59A*
A Call to Worship
After Pentecost 18A [Ordinary 27A] or [Proper 22A] 2017
Psalm 19

Creating God: we worship you because we see and hear you near to us.
God of mystery and majesty: be present with us as we worship you now.

Initiating God: we praise you because we can taste and smell you with us.
God of goodness and grace: be for us this day the ever-present Holy One.

Inaugurating God: we celebrate your presence with us because we can feel
your touch upon our lives, guiding and blessing us as we grow nearer to you.
God of care and compassion: we come to rejoice in the knowledge that we
know and feel you with us through all of our senses; and our mind and spirit. Amen.

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Psalm 19
For the choir director: A psalm of David.

1 The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The skies display his craftsmanship.
2 Day after day they continue to speak;
night after night they make him known.
3 They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard
4 Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,
and their words to all the world.

God has made a home in the heavens for the sun.
5 It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding.
It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race.
6 The sun rises at one end of the heavens and follows its course to the other end.
Nothing can hide from its heat.

7 The instructions of the LORD are perfect, reviving the soul.
The decrees of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
8 The commandments of the LORD are right, bringing joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are clear, giving insight for living.

9 Reverence for the LORD is pure, lasting forever.
The laws of the LORD are true; each one is fair.
10 They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold.
They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb.

11 They are a warning to your servant, a great reward for those who obey them.
12 How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart?
Cleanse me from these hidden faults.
13 Keep your servant from deliberate sins!
Don’t let them control me.
Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin.
14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

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Prayers of Thankfulness and Praise
After Pentecost 18A [Ordinary 27A] or [Proper 22A] 2017
Psalm 19

Creating God: we come to worship you this day, conscious that there is no part
of us as human beings that is not influenced by your holy presence with us. Day
after day and night after night, your presence is proclaimed to us through our eyes
and ears; through the sights and sounds of creation that are endlessly validated
to us, if we have the sensitivity to recognise it. God of mystery and majesty: be
present with us as we worship you now; and we ask that we be filled with the awed
wonder of your presence; so that we may take it with us into the daily life and living.
May the words of our mouths be acceptable to you, our Creating and Refining God.

Initiating God: we come to praise you this day, because there is no part of our body
that is not influenced by your holy presence with us. Everything we taste and smell
has been ordained by you as another experience of your presence with us. We thank
and praise you for the diversity of life that surrounds us, adding texture and colour to
all of life; all of which are demonstrations of God’s active love for all that has and is
being created. God of goodness and grace: fill us with the glory of your presence with
us, that we may more perfectly love you and more worthily magnify your Holy Name.
May the thoughts of our minds be pleasing to you, our God and our Initiating Creator.

Inaugurating God: we come to celebrate you this day, because your presence with us
enables us to feel your touch upon our lives, guiding and blessing us as we grow nearer
to you. Everything in life that is of God, has been touched has been blessed by you and
is another example of the way you loving presence permeates the whole of our life and
being. God of care and compassion: we come together to rejoice in the knowledge that
we know and feel you with us through all of our senses; and our, soul, mind and spirit.
Continue to fill us with your presence, so that our whole being may proclaim the wisdom
of God our Maker. O God, may the meditations of our hearts and souls be pleasing to you. Amen.

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A Personal Meditation
After Pentecost 18A [Ordinary 27A] or [Proper 22A] 2017
Psalm 19

The last few nights, the skies have been covered in cloud, blocking out the moon,
stars and planets, just as they are in the day time when the stronger light of the
sun diminishes their visibility; yet I know that they are still out there, shrouded in
mystery. I love looking at the night sky, and marvelling at the glory unfolding before
me; conscious that I can only see a fraction of what is ‘out there’! Some of the most
spectacular skies I have ever experienced were in remote areas of Australia and
Africa, where there has been no light pollution and the majesty of the ‘heavens’
are there before me. As the long-ago psalmist sang: “The heavens proclaim the glory
of God. The skies display his craftsmanship…. night after night they make him known.
They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard; yet their message
has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world…” How much of that
proclamation is missed by earth-bound, and attention-limited people, whose eyes and
ears are glued to mobile phones and other technological instruments of distraction?



Recently, there have been amateur star-gazing events that have created great interest,
especially amongst young people, and new and startling discoveries have been by
those amateur astronomers! But how much has our attention been grabbed by gadgets
that deny us the opportunity to reflect on the things of the spirit? As that same psalmist
sang: “The instructions of the LORD are perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the
LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The commandments of the LORD are
right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are clear, giving insight for
living…” How many “insights for living” have you missed out on; and how recently has
your soul been “revived” by studying God’s word; or by sharing in a faith-based group?



The psalmist sang: “…Reverence for the LORD is pure, lasting forever…” How do we
know what it means to have “pure reverence of God” and that it lasts forever? Like many
other parents, my children have rejected ‘the church’ and all it represents; but will they
ever remember their childhood’s trust and faith in God that they had earlier cherished?
Are the graces and mercies of God, like those ‘heavenly bodies’, not always able to be
seen or recognised? Are those doubts that creep into one’s mind some of those “secret”
sins that lurk in my human heart along with all my “hidden faults”? On our earthly faith
journey, are our own worst enemies our doubts and fears? Yet those same doubts are
a challenge to uninhibited thinking and reflection – and to ask of ourselves – is that so?

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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:
© 2017 Joan Stott –‘The Timeless Psalms’ RCL Psalms Year A. Based on verses from Psalm 19.
Used with permission.

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

Download/view a pdf file of this document here: pentecost18[27]a_2017.pdf