10C*
A Call to Worship
Epiphany 2C [Ordinary 2C] 2013
Psalm 36: 5-10

God of unfailing love and faithfulness, we gather together to praise you!
We acknowledge that we are needy people! How precious is God’s love to us!

God of light within our dark world, we gather to honour and revere you!
We acknowledge that we are often lost! How reassuring is God’s light to us!

God of the fountain of grace, we gather to be nourished and blessed by you!
We acknowledge that we need cleansing! Flow through us, God of steadfast
love, to cleanse and restore us; so that together, we may celebrate your love. Amen.

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Prayers of Praise and Petition
Epiphany 2C [Ordinary 2C] 2013
Psalm 36: 5-10

God of abundant and steadfast love, we gather to worship and praise you.
There is no way we as humans can measure the immensity of God’s love—
because it is as vast as the immeasurable heavens; God’s love is deeper
than the deepest seas; and all of creation cannot contain all the love that
flows so faithfully and generously from God’s heart of grace. How precious
is God’s love to us, we, who forever have doubts about how loveable we are!

The Psalmist sang his hymn of praise to God, aware that his community was
surrounded by people who had forgotten their faith in God! He reminded his
anxious people of God’s merciful faithfulness and compassion towards all
creation, people and animals alike; and encouraged them to come to God’s
fountain of grace for renewal and strength. We all know what it is like to be
surrounded by people who give little attention to God and their own spiritual
needs; and so we pray and praise our Generous God for accepting us into
God’s eternal presence, to be nurtured and nourished with God’s own love.
As God’s vulnerable children, we have an open invitation to shelter from life’s
storms under the shadow of God’s wings, just as chickens find refuge under
their mother’s wings; for you O God, are the Source of all life, love and grace.

All-loving and all-merciful God, help us today to accept the searching light of
God’s love into our lives, so that with honest hearts, we may experience God’s
just peace surrounding and upholding us in our daily struggles in faithfulness.
Remembering God, help us to always rely on your eternal promises, so that
claiming these promises as our very own, we may daily grow in love and in our
commitment to our Holy and Righteous God, and seek to serve God all our days. Amen.

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A Personal Meditation
Epiphany 2C [Ordinary 2C] 2013
Psalm 36: 5-10

This Psalm is attributed to David, but he may not have written it.
Whoever it was who sang this song of faith and trust in God, he
had a deep understanding of his brothers and sisters, as shown
in the first four verses of the Psalm; but he had a much deeper and
richer experience of God, and the being and very nature of God.
The author of this Psalm had absolute trust in God’s steadfast and
unfailing love; he knew that God’s love was beyond any measurement;
that God’s love was more precious that the world’s costliest jewellery;
he knew that God nurtured, nourished and refreshed people in the
fountain of God’s grace; that God’s compassionate care surpassed
that of a mother hen giving refuge under her wings to her chickens;
and that God’s loving spotlight shows us the way to life in all its fullness!



Like most Christians, I know a few very special people whose faith
and trust in God is simply inspirational! I always feel blessed to be
with them; to feel their loving touch; and to hear them pray, is to be
invited into God’s immediate presence. These people base all their
living on God’s promises, and have complete faith in their value. I have
this same feeling about the author of this Psalm! Image after image
pour from the heart and mind of its author! He valued God’s eternal
promises and lived his life according to their precepts. The eternal
nature of God’s promises meant that this man left the future in God’s
hands alone, trusting entirely in God. However, the author also knew
his neighbours and their nasty habits! He asked God to protect him
from the ungodly powers and evil activities that surrounded him every
day, and trusted that God would always hear and answer his prayers!



The Psalm’s author also believed in the spiritual nourishment that God
provided for the well-being of his and everyone’s soul, and that God also
provided opportunities for believers to drink from the “rivers of God’s delight.”
How glorious and rich was this person’s faith and trust in God’s eternal love.

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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.

*The additional weekly numbering is from the Revised COCU Indexing Scheme
COCU = ('Consultation on Church Union'); as it offers an easy sequential numbering for the Revised
Common Lectionary for the Church Calendar.

If any part of these Prayers and/or Meditations is used in shared worship, please provide
the following acknowledgement:
© 2013 Joan Stott – ‘The Timeless Psalms’ RCL Psalms Year C. Used with permission.

jstott@netspace.net.au

Download/view a pdf file of this document here: epiphany2[2]c_2013.pdf

© 2013 Joan Stott - " The Timeless Psalms" RCL Psalm Year C