 25A] or [Proper 20A] 2014
Psalm 105: 1-6, 37-45

Creating God of all times and places, we come to worship you in response
to your generous care of us. Lord, you have made yourself known to us in so
many different ways. “Lord, you sometimes speak in wonders, unmistakable
and clear, mighty signs that show your presence....”² and “Lord, you sometimes
speak in silence...”² We give thanks for the miracles of grace that you have
poured over your people, in ways and times that are past our imagination or
dreaming, as you led your people through many experiences in their wilderness
wanderings; which helped them to grow and be strengthened in their faith in you.
May we each grow in our spiritual strength; and in faith and in trust of our Holy,
Wondrous and Liberating God, whose support and encouragement we now praise.

God of unexpected miracles of sustaining resources, God of hidden water, and God
of fire and cloud, you led your ancient people through many trials and tribulations,
all with the purpose of them learning to know and trust in God, and to follow God’s
laws and principles so that they could live in harmony with God, and with each other.
We give thanks for the countless faithful people who have passed on their wisdom
and experiences, so that we too may grow in grace and in the knowledge of our God.

Eternal God, we come to worship you because you have blessed and guided us all
our life, and the symbols of your presence surround us every day, and we offer you
our sincere thanks. Timeless God, we come now to sing the praises and proclaim
the greatness of our God as we reflect on the many unexpected blessings we have
received from our Generous God, and the painful lessons we have learned when we
tried to do things our own way. “Our God, our help in ages past, our hope for years
to come... and our eternal home:”¹ Welcoming God, as we journey on our pilgrimage—
we seek your direction and help, that we may truly praise and honour you all our days. Amen.

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A Personal Meditation
Pentecost 15A [Ordinary 25A] or [Proper 20A] 2014
Psalm 105: 1-6, 37-45

The poet James Russell Lowell, was an anti-slavery advocate who believed
that slavery would divide the nation of North America and cause civil war, and
so he wrote the following poem to express his concerns: “…Once to every man
and nation, comes the moment to decide, in the strife of truth with falsehood,
for the good or evil side; some great cause, some great decision, offering each
the bloom or blight, and the choice goes by forever, ’twixt that darkness and
that light..... Though the cause of evil prosper, yet the truth alone is strong...
and behind the dim unknown, stands God within the shadow, keeping watch
above His own...”³ That Lowell poem speaks to me about the choices we face
every day; and also the choices the Israelites experienced as they travelled for
so many years backwards and forwards on their round-about journey to the home
God had promised them. The Psalmist had no illusions about why it took them
so long to reach their destination! “…All this happened so they would follow his
principles and obey his laws. Praise the Lord!” Why did the Psalmist close his
song in such a way? Was he giving praise for God’s patience with that unruly
and rebellious people? Was he giving praise for the way everything worked out?



James Russell Lowell was also a political and artistic critic, an editor and diplomat;
who believed that writers, particularly poets, had an important function within society—
as they held up a mirror to that society which reflected its best and worst acts and
behaviour. The author of Psalm 105 also held up a mirror to the Israelites, which
reflected their best and worst behaviour, and their rather “patchy” commitment to
being in a relationship with God. But he also held up a mirror to the amazing grace
and patience of God, whose tender mercy and gracious acts regularly rescued Israel.



Whenever we hold up a mirror to honestly and sincerely examine our own lives, we
will probably discover a mixture of successes and failures as well. However; with only
our deeds and words on display, all our intentions are all absolutely invisible! We may
not be able to list as an impressive list of God’s actions to “save” us as God delivered
to the Israelites, but we surely will be able to discern God’s actions through help from
friends and supporters, and our own considered decision making processes. Whatever
are the result of our personal examinations, we have so much for which to thank God!



1 From “Together in Song” #47
Words by Isaac Watts (1674-1748)
Words in the Public Domain

2 From “Singing the Faith” #158
“Lord, you sometimes speak in wonders”
Words by Christopher Idle (b1938 -)
Used with Permission,
Word of Life International Licence #2425

3 “The Methodist Hymn Book” (1933 version) #898
Words by James Russell Lowell 1819 -1891
Words in the Public Domain

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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.

*Revised Indexing Scheme from 'Consultation on Church Union' (COCU).

I acknowledge and give heartfelt thanks for the theological inspiration available from the writings of Professor
Walter Brueggemann; and through the resources from the internet and “The Text this Week” (Textweek).

If the Prayers and/or Meditations are used in shared worship, please provide this acknowledgement:
© 2014 Joan Stott – ‘The Timeless Psalms’ RCL Psalms Year A. Used with permission.

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

Download/view a pdf file of this document here: pentecost15[25]a_2014.pdf

© 2014 Joan Stott - " The Timeless Psalms" RCL Psalm Year A