65C*
A Call to Worship
Pentecost 25C [Ordinary 32C] or [Proper 27C] 2013
Psalm 145: 1-5, 17-21

Great is the Lord! The Lord God is most worthy of our praises forever!
“Blessed be the Lord, and blessed is God’s holy name forever and ever.”

Great is the Lord our God, who listens to all who sincerely call on him.
“Blessed be the Lord, and blessed is God’s holy name forever and ever.”

Great is our Faithful God! Succeeding generations have learned that our
merciful God is also gracious, generous and just to all who call on him.
We join with countless people who have praised God with these words:
“Blessed be the Lord, and blessed is God’s holy name forever and ever.” Amen.

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Prayers of Thankfulness and Praise
Pentecost 25C [Ordinary 32C] or [Proper 27C] 2013
Psalm 145: 1-5, 17-21

Faithful and Ever-present God, we gather together to offer you our reverent
worship, for the way your Holy being is fully righteous, totally just, and always
kind to stressed humanity. In ancient times, King David led and shared in praise
and thankfulness to God; and then sang a personal song praising God, because
of God’s help in the current situation for him and his people. We today, echo that
hymn of thankfulness to God, for the generous help we have received from God
in dealing with our own challenges which even now confront us. From our own
experiences of God’s goodness, we endorse David’s words and worship; but we
do so within our own personal circumstances, in our own words, in our own time.
Holy God, hear our praises and our prayers of thankfulness for your great mercy.

Trustworthy God, countless generations of people have experienced and shared
stories of God’s goodness; and today, we add our stories to this seemingly endless
list of thankfulness for God’s involvement in our lives. We can each tell of miracles
of God’s gifts of grace – either in the daily and nightly miracles of God’s majestic
powers as Creator; the miracles of God’s tender care of beloved people; or the
miracle of talking and sharing with God our deepest fears and needs. We believe
that God hears our cries and answers our prayers in God’s own way. All of God’s
promises can be trusted, and so we offer God our sincere prayers of thankfulness.

God of intimacy and nearness, in faith and trust we give thanks for the reassurance
we gain when we know that God is closer than our own breathing; nearer to us than
our own heart-beat; and much more compassionately gentle with us, than we are of
ourselves. God, you are our God, and whilst we will never comprehend the depths
of such a relationship, yet we still glory and celebrate in the generosity of our God’s
great capacity for tenderness towards all those who are weak or oppressed; towards
all who are vulnerable; and towards all creation which is the recipient of God’s daily
and nightly care and oversight. All humanity and all creation are the subject of God’s
incredible mercy and tender concern, and as your people we simply pray: Thank you! Amen.

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A Personal Meditation
Pentecost 25C [Ordinary 32C] or [Proper 27C] 2013
Psalm 145: 1-5, 17-21

Psalm 145 is the last of eight Psalms which were part of the second last
section of the Psalms, before the final five Psalms of intense praise of God.
This Psalm is another acrostic, giving us all an A to Z of life’s experiences
for which we all should give thanks to God! King David led the congregation
in this hymn of universal thankfulness and praise to God. History tells us
that the people responded by joyfully singing after every line of the Psalm:
“Blessed be the Lord, and blessed is God’s holy name forever and ever....”
The King and his people joined together to honour and praise God in simple
trust, and in a confident expectation that God would bless and guide them.



If only we had that same approach as King David and his people in our
daily living, and amongst people in this glorious and God-given gift of life.
If only, after every encounter with people; or a sudden recognition and
understanding of beauty too glorious to ignore; or a momentary experience
of weakness and human frailty, that we pause and sing or pray: “Blessed
be the Lord, and blessed is God’s holy name forever and ever....” How much
more God-centred would our living be - in our relations, attitudes and actions.



Verse 20 sounds us warning note to us in this beloved and most frequently
used Psalm in the Jewish prayer book! “...The Lord protects all those who love
him, but he destroys the wicked...” Whilst we may not hesitate at the concept
of God’s protection, we quite naturally pause or even falter at the rather difficult
balancing concept of God’s judgement! It is a definite reminder to each of us that
we are responsible not only for ourselves, but that we also have a responsibility
for others and for all the created world in which we live. Unlike the people of the
Old Testament, who lived in a Covenant relationship with God, we are blessed
to be part of the “new” Covenant relationship with God, but with all its added
insights and expectations. Provided we adhere to the blessings of living with God
as our Quiet Centre, and that we acknowledge the blessedness of being able to
come to God with our fears or needs – we are at peace with God and with life.

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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: pentecost25[32]c_2013.pdf

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