54A*
A Call to Worship
After Pentecost 13A [Ordinary 22A] or [Proper 17A] 2017
Psalm 105: 1-6, 23-26, 45b

We come to “...Exult in God’s holy name; rejoice, you who worship the LORD…”
We come to offer our praises in awed wonder at God, who triumphs over evil.

We come to celebrate and delight in the Holy Name and presence of the LORD.
We come to give thanks for the astounding activities and blessings of our LORD.

We come to express our joy and elation that the LORD that we worship is the
God who has always created miracles of grace; and whose word is our strength.
We come to sing, and to pray our prayers and praises to the LORD our God, who
has through the timeless ages, blessed and given holy hope to God’s people. Amen.

Psalm 105: 1-6, 23-26, 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 wonderful deeds.
3 Exult in his holy name;
rejoice, you who worship the LORD.
4 Search for the LORD and for his strength; continually seek him.
5 Remember the wonders he has performed,
his miracles, and the rulings he has given,
6 you children of his servant Abraham,
you descendants of Jacob, his chosen ones.

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 his servant Moses,
along with Aaron, whom he had chosen.

45b Praise the LORD!

Prayers of Thankfulness and Praise
After Pentecost 13A [Ordinary 22A] or [Proper 17A] 2017
Psalm 105: 1-6, 23-26, 45b

We come together to sing: “To the glory of God, let us lift our voices, let us from sing
our hearts. Sing out our praise. To the glory of God let us sing.1 We come in response
to the decree to “...Exult in God’s holy name; rejoice, you who worship the LORD…”
This day it is our privilege and delight to offer our praises in awed wonder at God, who
triumphs over evil; and all things that are contrary to God's plan for this created world
and its peoples whom God loves. However, Righteous Father, we admit that there are
times when we cannot understand why God’s plan for peace and justice for all is not
evident or even clear to us; but we ask for the faith, courage and trust in God’s holy
ways and wisdom; and that indeed: “...God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven...”

We come together to sing: “To the glory of God, let us lift our voices, let us sing from
our hearts. Sing out our praise. To the glory of God let us sing.1 We also come to
celebrate and delight in the Holy Name and presence of the LORD; and for the way
our God’s wonderful activities and blessings always surround God’s faithful people.
Yet, O God, we know that there are many people who do not think as we do, and who
are in despair over the state of our world, and the inconsistencies of those elected
or appointed to lead us. Help us to trust always in the God who created us and all that
surrounds us, and that all those actions of our Creating God were and are examples of
God’s holy, sublime and all inclusive love for all that was, all that is, and will be created.

We come together to sing: “To the glory of God, let us lift our voices, let us sing from
our hearts. Sing out our praise. To the glory of God let us sing.1 We come too, to
express our joy and elation that the LORD that we worship is the God who has always
created miracles of grace; and whose active words are always our strength and hope.
In faith and trust in the unchanging nature and ways of our God, we come to sing and
pray our prayers and praises to the LORD our God, who has through the timeless ages,
blessed and given holy hope to God’s people. We also pray for people who do not know
or understand the God whom we worship and praise; and through their lack of experience
do not know or trust in God. We pray that you will be for them, new life, new hope and
new inspiration to “...Search for the LORD and for his strength; to continually seek him...”
“To the glory of God, let us lift our voices, let us sing from our hearts. Sing out our praise.1 Amen.

A Personal Meditation
After Pentecost 13A [Ordinary 22A] or [Proper 17A] 2017
Psalm 105: 1-6, 23-26, 45b

What does it mean to be chosen? Within the context of our lives, we are ‘chosen’ for
many things: to play in team-based sports; to be elected for positions of responsibility
and potential public prominence; to become someone’s spouse or partner; ‘chosen’ for
a vacancy in employment; or ‘chosen’ to be involved in scientific research due to an
unusual medical and health situation. Being ‘chosen’ can be an honour or a personal
disaster! In the psalms that celebrate Israel’s history of creation and the ‘people of God’—
including Psalms 78, 104, 105, 106, 135 and 136 - the lives and witness of people
‘chosen’ by God are celebrated. In Genesis 12, we read about God choosing Abram:
“…Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land
that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you
famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse
those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you...”2

Creative pause: When you have been chosen, have you always said ‘Yes’?


In today’s psalm we have God’s promise reaffirmed: “…This is the covenant he made
with Abraham and the oath he swore to Isaac. He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree,
and to the people of Israel as a never-ending covenant: “I will give you the land of Canaan
as your special possession…” Following the central section that is the story of God’s
covenant with Israel, we have another affirmation to close the psalm: “…All this happened
so they would follow his decrees and obey his instructions. Praise the LORD!” In the
psalm - verses 12-44 - is the story of the leaders chosen to enable God’s promise to
to be fulfilled for the patriarch and matriarch Abraham and Sarah, including Jacob—
renamed by God as Israel – then Joseph, Moses and his brother Aaron. “…The point
of the historical psalms is to learn from the dates and names and events of Israel’s
history. In order to read the historical psalms, the reader needs to ask: ‘What claim does
the story that is being told make on me or us?’…Is the story making a claim that is a
promise to me…?3 In the past, God has chosen people and continues to choose people
to fulfill the purposes “…so they would follow his decrees and obey his instructions.”4

Creative pause: How and why do God’s claims on people in the past affect us now?


Jacob was one of God’s chosen ones and to whom God had given “a decree, and to the
people of Israel as a never-ending covenant..” yet “…Jacob lived in Egypt as a foreigner..”
When God calls us or chooses us for a task, quite often it feels just like it was for Jacob—
being like a “foreigner”, one who does not fit in or who feels like an alien in the community
where they have been placed. Yet in the next verse we read that “...the LORD multiplied the
people of Israel until they became too mighty for their enemies…” It is the old story that
has been repeated countless times: when we respond to God’s call, we are empowered by
God’s strength, God’s wisdom and God’s presence to guide us, to enable us and bless us.

Creative pause: God’s guidance, enabling and blessings make all the difference!


1 From “Holy Ground” CD Track #21
“To the glory of God, let us lift our voices”
Words and music by Monica Brown
© 1997 Monica Brown & Emmaus Productions
Used with personal permission

2 Genesis 12: 1-3 (NLT)

3 Text by Professors Rolf A & Karl N Jacobson
From “Invitation to the Psalms – a readers guide for discovery
& enlightenment” © 2013 Chapter 3, Page 81
Baker Academic, a Division of Baker Publishing Group
Grand Rapids MI 49516-6287, USA

4 Psalm 105: 45a (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:
© 2017 Joan Stott –‘The Timeless Psalms’ RCL Psalms Year A. Based on verses from Psalm 105.
Used with permission.

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

Download/view a pdf file of this document here: pentecost13[22]a_2017.pdf