29C*
A Call to Worship
Good Friday, Year C 2016
Psalm 22

Eternal God, we come to worship you, even as we are frightened by life’s pain.
We come to confess our sin before you, and to seek your merciful forgiveness.

Compassionate God, we come to be near you in prayer, even as we are afraid.
Guiding God, we come to worship you, and to ask for your help and blessing.

Faithful God, we come to thank you for your words of comfort and your deeds of
mercy and blessing as we struggle with the issues of life that can overwhelm us.
God of all comfort and blessing, we give thanks for the many promises you have
given to your people, and today we claim this promise: “...Don’t be afraid, for I am
with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you…”¹ Amen.

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Psalm 22
For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be sung to the tune “Doe of the Dawn.”

1 My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
Why are you so far away when I groan for help?
2 Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer.
Every night I lift my voice, but I find no relief.

3 Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.
4 Our ancestors trusted in you, and you rescued them.
5 They cried out to you and were saved.
They trusted in you and were never disgraced.

6 But I am a worm and not a man. I am scorned and despised by all!
7 Everyone who sees me mocks me.
They sneer and shake their heads, saying,
8 “Is this the one who relies on the LORD?
Then let the LORD save him! If the LORD loves him so much,
let the LORD rescue him!”

9 Yet you brought me safely from my mother’s womb
and led me to trust you at my mother’s breast.
10 I was thrust into your arms at my birth.
You have been my God from the moment I was born.
11 Do not stay so far from me, for trouble is near, and no one else can help me.
12 My enemies surround me like a herd of bulls;
fierce bulls of Bashan have hemmed me in!
13 Like lions they open their jaws against me, roaring and tearing into their prey.

14 My life is poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart is like wax, melting within me.
15 My strength has dried up like sunbaked clay.
My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.
You have laid me in the dust and left me for dead.

16 My enemies surround me like a pack of dogs;
an evil gang closes in on me. They have pierced my hands and feet.
17 I can count all my bones. My enemies stare at me and gloat.
18 They divide my garments among themselves and throw dice for my clothing.

19 O LORD, do not stay far away! You are my strength; come quickly to my aid!
20 Save me from the sword; spare my precious life from these dogs.
21 Snatch me from the lion’s jaws and from the horns of these wild oxen.

22 I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters.
I will praise you among your assembled people.

23 Praise the LORD, all you who fear him! Honour him, all you descendants
of Jacob! Show him reverence, all you descendants of Israel!
24 For he has not ignored or belittled the suffering of the needy.
He has not turned his back on them, but has listened to their cries for help.
25 I will praise you in the great assembly.
I will fulfil my vows in the presence of those who worship you.

26 The poor will eat and be satisfied. All who seek the LORD will praise him.
Their hearts will rejoice with everlasting joy.
27 The whole earth will acknowledge the LORD and return to him.
All the families of the nations will bow down before him.
28 For royal power belongs to the LORD. He rules all the nations.
29 Let the rich of the earth feast and worship.
Bow before him, all who are mortal, all whose lives will end as dust.
30 Our children will also serve him.
Future generations will hear about the wonders of the Lord.
31 His righteous acts will be told to those not yet born.
They will hear about everything he has done.

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Prayers of Confession and Trust
Good Friday, Year C 2016
Psalm 22

Eternal God, on this holy day we come to worship you and to confess to you our
sin and our failings to be true to you, and also to trust in your everlasting promises.
We are frightened and bewildered by the events in our life and the way we have
reacted to the issues that confront us. We confess that we have not asked for
your guidance, your help, or your blessing on our actions, and that we have tried
to deal with these problems in what we think is the best way. We accept that you
have given us many gifts to enable us to lead a full and blessed life, but sometimes
things become mixed up and messy, and so we fail in our honest attempts to use
those God-given gifts in every situation. Help us accept our own limitations, and
instead, to rely on your trusted guidance; and to seek help in dealing with this
issue. We give our sincere thanks for God’s past merciful blessings; and we look
with hope to God’s wise and comforting words “...Don’t be afraid for I am with you...”¹

God, our Heavenly Father, we come to confess to you the sin of self-indulgence,
as we have gone our own way, believing that we have understood the truth of
God’s Holy Word that has been revealed exclusively to us, to our denomination
or to our faith community. Forgive us for our many acts that reinforce that foolish
thinking. We cling to our delusions and suspect own beliefs, rather than opening
ourselves up to your Holy Word and the many promises you have made that are
timeless and unchanging. With remorse and many, many regrets, we have come
today to worship our God, and in those acts of worship, we also offer our personal
confessions to our Gracious and Merciful God, and to ask and receive forgiveness.

Faithful God, we also come to thank you for your words of comfort and your deeds
of mercy and blessing, as we struggle with the issues of life that can overwhelm us.
God of all comfort and blessing, we give thanks for the many promises you have
given to your people, and today we claim this promise: “...Don’t be afraid, for I am
with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you…” Amen.

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A Personal Meditation
Good Friday, Year C 2016
Psalm 22

Psalm 22 has always puzzled me, as it appears to be a collection of an almost
random and at times unrelated series of statements and questions of faith; and
self-doubt. The psalm commences with an intimate statement that emphasises a
reciprocated and treasured relationship: “My God, my God...” Yet the psalmist
asked God why he felt so abandoned or forsaken if God was ‘his’ God and he was
God’s person! Professor Walter Brueggemann writes on this psalm thus: “... This
psalm, a classic example of a psalm of lament, is readily divided into two parts: the
complaint of the speaker in trouble (vv.1-21a) and praise and thanksgiving after
the resolution of the trouble (vv. 21b-31)...”² To me, Psalm 22 seems to be one
side of a conversation with someone, even God, but we only hear the complainant’s
one side of that conversation/discussion! What has been left out of that two-way
conversation that would explain its message? That is what always puzzles me!



In Brueggemann’s little book “Spirituality of the Psalms” he writes about this psalm
thus: “...In Psalm 22, something happened between verses 21 and 22. It is possible
that this was an ‘inward spiritual’ experience. More likely it was an outward, visible
act by some member of the community, mediating the fresh move of Yahweh to the
speaker....The ‘deliverance oracle’ is a promise on God’s part to be present with, to
help, and to intervene on behalf of the petitioner. The recurring feature of such a
speech is the sovereign ‘fear not’ of Yahweh.... the ‘fear not’ represents the primal
communication that touches the deepest fears and angers, and opens the most
profound possibilities, when it is spoken by the one who has consent from us to
change our world...”³ I am especially encouraged by these words of the enlightened
author about his God: “...For he has not ignored or belittled the suffering of the needy.
He has not turned his back on them, but has listened to their cries for help...” This
concept that some of the missing words included God saying “fear not” is very helpful!



The prophet Isaiah offered these reassuring words of comfort and encouragement
as a ‘deliverance oracle’ to his bewildered and homesick people: “...Don’t be afraid,
for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and
help you…”¹ Each person who calls on the name of the Lord for help must surely be
encouraged and blessed by this promise from God! I have claimed it many times!



1 Isaiah 41: 10 (NLT)

2 Text by Professor Walter Brueggemann & William H Bellinger Junior from “Psalms”
Psalm 22, page 113
© 2014 Cambridge University Press

3 Text by Professor Walter Brueggemann
from “The Spirituality of the Psalms”,
Chapter 3, page 36/7
© 2002 Augsburg Fortress Publishing House Minneapolis MN 55440, USA

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

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

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