58B*
A Call to Worship
Pentecost 18B [Ordinary 26B] or [Proper 21B] 2015
Psalm 124

Faithful God, you are our Eternal Hope and our Everlasting Help and we praise you.
“...Ever gracing - Most Wondrous God…”1 today we praise you for your faithfulness.

Accompanying God, you are our Guide and Mentor - always leading us onwards.
“Holy Mystery - Sacred Presence; all embracing in this moment – we are one…”1

Abiding God, your steadfast love and compassion is always with us - before and after
us; above and below us; around and within us; always, from our beginning to our end.
“Creator God… Gracious Spirit -Womb of all life, in this moment - in our being - we are
one”1 with you and with all creation, because of your Mysterious and Sacred Presence. Amen.

Psalm 124
A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.
A psalm of David.

1 What if the LORD had not been on our side?
Let all Israel repeat:
2 What if the LORD had not been on our side
when people attacked us?
3 They would have swallowed us alive
in their burning anger.

4 The waters would have engulfed us;
a torrent would have overwhelmed us.
5 Yes, the raging waters of their fury
would have overwhelmed our very lives.

6 Praise the LORD,
who did not let their teeth tear us apart!
7 We escaped like a bird from a hunter’s trap.
The trap is broken, and we are free!
8 Our help is from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

Prayers of Praise
Pentecost 18B [Ordinary 26B] or [Proper 21B] 2015
Psalm 124

Faithful God, you are our Eternal Hope and our Everlasting Help and as we gather
to worship and praise you for your continuing mercies, we also gather to celebrate
who and what you are to so many people: “...Ever gracing - Most Wondrous God…”1
The gracious and wonderful help you give to us as individuals, and as a community
of faith is something to sing and pray about; something to celebrate and to give our
thanks and praise for – because without God’s faithfulness we would all be lost in the
mire of self-perpetuating sin and helplessness; lost in the depths of our self-loathing.
“...Ever gracing - Most Wondrous God…”1 we worship and praise you for your mercy

“Holy Mystery - Sacred Presence; all embracing in this moment – we are one…”1 God
of all that is holy and good, we praise you that you do not leave us to our own devises
and that you accompany us and journey with us as our Guide and Mentor, you gather
us together as one people under God - always leading us onwards and upwards to our
eternal home in you. Yet the mystery of your eternal presence is one that challenges us
to learn more about you and your will for your people - wherever you have placed us—
and whatever you have called us to be and become. May we always find joy and blessing
in the mystery that is God – and in God’s all-embracing arms that gather us all together.
“...Ever gracing - Most Wondrous God…”1 we worship and praise you for your mystery.

“Creator God… Gracious Spirit - Womb of all life, in this moment - in our being - we are
one”1 with you and with all creation, because of your Mysterious and Sacred Presence.
Your steadfast love and compassion is always with us - before and after us; above and
below us; around and within us; always, from our beginning to our end; and this gives us
meaning and purpose to our living; and defines us for who we are as God’s own people.
You are indeed the “...Womb of all life...”1 creating us within us that mysterious spark of
life that only lives within the Living God, and which calls us to respond to that love in praise
and thankfulness even as that spark grows brighter within us as we journey on with God.
“...Ever gracing - Most Wondrous God…”1 we worship and praise you for your presence. Amen.

A Personal Meditation
Pentecost 18B [Ordinary 26B] or [Proper 21B] 2015
Psalm 124

“What if the LORD had not been on our side?” always appears to me as being
elitist, as if it is our “use” of God that has altered the balance and outcome of
events. However Professor Walter Brueggemann altered that perception as he
wrote: “The beginning of the psalm is a meditation on what the fate of Israel
would have been had it not been accompanied by YHWH...” Brueggemann
quoted from HJ Kraus thus: “If the God of Israel even for only a moment turned
away from his chosen people, they would be cast into total destruction by their
voracious enemies.” Brueggemann continued: “The purpose of these verses is
not to entertain such a dismal option but in fact to reject it as an empty risk
because YHWH is faithful... rejected is the prospect that YHWH would not have
been actively in solidarity with Israel. It is scarcely a thinkable condition in Israel...”2
Another paraphrase uses the word “with” rather than “accompanied” with the same
results. The psalm’s emphasis is entirely on God’s absolute faithfulness to Israel.

Creative pause: God’s absolute and utter faithfulness has not changed!


If the history of Israel’s people is be accepted as the gradual merger of unnumbered
stateless tribal people into one holy people under God’s guidance, help and blessing;
from then on, Israel seemed to be constantly at war or under threat from surrounding
nations. Therefore, the fears mentioned in Psalm 124 were constantly being lived out
by the people of Israel. There are various detailed lists on the internet about who fought,
won and lost in wars against Israel in Old Testament history, with history often repeating
itself against various nations who made war against Israel. These wars often coincided
with periods of Israel’s faithlessness towards God - when by the actions of their “religious”
and/or political leaders; or by their own actions, Israel and her people made themselves
vulnerable to several greater nearby powers. The scattering of the diaspora to various
parts of the known world also did not help to maintain them in their collective commitment
to God. Yet the grace of God was always evident in the “remnants” of faithful believers.

Creative pause: God’s grace enlivened the small “remnants” who “kept the faith”.


Many of the psalms are deeply personal experiences of life with or without God, when
God seemed to have “turned away” from the supplicant; or when apparently the ears of
God were blocked to cries for help and/or mercy. Other psalms are obviously based on
shared experiences of regret and remorse; or celebrations of God’s faithfulness towards
them as a community of faith. Psalm 124 is one such occasion when the people of Israel
had been threatened by an unnamed disaster and they cried out to God for help – and
God responded and “saved” them all - because God was “with” them, accompanying
them in their struggles; and guiding them wisely and well towards a more secure future.

Creative pause: People love with the Psalms because they are “true life” experiences.


1 From “A Hearts Journey” CD
Words and music by Sister Monica Brown
© 2010 Monica Brown & Emmaus Productions
Used with personal permission

2 Text by Professor Walter Brueggemann
& William H Bellinger Junior from “Psalms”
Psalm 124, pages 534/5
© 2014 Cambridge University Press

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 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:
© 2015 Joan Stott – ‘The Timeless Psalms’ RCL Psalms Year B. Used with permission.

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

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