10A*
A Call to Worship
Epiphany 2A [Ordinary 2A] 2014
Psalm 40: 1-11

Transforming God, we gather as individuals and as a community
to celebrate and give thanks for your great mercy and compassion.
We gather to celebrate God’s faithfulness and revitalising powers.

God of hope, we gather to give thanks and praise for the way you
lift us up and set us on the firm foundation of your abiding presence.
God of miraculous grace, we honour and bless your healing powers.

Trustworthy God, we come to rejoice in the generosity of our God,
whose unfailing love and mercy for us is not ever held back from us.
Oh, the joys of those who trust the Lord, and who have shared with
others, the good news of God’s tender mercies and liberating powers. Amen.

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Psalm 40: 1-11
For the choir director: A psalm of David.

1 I waited patiently for the LORD to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire.
He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.
3 He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see what he has done and be astounded.
They will put their trust in the LORD.
4 Oh, the joys of those who trust the LORD,
who have no confidence in the proud,
or in those who worship idols.

5 O LORD my God, you have done many miracles for us.
Your plans for us are too numerous to list.
If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds,
I would never come to the end of them.
6 You take no delight in sacrifices or offerings.
Now that you have made me listen, I finally understand –
you don't require burnt offerings or sin offerings.

7 Then I said, "Look, I have come.
And this has been written about me in your scroll:
8 I take joy in doing your will, my God,
for your law is written on my heart."
9 I have told all your people about your justice.
I have not been afraid to speak out, as you, O LORD, well know.
10 I have not kept this good news hidden in my heart;
I have talked about your faithfulness and saving power.
I have told everyone in the great assembly
of your unfailing love and faithfulness.
11 LORD, don't hold back your tender mercies from me.
My only hope is in your unfailing love and faithfulness.

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Prayers of Praise and Petition
Epiphany 2A [Ordinary 2A] 2014
Psalm 40: 1-11

God of intimacy and community, we gather to praise you for your
faithful love to individuals and to communities; and to give thanks
for the blessedness that each of us is a unique person, and for also
being part of a unique community of faith. We gather here to celebrate
our personal victories over adversity, and our shared triumphs over
hard times and difficult challenges; and to give thanks for our God’s
unfailing faithfulness and loving mercies, which have empowered us
to be strong enough to rise up over despair and disaster. We gather
to sing new hymns of praise to our God, and together, we offer our
faith-filled worship, with a pledge to obedient service in God’s name.

God of grace and healing, we pray for all people who are buried in
despair and anguish, that the light of God’s unfailing love will pierce
the darkness of their hearts and minds, bringing them new possibilities,
new hope, and new joy to life in isolation and in community. We pray
too, for people devastated by relationship breakdowns, and we give
thanks for people who have committed their professional lives to the
care and nurture of depressed and troubled people. Give us the grace
to welcome distressed people into our community of acceptance and
care, so that they will learn of God’s faithful love and tender mercies.

Holy God, in these days of diverse claims on our time and energies,
we pause to ask: “Where is there a God like the God of the Ages, the
God of our parents and grandparents”; who through all the ups and
downs of their lives, were committed to and trusted in God for all the
necessities of life. They delighted in their God, and did not hesitate to
share that delight in God with others. We pray that we, too, will be open
to the beauty and wisdom of our God, and widely share the good news
of God’s continuing love and cherishing care offered to all God’s people.
Generous God, we praise you that you never limit your love or your care
for people, and that we can rely on your faithful love and trustworthiness
in all circumstances, confidently believing that God will never forsake us. Amen.

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A Personal Meditation
Epiphany 2A [Ordinary 2A] 2014
Psalm 40: 1-11

The tragedy of natural disasters, broken relationships, mental illness and
incurable diseases have been highlighted especially this week as innocent
people have borne the brunt of trauma and suffering, and often with no end
in sight to their distress. Onlookers to these tragedies can only offer support
and encouragement in as many ways as are appropriate to the situation. Yet
there is still that sense of helplessness for the onlookers. For those involved—
the darkness of ongoing distress seems to be endless! The Psalmist seems
to have been hit by a similar disaster, but he waited patiently for the Lord to
act and help him. We have no idea how long he “patiently” waited for God to
hear and act to lift him from out of his despair, but my guess is that it would
be quite a while – not because God is slow in action – but we are often very
slow to recognise our need of God and God’s healing help! The concept of
“toughing it out by being strong” is a very human failing - I know, because I
have tried it myself and failed! But like the Psalmist, being liberated and healed
from that despair brought delight, and a glad song of praise for my healing God.



At one stage in my varied career, I introduced into day-long business meetings
the concept of personal faith-sharing to begin the meetings; and instead of the
usual meditation and prayers, Board members were encouraged to share in a
new experience of God’s faithfulness since the Board last met. To start with, there
was hesitation and even reluctance to open themselves to others, however, when
the members actually reflected on God’s place in their life and the blessings they
had received, that brought a new atmosphere to the Board meetings, and a new
openness and willingness to respectfully listen to other’s points of view. “...I have
not been afraid to speak out, as you, O Lord, well know. I have not kept this good
news hidden in my heart; I have talked about your faithfulness and saving power.
I have told everyone in the great assembly of your unfailing love and faithfulness.”



“...You take no delight in sacrifices or offerings. Now that you have made me listen,
I finally understand – you don't require burnt offerings or sin offerings...” Like the
Psalmist’s patient waiting for the Lord’s help, when God "...made me listen...” how
patient a process was that for God? Self-sufficiency and independence are helpful
skills to learn, but very few of us live in complete isolation or without outside help or
influences. Eventually the Psalmist listened to God, and gained new insights into
the worship of God, and he discovered that the traditional ways of worshipping God,
and seeking forgiveness of sin that he had learned in childhood were now not right
for him. “....He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many
will see what he has done and be astounded.. .the joys of those who trust the Lord...”

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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.

*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 A. Used with permission.

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

Download/view a pdf file of this document here: epiphany2[2]a_2014.pdf

© 2014 Joan Stott - "The Timeless Psalms" RCL Psalm Year A