01B*
A Call to Worship
Advent 1B 2014
Psalm 80: 1-7, 17-19

God, our Shepherd, the One who calls to us, who guides and nurtures us:
“Turn us again to yourself, O God. Make your face shine down upon us...”

God, the Lord of Hosts, the Lord and Leader of all heaven’s armies:
“Turn us again to yourself, O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies…” and help us.

God, the Holy One, whose radiant glory inspires our committed worship—
and who calls us all to repent with sorrowful remorse from all of our sin:
Do not abandon us, O God. Renew and revive us we pray! “Show us your
mighty power. Come to rescue us... Make your face shine down upon us.
Only then will we be saved....” Only through God’s grace are we liberated. Amen.

---

Psalm 80: 1-7, 17-19
For the choir director: A psalm of Asaph,
to be sung to the tune “Lilies of the Covenant.”

1 Please listen, O Shepherd of Israel,
you who lead Joseph’s descendants like a flock.
O God, enthroned above the cherubim, display your radiant glory
2 to Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh.
Show us your mighty power. Come to rescue us!
3 Turn us again to yourself, O God. Make your face shine down upon us.
Only then will we be saved.

4 O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, how long will you be angry with our prayers?
5 You have fed us with sorrow and made us drink tears by the bucketful.
6 You have made us the scorn of neighbouring nations.
Our enemies treat us as a joke.
7 Turn us again to yourself, O God of Heaven’s Armies.
Make your face shine down upon us. Only then will we be saved.
Strengthen the man you love, the son of your choice.

18 Then we will never abandon you again.
Revive us so we can call on your name once more.
19 Turn us again to yourself, O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies.
Make your face shine down upon us. Only then will we be saved.

---

Prayers of Lament and Petition
Advent 1B 2014
Psalm 80: 1-7, 17-19

God, our Shepherd, the One who calls to us, who guides and nurtures us,
who offers us leadership when we are lost or bewildered; who supports and
encourages us when we are weak and worn out by life’s struggles; and who
sustains us in times of need – we come to you now in our pain and despair.
Hear us as we call to you, asking that you lead us back to yourself, as we
have lost our focus in life; we wander aimlessly without any purpose to guide
us in our spiritual pilgrimage and ask that you “Turn us again to yourself, O
God...” We need to be warmed by the light of your love, and so we earnestly
pray: “Make your face shine down upon us...” because “...only then will we be
saved” – saved from our sinfulness; saved from our self-interest; and saved to
once more be your faithful people following our Strong and Shepherding God.

The psalmist asked: “...how long will you be angry with our prayers?” Things
have changed in our relationships with people, and is that because we have
turned away from the Source of all goodness? God, the Lord of Hosts, the Lord
and Leader of heaven’s armies of saints and all of the heavenly hosts that God
commands, be for us the true guide in our praying, as we seem to have lost touch
with the way to pray. What has gone wrong with our prayers? Have we failed to
listen for God’s word of truth to us? Have we failed to even recognise the holiness
of God? Maybe we have not acknowledged the glory and majesty of God; and not
even revered the Lord God in our prayers? Have our prayers been focussed only
on ourselves instead of offering our thanks and praise to God for our many blessings?
O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, we confess to all our failings and sin; and we ask
that you teach us again how to pray and to listen to you for your messages of hope!

God, the Holy One, do not abandon us, O God – renew and revive us we pray!
“Speak to the heart of your people O God. We’re lost and alone, our hearts have
strayed far from you. We hunger for you, O God, our hearts are restless and aching.
Bring us home to you O God. Bring us home to you that we might live. Bring us
home…”¹ God, whose radiant glory in the past has always inspired our worship,
and who because of God’s glorious mercy has forgiven us our past sin; be for us
again the God who hears our cries: “...O God, enthroned above the cherubim,
display your radiant glory....Show us your mighty power. Come to rescue us...!”
With remembered hope and trust in our Unchanging God, we come in prayer to you. Amen.

---

A Personal Meditation
Advent 1B 2014
Psalm 80: 1-7, 17-19

In anyone’s life time, there are many shared and personal experiences when
we simply know that life as we have known it in the past will never ever be
the same again. As a nation under God, the people of Israel experienced
that at least twice, with their “Exodus” and “Exile” trials and challenges. Then
later, when the people of Israel learned that their Temple had been destroyed,
they were devastated! The painful process of learning how to accept such
losses is horrendous. The psalmist on behalf of his people cried out in anguish:
“...You have fed us with sorrow and made us drink tears by the bucketful...”
This heartfelt and poignant cry of distress summed up their great sense of loss.



There is often unintended pain caused when people unknowingly make various
changes to processes, procedures, or even liturgies that people have grown
“comfortable” with for years, and have been blessed from them. Even minor
decisions made in isolation can have quite profound effects on people. Although
I had not been back to visit my “home” church for many years, I was deeply hurt
when I learned that memorial items that honoured my parents had been discarded
in favour of more “modern” furnishings and settings. Had those very faithful people
been so quickly forgotten? There can be no more such defining moments of loss
and the end of life as we have known it, as when there is a death in one’s family;
when there is a marriage breakup; when there is a fracturing of a friendship; or
when circumstances dictate that never again will that special person be there to
give you a hug, or to welcome you into their home for a meal or for a cosy chat.



The psalmist had several words he often used to turn the mood or contents of
the psalms around. Sometimes he used “but” or “yet”; and in this psalm he used
“then”! If only God would reposition us so that we faced towards God instead of
turned away from God: “...Only then will we be saved... then we will never abandon
you again…” The writer looked forward with eager anticipation to God’s liberating
actions; however, how real was the claim of the people of Israel that “…we will
never abandon you again…” Learned people inform us that this psalm was created
in 979AD, long before the prophets begged the people of Israel to return to God—
so was the statement of never again abandoning God just more convenient and
empty words? Nevertheless, we all have to take responsibility for our own actions!



1 From “A Special Collection” CD
“Speak to the heart of your people, O God”
Words and music by Sister Monica Brown
© 1994 Monica Brown & Emmaus Productions
Used with personal permission.

---

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 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 B. Used with permission.

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

Download/view a pdf file of this document here: advent1b_2014.pdf