22B*
A Call to Worship
Lent 4B 2018
Psalm 107: 1-3, 17-22

May we always come into God’s Holy presence, worshipping with reverent awe.
In all our worship and prayers, may our responses to God always be authentic.

May we always come into God’s Holy Presence with confessions and remorse.
May our responses be with songs of joy and peace to God’s mercy and grace.

May we always come into God’s Holy Presence with songs of praise; prayers of
hope; and with thankful hearts, minds and lives that demonstrate God-is-with-us.
May our responses to God’s Holy Presence with us be a declaration and living
example of God’s enduring and faithful love, that always blesses and empowers us. Amen.

Psalm 107: 1-3, 17-22

1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.
2 Has the LORD redeemed you? Then speak out!
Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies.
3 For he has gathered the exiles from many lands,
from east and west, from north and south.

17 Some were fools;
they rebelled and suffered for their sins.
18 They couldn’t stand the thought of food,
and they were knocking on death’s door.
19 “LORD, help!” they cried in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.
20 He sent out his word and healed them,
snatching them from the door of death.
21 Let them praise the LORD for his great love
and for the wonderful things he has done for them.
22 Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving
and sing joyfully about his glorious acts

Prayers of Praise and Thankfulness
Lent 4B 2018
Psalm 107: 1-3, 17-22

As we come into your Holy Presence, O God, to worship you and to offer you our
praises and thankfulness for your goodness, may we each confess to you: “I will
give thanks to you, O LORD among the peoples, I will sing praises to you among the
nations, for your steadfast love is great…”1 It is with thankful hearts and minds that
we dare to come before God with our praises, songs and prayers; because the God
whom we worship has proven to be everlastingly faithful; overwhelmingly faithful in
promises made; and always to be trusted. May we all praise and thank you, singing:
“…Be exalted, O God, above the heavens. Let your glory be over all the earth…”1

May we always come into God’s Holy Presence with confessions and remorse, as we
reflect on our sinfulness; and as we compare ourselves with God’s holiness and purity.
It is only as we meditate of the sacred beauty of God’s Being that we realise how far
short we are as God’s people in the world that God created and continues to create.
As we confess our sin and receive God’s merciful and gracious forgiveness, may our
responses be with songs of joy and peace; and a conviction that we must always seek
to serve God in humble faithfulness. May we each confess to God: “I will give thanks to
you, O LORD among the peoples, I will sing praises to you among the nations, for your
steadfast love is great and your faithfulness to the clouds…”1 All praise be to you, O
God! “…Be exalted, O God, above the heavens. Let your glory be over all the earth…”1

May we always come into God’s Holy Presence with songs of praise; prayers of hope;
and with thankful hearts, minds and lives that demonstrate that God-is-with-us; that God
is within us; and that God will always be present with God’s faithful people. We pray that
our responses to God will always be authentic; and our reactions to God-with-us be a
declaration and a living example of God’s enduring, steadfast and faithful love, that heals
forgives and always blesses and empowers us. May we always rejoice and celebrate in
God’s glory, as it shines forth in the love that is demonstrated by God’s faithful people. Amen.

A Personal Meditation
Lent 4B 2018
Psalm 107: 1-3, 17-22

I have puzzled for some time over this selection from Psalm 107: 17-18, and have
finally concluded that this is another example of the people of Israel not fulfilling
their worship promises they made with God. In the Old Testament book of Leviticus,
there are God-inspired regulations about the conduct of the worship of God; and
various religious festivals and how these are to be enacted – all to bring honour and
glory to God. Many of these regulations relate to food and what can and cannot be
eaten. The psalmist sang of the people who thought that obeying their food laws was
all that amounted to the worship of God! “…Some were fools; they rebelled and suffered
for their sins. They couldn’t stand the thought of food, and they were knocking on
death’s door…” This reminds me of the laments of the various prophets who tried—
often in vain – to bring the people of Israel back to fulfilling the true worship of God.

Creative pause: How do you express your loving commitment to God?


In Micah we have this example: “…What can we bring to the LORD? Should we bring
him burnt offerings? Should we bow before God Most High with offerings of yearling
calves? Should we offer him thousands of rams and ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Should we sacrifice our firstborn children to pay for our sins…”?2 God does not want
or need extravagant and ostentatious offerings to express our worship; or performances
of piety to show how ‘good’ we are. The relevant people in the selected verses chose to
starve rather than eat religiously ‘prohibited’ food – which the psalmist described as
‘foolish’! Other translations suggest that because of their extreme level of sin, the pain
they suffered as a result of that sin meant that all food was repulsive to them. My own
preferred interpretation of this is the first explanation, as this was a common biblical
theme. The other common theme was their eventual repentance, and their crying out to
God to rescue them from their own failures; and God’s gracious response to their cries.

Creative pause: How independent can we be in our biblical interpretations?


There is a common theme throughout Psalm 107, which includes several examples of
people’s foolish behaviour and God’s liberating actions to save them. After each of these
examples are these words: “…Let them praise the LORD for his great love and for the
wonderful things he has done for them…” This is followed each time with suggested
actions - as in verse 22: “…Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and sing joyfully
about his glorious acts…” and in verse 32: “…Let them exalt him publicly before the
congregation and before the leaders of the nation…” This is a continuation of the opening
theme of this psalm: “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures
forever. Has the LORD redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has redeemed you...”
Our responses to God’s saving and liberating action in our own lives will vary according
to our circumstances – but response should always be one of praise and thankfulness—
together with repentance and the receiving of God’s blessing. This begs the question:
How authentic is our personal worship of God and our responses to God’s goodness to us?

Creative pause: May our acts of worship and prayer always be authentic!


1 From “Together in Song” #726
“I will give thanks to you, O LORD”
Based on biblical text
Used with permission CCLI License #221735

2 Micah 6: 6-7 (NLT)

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 107.
Used with permission.

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

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