10A*
A Call to Worship
After Epiphany 2A [Ordinary 2A] 2017
Psalm 40: 1-11

God of patient love, draw us ever nearer to your Self, as we worship you.
We come into your Holy Presence in awed wonder that you hear our cries.

God of help and comfort, draw us ever nearer to your Self, as we praise you.
We come into your Holy Presence to give thanks for the way you lift us up.

God of transforming grace, draw us ever nearer to your Self, as we make
our confessions, and we give our thanks for your steadfast love and mercy.
We come into your Holy Presence to sing a new song of joy-filled thanks for
the way you can turn us around and start us on a new way of faith, and with
joy we say: “...O LORD my God, you have performed many wonders for us...” 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 amazed.
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 performed many wonders for us.
Your plans for us are too numerous to list.
You have no equal.
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.
As is written about me in the Scriptures:
8 I take joy in doing your will, my God,
for your instructions are 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 the good news of your justice 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.
Let your unfailing love and faithfulness always protect me.

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Prayers of Petition and Praise
After Epiphany 2A [Ordinary 2A] 2017
Psalm 40: 1-11

We come this day, God of patient love, to draw near to your Holy Self in worship
and praise. We rejoice in the fact that we can come to you in prayer as a worthy
and acceptable sacrifice to you; that you not only hear our prayers but you also
hear our cries for help and guidance; and that you respond to our petitions through
your generous love and mercy. How awesome it is that we can share our “...joy
in doing your will, our God, for your instructions are written on our hearts...” How
wonderful it is to be able to share with our fellow pilgrims the miracles of God’s
unfailing love and faithfulness; and of God’s justice and liberating powers. We ask
again that you hear our prayers, and draw us ever nearer to your Holy Self in faith
and trust; and to have the blessed assurance of God’s presence is always with us.

We come this day, God of help and comfort, to draw near to your Holy Self as a
response to the way you are always ready to lift us out of the sticky situations in
which we foolishly find ourselves. We come into your Holy Presence to give thanks
and we praise you for the way you lift us up onto solid ground; so that with a firm
footing, we can walk each day in the knowledge of God’s enduring and timeless love.

We come this day, God of transforming grace, asking that you draw us ever nearer
to your Self, as we make our confessions. Today, we give our thanks for your steadfast
love and mercy. We need to confess to you, Merciful God, that we rather like living
dangerously, and that we have been attracted and seduced by those things that are
not godly. We also confess that we have even been enthralled by those things we
know are not good for the health of our soul; and that we still fail to resist say “no” to
those temptations. But now as forgiven and blessed people, we come into your Holy
Presence, to sing a new song of joy-filled thanks for the way you turn us around and
start us on a new way of faith and trust in our Ever-Faithful God; and so we each say:
“...O LORD my God, you have performed many wonders for us...You have no equal....” Amen.

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A Personal Meditation
After Epiphany 2A [Ordinary 2A] 2017
Psalm 40: 1-11

Long before Biblical times, tribal people regularly made sacrifices to the deity
whom they worshipped; and the Bible itself states that Cain and Abel offered
sacrifices to God; as did Noah and his sons; as did Abram when he and his
entourage arrived in Canaan, at the direction of God. Leviticus contains all the
rules for worshipping God, and why and how the Hebrews should make their
sacrifices to God. The opening verses state: “The LORD called to Moses from
the Tabernacle [the mobile Tent of Meeting] and said to him, ‘Give the following
instructions to the people of Israel. When you present an animal as an offering
to the Lord, you may take it from your herd of cattle or your flock of sheep and
goats. If the animal you present as a burnt offering is from the herd, it must be
a male with no defects. Bring it to the entrance of the Tabernacle so you may
be accepted by the LORD…. Then the priest will burn the entire sacrifice on the
altar as a burnt offering. It is a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the LORD…’”¹
The priests were also given strict instructions, regularly interspersed with these
words: “…I am the LORD who makes them holy.” The LORD said to Moses, ‘Tell
Aaron and his sons to be very careful with the sacred gifts that the Israelites set
apart for me, so they do not bring shame on my holy name. I am the LORD…’”²



The author of Psalm 40 had made a personal discovery: “…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…” God had strictly forbidden the people
of Israel from offering sacrifices anywhere apart from the Tent of Meeting; then later
on, at the Jerusalem Temple. When that was not possible, the offering of sincere and
reverent prayer replaced those various sacrifices. Throughout the Old Testament, as
the people of Israel strayed from the path of the worship of the One True God, they
were repeatedly warned about offering sacrifices to heathen gods; and they were urged
to return to the true worship of God with sacrifices and offerings, or fervent prayers.



According to various Jewish educational websites, there were three basic concepts
associated with the people of Israel’s sacrifices and offerings: firstly, giving to God
something that belonged or was made by the person making the offering or sacrifice;
secondly, a substitution, when something is given to take the place of the gift giver—
so the gift rather than the giver of the offering or gift is “disciplined/reproved” in their
place; and thirdly, the act of giving brings a person nearer to God, which is the purpose
at the heart of the sacrifice. The people of Israel made their offerings, prayers and
sacrifices so that they could grow nearer to their God, as they thanked God for all
their many blessings; and also when they asked forgiveness for their sin and restoration
of their original relationship with God. Each time we celebrate Holy Communion, the
Eucharist, or the Lord’s Supper, the “Great Prayer of Thanksgiving” usually has similar
words to this: “…Father, accept us, as we offer and present ourselves, our souls and
bodies, to be a holy and living sacrifice…”³ This is an invitation for each of us to draw
nearer to God, and in faith, to recommit ourselves to the worship and praise of God.



1 Leviticus 1: 1-3, 9b (NLT)

2 Leviticus 22: 1-2, 9 (NLT)

3 “Uniting in Worship #1” © 1988 The Uniting Church in Australia Assembly Commission
on Liturgy. Published by the Joint Board of Christian Education, Melbourne, Australia.

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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 scholarship and 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:
© 2017 Joan Stott – ‘The Timeless Psalms’ RCL Psalms Year A. Used with permission.

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

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