09B*
A Call to Worship
Epiphany 1B [Ordinary 1B], Jesus' Baptism 2015
Psalm 29

We come, in response to God’s voice calling us to share in revering the Holy One.
We greet you, God of holiness and mystery; Creator of all life and wondrous beauty.

We come, in response to God’s voice calling us to honour the name of Lord God.
We greet you, God of wisdom and truth; God, the Quiet Centre of all life and hope.

We come, in response to God’s voice calling us to celebrate with joy the glories of
our Great and Glorious God; whose majestic voice thunders through all of creation.
We greet you, God of radiant light and splendour, the Lord God Almighty, glorious
in power; yet God’s holy voice also overflows with tenderness, peace and blessings. Amen.

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Psalm 29
A psalm of David.

1 Honour the Lord, you heavenly beings;
honour the Lord for his glory and strength.
2 Honor the Lord for the glory of his name.
Worship the Lord in the splendour of his holiness.

3 The voice of the Lord echoes above the sea.
The God of glory thunders. The Lord thunders over the mighty sea.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic.
5 The voice of the Lord splits the mighty cedars;
the Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon.

6 He makes Lebanon’s mountains skip like a calf;
he makes Mount Hermon leap like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord strikes with bolts of lightning.
8 The voice of the Lord makes the barren wilderness quake;
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord twists mighty oaks and strips the forests bare.

In his Temple everyone shouts, “Glory!”
10 The Lord rules over the floodwaters.
The Lord reigns as king forever.
11 The Lord gives his people strength.
The Lord blesses them with peace.

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Prayers of Praise
Epiphany 1B [Ordinary 1B], Jesus' Baptism 2015
Psalm 29

We come, Holy One, to greet you in this sacred space where we come together
to worship and praise our Great and Majestic God. We come, in response to your
voice calling to us: “Listen, the voice of your God is calling, listen with the ear of
your heart; the voice of your God is calling...”¹ We come to listen with our hearts
to God’s words of blessings and peace, and to receive God’s gift of strength and
guidance for our daily pilgrimage. We offer to the Lord our God, the honour and
praises due to God’s Holy Name, for the splendour of the majestic holiness that
surrounds the Being of God, and for the blessings of being able to revere the God
of all creation; all time and space - past, present and future. Glory be to our God!

We come, God of all truth and wisdom, to learn from you the truth that only you
can speak to us, and to hear God’s voice that still calls to us: “Listen, the voice
of your God is calling, listen with the ear of your heart; the voice of your God is
calling...”¹ We come to listen with all that we are - and can become - to what the
Lord God is teaching us about ourselves; our brothers and sisters; as we “...seek
after God and feel [our] way toward him and find him—though he is not far from
any one of us. For in him we live and move and exist….”² God, who is the Origin
of all life, we worship and praise you, and look to all creation for signs of your holy
presence and power, to help us receive God’s messages. Glory be to our God!

We come, God of all power and strength, who stirs us out of our apathy and the
indifference we have drifted into; to remind us again that we live in God’s world—
and not “our” world; that voice of God which challenges us to recognise who and
what we have become; and which calls us to: “...Listen, the voice of your God is
calling, listen with the ear of your heart; the voice of your God is calling...”¹ God
of the unexpected calling: arouse and provoke us to once again to worshipping you
with our whole being, with all our heart, soul and mind – and especially to worship
you with our mind! Help us to think about the “why” to what we are doing, when we
come to offer God our worship and praise, and how that impacts on our daily life.
“Holy, holy, holy Lord God of hosts. The heavens and earth are full of your glory...”³ Amen.

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A Personal Meditation
Epiphany 1B [Ordinary 1B], Jesus' Baptism 2015
Psalm 29

How many times have you heard people say that God’s voice had “called”
them to a task or ministry? I have said it myself when I have felt “called” to
be or do something! Yet, how did I know that God had really “spoken” to me?
I “googled” the question: “How do I discern that God is calling me to a task”?
The response was overwhelming! This question was answered in so many
different ways, that I went back to my own experiences! These were: a feeling
or awareness at the back of my mind of an issue; and when this persisted, I
checked out what were the possibilities of it being a “call”. I tested it with trusted
people, as well as gathering relevant information. The hardest step was the
first step towards a positive response! If that response resonated with my heart,
soul and mind, then the decision became easier; and then I waited for God’s
next step in that whole process! If no confirmation occurred, I knew I had been
mistaken or misheard a call; but that special journey with God, with my trusted
mentors and my listening and learning from and with God was never wasted!



The first two verses of Psalm 29 called on all the heavenly beings to revere
and honour God, for the glory of God’s name and the splendour of God’s own
holiness. The next verses tell us why those heavenly being should worship
God, and it was because of the earthly realities that this praise should be given.
Yet for anyone who was at all susceptible, these expressions of praise could
be very scary! The power of God’s voice “thunders over the mighty sea”; and
its destructive forces split apart and shattered large trees; it was accompanied
by earthquakes and lightning and God’s voice which “...twists mighty oaks and
strips the forests bare...”. The mountains became unstable in their responses
to God’s voice; and God was in charge of the wild flood waters! Then the people
in the Temple behaved erratically with all their shouting! It all sounded very noisy
and rather undisciplined! Yet the last verse offered comfort and strength to the
ones who had earlier been frightened: “...The Lord gives his people strength.
The Lord blesses them with peace...” Order was restored after all the chaos,
and glory was followed by peace, as God’s kingly rule was established forever.



The physicality of this psalm is almost overwhelming, yet there is also a strong
message about the spiritual realities of daily life! Our natural environment is
physical and spiritual, yet there is a large part of it that also relates to the mind,
as well as the body and soul. Despite all the powerful images expressed in this
very old psalm, it is when the people were in the Temple that their minds urged
them to recognise God’s powers, and to honour God with their shouts of “Glory!”



1 From “A hearts journey” CD track 4
“Listen, the voice of your God is calling”
Words and music by Sister Monica Brown
© 2010 Monica Brown & Emmaus Productions
Used with personal permission

2 Acts 17: 27b-28a NLT

3 The Sanctus

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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:
© 2015 Joan Stott – ‘The Timeless Psalms’ RCL Psalms Year B. Used with permission.

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

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