32C*
A Call to Worship
Easter 2C 2016
Psalm 118: 14-29

“O give thanks to God, call the holy name aloud / and tell the deeds
of the Lord to all the people. / Sing to God…sing praises to the Lord.”
1
We come to worship God, and to give thanks for all God’s goodness.

O be glad in the Lord; glory in the holy name, / let the hearts of those
who seek the Lord rejoice. / Sing to God… sing praises to the Lord.”
1
We come to worship God, and to share experiences of God’s mercies.

Sing your songs to God, O sing praises to the Lord, / and make known
to all the world the Lord’s great wonders. …sing praises to the Lord.”
1
We come to worship God, and to learn again of people’s faith and trust
in God; and to be encouraged in our hope and trust in God’s powers to
act, to intervene and to save, that have not diminished since time began. Amen.



Psalm 118: 14-29

14 The Lord is my strength and my song; he has given me victory.
15 Songs of joy and victory are sung in the camp of the godly.
The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things!
16 The strong right arm of the Lord is raised in triumph.
The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things!

17 I will not die; instead, I will live to tell what the Lord has done.
18 The Lord has punished me severely, but he did not let me die.

19 Open for me the gates where the righteous enter, and I will go in and thank the Lord.
20 These gates lead to the presence of the Lord, and the godly enter there.
21 I thank you for answering my prayer and giving me victory!
22 The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.
23 This is the Lord’s doing, and it is wonderful to see.

24 This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Please, Lord, please save us. Please, Lord, please give us success.
26 Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
We bless you from the house of the Lord.
27 The Lord is God, shining upon us. Take the sacrifice and bind it with cords on the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will praise you! You are my God, and I will exalt you!
29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.


Prayers of Thankfulness
Easter 2C 2016
Psalm 118: 14-29

“O give thanks to God, call the holy name aloud / and tell the deeds of the Lord
to all the people. / Sing to God…sing praises to the Lord.”
1 Generous God, we
come to worship you and to give you thanks for your goodness to each one of us
gathered here together to honour and revere your holy name. We have been so
blessed by the challenges and changes of life that have enlivened our living as a
community of God’s people here in this sacred place. We have known and shared
in personal troubles and heartaches, and these have brought us closer together.
We have been strengthened as we journeyed together through our shared pain
and grief; and for this we give thanks, because when together we sought “...the
presence of the Lord...God does wonders and is just. / Sing to God, sing praises;
sing praises, sing praises to the Lord.”
1 Therefore, we give God our heartfelt thanks!

Empowering God, just as the psalmist shared his faith and trust in God, we gather
to worship God, and to share experiences together of God’s mercies to each one
of us. In this season of Easter, there is so much for which we would praise and thank
our God, and to celebrate as we are so blessed, as together we “...glory in the holy
name, / let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice... as we ...make known to
all the world the Lord’s great wonders.. / sing praises to the Lord.”
1 Today, we indeed
want to make known to all whom we meet the wonders of God’s mercies and blessings.

Encouraging God, we come to worship you and to also hear the stories of people’s faith
and trust in God; and to be encouraged in our own hope and trust in God’s powers to act,
to intervene and to save, that have not diminished since time began. Because of God’s
generosity and compassion towards suffering humanity, we can confidently offer our
concerns and problems to the God, whose holy Mercy Seat is the centre of all care and
loving support. Help us never to under estimate the power of telling others “...what the
Lord has done...”
in our own lives; and in the life and witness of this community of faith.
Sing your songs to God, O sing praises to the Lord, / and sing, …sing praises to the Lord.”1 Amen.


A Personal Meditation
Easter 2C 2016
Psalm 118: 14-29

The psalmist promised: “...I will live to tell what the Lord has done…” Whilst the
context of the psalm and that whole verse claimed: “...I will not die; instead, I will
live to tell what the Lord has done…”,
it seems that death and life were very much
on the author’s mind! However, the second part of that verse could also be read
and interpreted as from then on, telling others what the Lord had done for him had
become the only focus and purpose of the author’s life, by witnessing and giving
thanks: “…You are my God, and I will praise you! You are my God, and I will exalt
you! Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.”


Creative pause: Is telling of God’s goodness your life’s focus and purpose?


“Telling others”, or testifying and witnessing are all words similar in meaning, with, in
some instances, having technical and legal connotations. The witness, testifier or
teller of events has observed, had knowledge of, and/or experienced a situation, an
event or circumstances that changed or stayed the same as always, there before
their eyes. The psalmist was the witness and testifier to God’s grace and mercy as
he personally had experienced the transforming powers of God in his own life, and
so he celebrated thus: “O give thanks to God, call the holy name aloud / and tell
the deeds of the Lord to all the people. / Sing to God… sing praises to the Lord…”
1

Creative pause: Transformation is a very powerful witness!


What was the reason for the petitioner and testifier to “tell what the Lord had done”?
“…The Lord is God, shining upon us….. You are my God, and I will exalt you! Give
thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.”
Commentators
suggest that God’s involvement and subsequent rescue of the unnamed king, who
proceeded to witness to his people, testifying about God’s gracious blessings on him—
and how that testimony encouraged his people and lifted their hopes and dreams. As
the psalmist said: God’s light of hope and blessing shone on him and on God’s people
as a result of his faithful telling of “...what the Lord had done...” The acts of testifying/
witnessing to God’s blessings, grace and mercy are never acts in isolation! The ripple
effect of such testimonies/witnessing can never be under estimated, such is the power
of telling “what the Lord has done”, and how God blesses and increases that witness!

Creative pause: Never under estimate the power of telling “what the Lord has done.”


1 From “Together in Song” #66
“Sing to God, sing praises”
© Words by Helen L Wright 1927-
Used with Permission,
LicenSing License No. 604543



Acknowledgements:
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation,
copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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

I acknowledge and give heartfelt thanks for the theological inspiration available from the scholarship and 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:
© 2016 Joan Stott – ‘The Timeless Psalms’ RCL Psalms Year C. Used with permission.

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

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