52B*
A Call to Worship
After Pentecost 13B [Ordinary 20B] or [Proper 15B] 2018
Psalm 111

God, Father of the fatherless, we come today to worship your Holy Name.
“I will thank the LORD with all my heart, as I meet with his godly people…”

God, Mother of the motherless, we come today to praise and thank you.
“…How amazing are the deeds of the LORD!...His righteousness never fails…”

God, Parent and Guardian of orphans, refugees and stateless peoples, we
come to share in the fellowship of the people of God; the One who liberates us.
“…Everything he does reveals his glory and majesty…. All he does is just…
and all his commandments are trustworthy…gracious and merciful is our LORD!...” Amen.

Psalm 111

1 Praise the LORD! I will thank the LORD with all my heart
as I meet with his godly people.
2 How amazing are the deeds of the LORD!
All who delight in him should ponder them.
3 Everything he does reveals his glory and majesty.
His righteousness never fails.
4 He causes us to remember his wonderful works.
How gracious and merciful is our LORD!
5 He gives food to those who fear him;
he always remembers his covenant.

6 He has shown his great power to his people
by giving them the lands of other nations.
7 All he does is just and good,
and all his commandments are trustworthy.
8 They are forever true, to be obeyed faithfully and with integrity.

9 He has paid a full ransom for his people.
He has guaranteed his covenant with them forever.
What a holy, awe-inspiring name he has!
10 Fear of the LORD is the foundation of true wisdom.
All who obey his commandments will grow in wisdom.
Praise him forever!

Prayers of Thankfulness and Trust
After Pentecost 13B [Ordinary 20B] or [Proper 15B] 2018
Psalm 111

God, Father of the fatherless, we come today to worship your Holy Name. As we
come together as one family under God, we individually say: “I will thank the LORD
with all my heart, as I meet with his godly people…” We give thanks for the support
and encouragement we receive from our fellow pilgrims in the faith; and we pray for
each one of them; that they may be blessed through the fellowship of shared worship.
We give thanks that we are continually challenged to be faithful in our worship, our
witness, and in our service; and that although it is often not an easy responsibility—
that it is one that that enlivens our faith and invigorates our trust in our Father God.

God, Mother of the motherless, we come today to praise and thank you. As we come
together in the common bond of being a beloved child of our God, whose motherly care
and nurturing has so blessed us over the years; so we celebrate: “…How amazing are
the deeds of the LORD..!” Many of us have fond memories of our own mothers; and
from our own experiences, we praise God for the maternal depths of God’s amazing
generosity; and God’s loving compassion and tender care over all things and all peoples.

God, Parent and Guardian of orphans, refugees and stateless peoples, we come today
to share in the fellowship of the people of God; the One who liberates us all. Today,
we give thanks for the God, who is our Parent and Guardian of all the people God has
adopted into the family of faith, hope and trust in the One who is eternally and forever
God. “…Everything he does reveals his glory and majesty…. All he does is just…and
all his commandments are trustworthy…gracious and merciful is our LORD!...” Hallelujah! Amen.

A Personal Meditation
After Pentecost 13B [Ordinary 20B] or [Proper 15B] 2018
Psalm 111

The psalms are a wonderful prayer resource, with the authors brave enough to sing
their praise, their complaints and their fears; using language and words in their songs
and prayers that often we would never dare to use; as they told God where they were
coming from – with an honesty that was remarkable. According to the author’s situation,
they judged their particular experience always as being within their covenant relationship
with YHWH; so Psalm 111 celebrates God’s gracious generosity in the light of that
ever-present personal and shared relationship. “God established and eternal covenant,
and sends redemption, redemption to earth. Praise the LORD! I will give thanks to the
LORD with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation…Full of
honour and majesty are the works of the LORD, whose righteousness endures forever…”1

Creative pause: Give thanks to God with your whole heart and mind!


The psalmist then sang of the particulars of the LORD’s gracious generosity and care
for those covenant people, demonstrating YHWH’s compassionate commitment to
them: “…The LORD is gracious and merciful. The LORD provides food for the faithful
and is ever mindful of his covenant. The LORD has shown his people the power of his
works by giving them the heritage of the nations. The works of the LORD’s hands are
faithful and just; the precepts of the LORD are trustworthy; they are established forever
and ever, to be performed with faithfulness…”1 What does it mean: “…giving them the
heritage of the nations…”? According to Psalm 111, this refers to the annexation of the
“promised land” from the previous owners, which God gifted to them as their permanent
home. Just as the people of Israel claimed as their new heritage the history and culture
of the Canaanite people; unfortunately at times in their sinfulness, they also annexed
their religious beliefs by worshipping many of the local Canaanite gods; so many of them
disobeyed God’s specific commandments to worship only the only One and True God.

Creative pause: In a multicultural society, how far do we go in adopting other’s habits?


The psalmist sang of God’s plan to bring liberation to oppressed people, especially to people
who were claimed as God’s own people – whom God had rescued from amongst the dregs
and rabble of the earth’s disparate peoples; slowly moulding them into a cohesive nation that
was committed to a covenant relationship with God – even though they frequently forgot that
relationship – and suffered as a result of their isolation and rejection of God. “…The LORD sent
redemption to his people and has established his covenant forever. Holy and wondrous is
God’s name..!”1 Professor Walter Brueggemann writes that verse 4 of the psalm reminds us
that “…The name, reputation, or memory of YHWH crafted in those wondrous deeds is of one
who is ‘gracious and merciful’…. ‘Merciful’ comes from the term suggesting the womb love of
the mother who has given birth to the children of Israel…”2 That understanding of ‘merciful’
gives the word ‘mercy’ a whole new meaning and context; and another example of God’s love.

Creative pause: “…The praise of the LORD endures forever…”1


1 From “Together in Song” #68
“Praise the LORD! I will give thanks to the LORD”
Tr from USA United Methodist Liturgical Psalter (1989) alt
Used with Permission,
ONE LICENSE, License #A-604543

2 Text by Professor Walter Brueggemann &
William H Bellinger Junior
from “Psalms” - Psalm 111, page 483
© 2014 Cambridge University Press

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 help and inspiration so frequently available from the writings of Professor Walter Brueggemann and Professorial brothers Rolf and Karl Jacobson; and the resources from "The Text this Week" (Textweek).

If the Prayers and/or Meditation are used in shared worship, please provide this acknowledgement:
© 2018 Joan Stott –‘The Timeless Psalms’ RCL Psalms Year B. Based on verses from Psalm 111.
Used with permission.

joanstott16@gmail.com
www.thetimelesspsalms.net

Download/view a pdf file of this document here: pentecost13[20]b_2018.pdf