10C*
A Call to Worship
After Epiphany 2C [Ordinary 2C] 2016
Psalm 36: 5-10

God of awesome faithfulness: we come to drink from your fountain of life.
We come to learn about the faithfulness that grows out of God’s deep love.

God of enduring justice: we come to be warmed by the light of God’s glory.
We come to learn about the justice that evolves in God’s refining presence.

God of unfailing love: we come in faith to be nurtured and nourished through
being in your life-giving presence, and by joining together in worshipping you.
We come to learn about and to experience God’s unfailing and steadfast love
that develops within that grace and truth, that flows from God’s fountain of life. Amen.

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Psalm 36: 5-10

5 Your unfailing love, O LORD, is as vast as the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds.
6 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
your justice like the ocean depths.
You care for people and animals alike, O LORD.

7 How precious is your unfailing love, O God!
All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings.
8 You feed them from the abundance of your own house,
letting them drink from your river of delights.
9 For you are the fountain of life, the light by which we see.
10 Pour out your unfailing love on those who love you;
give justice to those with honest hearts.

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Prayers of Thankfulness and Petition
After Epiphany 2C [Ordinary 2C] 2016
Psalm 36: 5-10

Holy and Glorious God, we give thanks for the many blessings we receive
from the Holy Scriptures, which enlighten and enliven our faith in God, so
that we can know and experience those moments of special insight when
the light of truth and God’s grace and mercy suddenly enrich and bless us.
God of awesome faithfulness: we come to drink from your fountain of life as
we come to share together in learning about God’s faithfulness that is based
on and grows out of God’s deep love for all creation; and we give you special
thanks for the people who, through their life experiences, have been blessed
with special knowledge of God and have the words to guide us closer to God.

God of enduring justice: we come into God’s holy presence to be warmed by
the light of God’s glory; and we come together to ask of our Understanding God
that we may learn what it means to live within God’s justice and righteousness.
We are such needy people and we cherish the thought of how precious to us is
God’s unfailing love for us; and that we can actually come into the holy presence
of our God to snuggle up and “...shelter in the shadow of God’s wings...” and
know that special sense of security and trusting peace that we receive there.

Generous God, we come together to share and learn about what it means to be
loved unconditionally by God! We give thanks for the centuries of knowledge
and experiences of people who have lived faithfully with the blessings of God’s
unfailing love and how it has enriched their lives. We give thanks for the people
who have enriched our lives and faith through their own experiences of God’s
steadfast and immeasurable love; and who have taught us about always trusting
in that love. God of unfailing love: we come in faith to be nurtured and nourished
through being in your life-giving presence, and by joining together in worshipping
you. Today we come to learn about and to experience God’s unfailing love that
develops within God’s own grace and truth that flows from God’s fountain of life. Amen.

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A Personal Meditation
After Epiphany 2C [Ordinary 2C] 2016
Psalm 36: 5-10

In these few selected verses we have some of the most powerful and timeless
spiritual images with which God has blessed us as God’s people! Our world
population could probably be divided into two categories: those people who have
little or nothing; and those people who belong to the careless, throw-away society
where “things” are made not to last! The concept of something being offered that
is unfailing, that never wears out; that is functional and never breaks down beyond
its “use by” date; and is always constant - seems unimaginable to many people. Yet
that is the gift God offers to us - God’s unfailing love offered to such an extent as to
be beyond our understanding! Also, there is the unimagined extent of God’s justice
and righteousness that reach beyond the heights and depths of God, as expressed
by the psalmist which are both extraordinarily convincing as well as being very real!



Since this world’s first birds laid their eggs and hatched their first chicks, the divine
caring and protective instincts have been there just as those fledglings were sheltered
under their parent’s wings. This imagery has been lifted to greater heights with the
compassionate and caring parenting instincts of God, who will if allowed, shelter all
vulnerable humanity close to the warmth of God’s healing presence. How precious
is that concept! The psalmist continued describing God’s gracious qualities: “...You
feed them from the abundance of your own house, letting them drink from your river
of delights….” Whether the psalmist imagined God’s care as being either or both spiritual
nurturing or physical nourishing, the people were blessed by God’s provision for them.



In these few words we have the very basis of God’s covenant relationship with God’s
people - unfailing and steadfast love, and God faithfulness as expressed through God’s
justice and righteousness. As people “...drink from your river of delights….” those
delights flow straight from the fountain God’s waters of life. Those delights are also
found in the light of God’s glory that shines and warms us – and it is a light for us to
see the world with the same clarity as the loving light by which that God sees us! The
psalmist’s heartfelt and earnest prayer concludes the selected verses: “...Pour out your
unfailing love on those who love you; give justice to those with honest hearts…” As
we respond to the covenantal relationship God offers us of unfailing love and God’s
righteousness and justice; the shelter of God’s presence; God’s the waters of life; and
the light and warmth of God’s love, so we too receive God’s nurturing and nourishing!

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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:
© 2016 Joan Stott – ‘The Timeless Psalms’ RCL Psalms Year C. Used with permission.

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

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