54A*
A Call to Worship
Pentecost 12A [Ordinary 22A] or [Proper 17A] 2014
Psalm 105: 1-6, 22-26, 45b

Welcoming God, we are called together as God’s people to worship our Holy God.
We come together searching for God’s strength to empower and to encourage us.

Patient and Tender God, we come together seeking to learn more about our God.
We come searching for understanding and an awareness of the God who accepts us.

Home-coming God, we come to receive from you a blessing, even as we search for
some purpose to our life and living; but that can only be found within the divine “You”!
We come together searching for a deeper knowledge of what it means to be committed
to worshipping the God of countless generations, and how to be still before that God. Amen.

---

Psalm 105: 1-6, 22-26, 45b

1 Give thanks to the LORD and proclaim his greatness.
Let the whole world know what he has done.
2 Sing to him; yes, sing his praises.
Tell everyone about his miracles.
3 Exult in his holy name; O worshipers of the LORD, rejoice!
4 Search for the LORD and for his strength, and keep on searching.
5 Think of the wonderful works he has done,
the miracles and the judgments he handed down,
6 O children of Abraham, God's servant,
O descendants of Jacob, God's chosen one.

22 He could instruct the king's aides
as he pleased and teach the king's advisers.
23 Then Israel arrived in Egypt;
Jacob lived as a foreigner in the land of Ham.
24 And the LORD multiplied the people of Israel
until they became too mighty for their enemies.
25 Then he turned the Egyptians against the Israelites,
and they plotted against the LORD's servants.
26 But the LORD sent Moses his servant,
along with Aaron, whom he had chosen.

45b Praise the LORD!

---

Prayers of Intercession
Pentecost 12A [Ordinary 22A] or [Proper 17A] 2014
Psalm 105: 1-6, 22-26, 45b

Welcoming God, we gather to sing your praises and to pray for people
who desperately need God’s help and strength. “...O be glad in the Lord;
glory in the holy name, let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice...¹
We pray for people who come to God searching for spiritual strength to
deal with life’s issues; for people who need emotional strength because
of their feelings of being overwhelmed by life itself; and we pray for people
who are searching for the inner strength that courage gives them, to face
up to their fears over the challenges of violent and/or difficult relationships.
“…Ask and it shall be given unto you, seek and you will find, knock and it shall
be opened unto you... and all these things shall be added unto you. Alleluia…”²

Patient and Tender God, we give thanks that when we come to God seeking
understanding, God always welcomes, embraces and accepts us. Today we,
remember the long-ago people of God like Abraham, Jacob and Joseph, who
obeyed God’s calling to them, and trusting in God’s guidance and care, left
their home and all that was familiar and dear to them, to start life again in a
new country as an act of obedience to God. Today, we give thanks for the
many generations of people who bravely travelled on long and hazardous
journeys to a new land, and a new beginning to their life. We pray for people
who are so desperate to escape persecution in their homeland, that they are
willing to risk travelling in faulty boats as asylum seekers. We pray that they
will discover security and peace of heart and mind at the end of their journey;
and we pray that there will be such enlightened and compassionate leaders
in their new nation, that they will want to stay and become useful citizens.
“…Ask and it shall be given unto you, seek and you will find, knock and it shall
be opened unto you... and all these things shall be added unto you. Alleluia…”²

Home-coming God, we come seeking and searching for hope that we can truly
be part of God’s beloved family, and that we really belong there. We pray for
people who are separated from their loved ones; and for whom there is simply
no hope of any reunion. We pray for families that are divided by violence or the
threat of violence; for families who are divided because of religious, cultural or
racial differences; and families divided because of economic reasons. Give them
we pray, a sense that in God they have a home that is accepting and trustworthy—
and that there are no pre-conditions about their acceptance into God’s family.
“…Ask and it shall be given unto you, seek and you will find, knock and it shall
be opened unto you... and all these things shall be added unto you. Alleluia…”²

---

A Personal Meditation
Pentecost 12A [Ordinary 22A] or [Proper 17A] 2014
Psalm 105: 1-6, 22-26, 45b

Whatever else Psalm 105 is, it is an abbreviated and selective account
of Israel’s ancient history told from the perspective of God’s faithful care
and oversight of the people of Israel - God’s chosen people. It is set within
a liturgical framework of the worship of a faithful God, by the people who
were the recipients of God’s gracious acts of deliverance and guidance
over many generations. The other major theme is the obedience to God
of the people God selected to lead the people of Israel through their journey
of learning about this God who so loved and blessed them. These leaders
wholeheartedly demonstrated their faithfulness and obedience to the God
who liberated them, regardless of whether they knew of God’s plan for them
all or not. Another theme is that despite the unfaithfulness of many of the
people of Israel, yet God’s plans and purposes for that nation finally prevailed.



Within their worship of God liturgy, the people of Israel recited and lived again
their liberation story; their story of survival made possible through their desire
to be obedient and faithful to God’s guidance; which time after time, renewed
and invigorated them on their long journey to the land God had promised them;
and which would become their permanent home. Psalm 105 commences with
a doxology of praise to their liberating and compassionate God, and then the
text moves on to a reliving of their historical significance as God’s people,
and concludes with a celebratory song of praise to God: “...All this happened
so they would follow God’s principles and obey God’s laws. Praise the Lord…!”³



Finally, Psalm 105 is also a record of the Covenant made between God and the
leaders of the people of Israel, and the way in which God always honoured that
Covenant; and the fluctuating ways the ordinary people of that chosen race lived
out and valued their understanding of, and their moral and spiritual commitment
to that Covenant agreement. That Covenant required the recognition by all of the
people of Israel of their Sovereign God , and their loyalty to that God that could be
expressed joyfully and gladly within the context of worshipping their Sovereign God.



1 From “Together in Song” #66
“Sing to God, sing praises”
© Words by Helen L Wright 1927-
Used with Permission,
Word of Life International Licence #2425

2 From “Together in Song” #745
“Seek ye first the Kingdom of God”
Words by Karen Lafferty
©1972 Maranatha! Music, CCCM Music
Used By Permission CCL Licence No. 221735

3 Psalm 105: 45 (NLT)

---

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.

*Revised Indexing Scheme from 'Consultation on Church Union' (COCU).

I acknowledge and give heartfelt thanks for the theological inspiration available from the 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:
© 2014 Joan Stott – ‘The Timeless Psalms’ RCL Psalms Year A. Used with permission.

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

Download/view a pdf file of this document here: pentecost12[22]a_2014.pdf

© 2014 Joan Stott - " The Timeless Psalms" RCL Psalm Year A