20B*
A Call to Worship
Lent 2B 2018
Psalm 22: 23-31

Attentive God, in reverent awe, we come to praise you for your awareness.
“Praise God, from whom all blessings flow, praise him all creatures here below...”¹

Compassionate God, we come to honour you for your gentle care over us.
“Praise God, from whom all blessings flow, praise him all creatures here below…”¹

Responding God, we come to thank you and to celebrate the way you listen
to our cries for help; and how you meet our needs in the best possible way.
“Praise God, from whom all blessings flow, praise him all creatures here below…”¹
With grateful thanks, we glorify the God who hears and answers our prayers. Amen.

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Psalm 22: 23-31

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 Praise
Lent 2B 2018
Psalm 22: 23-31

Attentive God, in reverent awe, we come to praise you for your awareness of us as
individuals; and also as a community. The psalmist encourages us when singing that
God “…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…” We rejoice in this promised
care; and praise our God for the gracious understanding of our daily needs; and for
the hopes and dreams to which we cling, despite setbacks along the way, and so we
sing: “Praise God, from whom all blessings flow, praise him all creatures here below...”¹

Compassionate God, we come to honour you for your gentle care over us, especially
in times of need: in our aloneness; in our pain and grief; in our bewilderment at life’s
strange twists; and in our struggles for integrity and to being true to our commitment
to godly living. We praise you for the many generous people you have inspired to offer
their voluntary services in the causes of needy humanity; for people whose careers are
centred around care of the most vulnerable of people; and for people who work amongst
deprived and neglected children to ensure they have some hope of a reasonable future.
Generous God, continue to inspire your people to love and serve you each day, as they
pray: “Praise God, from whom all blessings flow, praise him all creatures here below…”¹

Responding God, we come to thank you and to celebrate the way you listen to our cries
for help; and how you meet our needs in the best possible way. In our neediness, it is so
easy to become self-centred, with our own needs always taking first priority; and we pray
that we are inspired to a new understanding of our place in our faith and local community,
so that we can truly respond to your calls to us into ministry and mission. We praise you
for hearing and answering our prayers; and with grateful thanks, we glorify our God as we
rejoice: “Praise God, from whom all blessings flow, praise him all creatures here below…”¹ Amen.

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A Personal Meditation
Lent 2B 2018
Psalm 22: 23-31

Psalm 22 makes several appearances in the Revised Common Lectionary, with
different selections of verses – apart from Good Friday, when the entire psalm is
used. In Easter 5B the selected Psalm is 22: 25-31; and so I am now concentrating
on verses 23-24. Verse 23 reads thus: “…Praise the LORD, all you who fear him!
Honour him, all you descendants of Jacob! Show him reverence, all you descendants
of Israel..!” Once again there is that frequently used concept of “fear” in association
with our response to God! The other “checking” translations I use have: “revere” x2;
“worship” x1; “fear” x5; “honour” x1 and “respect” x1! As the verse continues, there
appears to be some duplication! The other translations seem to use interchangeable
words: “honour” x4; “glorify” x5, “worship” x1; “revere” x2; and finally “stand in awe” x6!



I am interested in the fact that in verse 23, there are two names given for only one
person - Jacob and Israel. He was named Jacob at birth as the son of Isaac and
Rebecca; the grandson of Abraham; and he was the younger twin to Esau. Jacob’s
name was changed to “Israel” following the experience of Jacob ‘wrestling with God’:
“Your name will no longer be Jacob” the man told him. “From now on you will be
called Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have won” – as
described in Genesis 32: 22-32. “Jacob” was his past life, and “Israel” was to be his
future life, especial as father to his sons who became known as the “Twelve Tribes
of Israel”. Unfortunately, the God-given instruction to “…Praise the LORD…Honour
him, all you descendants of Jacob! Show him reverence, all you descendants of
Israel..!” was not always obeyed – to the detriment of their spiritual and family life.



So often in the biblical texts, there is an element of cause and effect; and these two
verses show precisely that! “…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…”
Why should those long-ago people - and people today - “…Honour the LORD… show
him reverence, all you descendants of Israel...” because we, too, are from that same
long spiritual heritage! Because even today, whether it is obvious to us or not, the
LORD still does not “…ignore or belittle the suffering of the needy. God does not turn
his back on them, but listens to their cries for help…” That must still be our best hope
and consolation, because we, too, are often very needy and often cry to God for help,
especially in times of trouble or distress! The God we worship, praise, thank and trust,
is still as trustworthy and our Holy Friend; and closer to us than our hopes and dreams.



1 From “Together in Song” #768
“Praise God from whom all blessings flow”
© Words by Thomas Ken
Words are in the public domain

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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 help and inspiration so frequently available from the writings of Professor Walter Brueggemann and Professorial brothers Rolf and Karl Jacobson; and the resources from "The Text this Week" (Textweek).

If the Prayers and/or Meditation are used in shared worship, please provide this acknowledgement:
© 2018 Joan Stott –‘The Timeless Psalms’ RCL Psalms Year B. Based on verses from Psalm 22.
Used with permission.

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

Download/view a pdf file of this document here: lent2b_2018.pdf