62A*
A Call to Worship
After Pentecost 21A [Ordinary 30A] or [Proper 25A] 2017
Psalm 90: 1-6, 13-17

“...Come as you are, feel quite at home. Close to my heart, loved and forgiven…”¹
With thanks, we sing: “LORD, through all the generations you have been our home..!”

“...Why do you think I would love you the less..? No need to fear, love never ends…”¹
We sing: “...Before the mountains were born... from beginning to end, you are God...”

“...Come as you are, that’s how I love you. Come as you are, trust me again.
Nothing can change the love that I bear you. All will be well, just come as you are.”¹
With hope in our hearts we pray: “...Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love,
so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives.... let our children see your glory...” Amen.

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Psalm 90: 1-6, 13-17
A prayer of Moses, the man of God.

1 LORD, through all the generations you have been our home!
2 Before the mountains were born,
before you gave birth to the earth and the world,
from beginning to end, you are God.
3 You turn people back to dust, saying, Return to dust, you mortals!”
4 For you, a thousand years are as a passing day,
as brief as a few night hours.
5 You sweep people away like dreams that disappear.
They are like grass that springs up in the morning.
6 In the morning it blooms and flourishes,
but by evening it is dry and withered.

13 O LORD, come back to us!
How long will you delay?
Take pity on your servants!
14 Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love,
so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives.
15 Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery!
Replace the evil years with good.
16 Let us, your servants, see you work again;
let our children see your glory.
17 And may the LORD our God show us his approval
and make our efforts successful.
Yes, make our efforts successful!

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Prayers of Trust and Confession
After Pentecost 21A [Ordinary 30A] or [Proper 25A] 2017
Psalm 90: 1-6, 13-17

God of all hope: we gather to worship you, accepting the invitation to: “...Come as
you are, feel quite at home. Close to my heart, loved and forgiven…”¹ In trust and
hope, we draw near to the Holy One who is always near, even if we do not recognise
that Sacred Presence. We gather to celebrate and give thanks that: “LORD, through
all the generations you have been our home..!” We join together in worshipping our
Creator, from whom all things have evolved; and we confess that we have not always
understood or accepted that God, the Holy One, is indeed our eternal home and rest.

God of all grace: in trust we gather to revere you even as we respond to the question—
“...Why do you think I would love you the less..? No need to fear, love never ends…”¹
We confess that we have often doubted that your love is capable of forgiving us of all
that stains our life, our loving and our living. We confess that we have doubted the
possibilities of your love being so gracious as to cleanse us from the stain and pain of
of sin and separation from you. Grant to us, we pray, the assurance that comes with
trust; the knowledge that our deepest fears are not realised; and that your generous
love is wide and deep enough to welcome us into the family of your forgiven children as
in joy we sing: “...Before the mountains were born... from beginning to end, you are God...”

God of all wisdom: we gather together today because you have invited us to “...Come!”
We give thanks that you have assured us that: "Nothing can change the love that I
bear you. All will be well, just come as you are.”¹ As we accept the loving forgiveness
of our God, we dare to ask with hope in our hearts: “...Satisfy us each morning with your
unfailing love, so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives...” Even as we accept that we
are forgiven, we also understand that as frail human beings, that we will fail again. Give
to us the wisdom to understand that our Creator did not make us super-human, but that
instead, God has given us the gift and blessedness of always being able to come home
to our God for mercy and for peace; and for the forgiveness of our sin and of our regrets.
“...Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery... let our children see your glory...” Amen.

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A Personal Meditation
After Pentecost 21A [Ordinary 30A] or [Proper 25A] 2017
Psalm 90: 1-6, 13-17

Psalm 90 is attributed to Moses as a mark of respect for whom he was in a time
when worship of God was not structured as the people currently knew it. There was
no Temple in which to worship God, only the travelling Tent of Meeting that was a
sign and symbol of God’s continuing presence with the people of Israel. Various Old
Testament scholars offer their insights on this psalm, with suggestions as to the
context of the psalm, with some suggesting that is was based on Moses’ gift from
God of a glimpse of the Promised Land from Mount Pisgah in Deuteronomy 34—
just before Moses’ death and burial in an unmarked grave. All was coming to an end!
All that Moses had achieved and failed to achieve as his life reached its conclusion
was laid before God in an honest assessment of a long life. In the verses not included
in today’s selection in verse 8: “...You spread out our sins before you - our secret
sins - and you see them all...” as he realised his mortality before God’s immortality.
Then, in recognition of God’s merciful grace, the psalmist cried out: “…Take pity
on your servants! Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love, so we may sing
for joy to the end of our lives. Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery!
Replace the evil years with good.... Let us, your servants, see you work again; let
our children see your glory...” Was this an appropriate prayer at the end of a life?



The psalmist sang a story not about a few generations, but sang of a time “...before
mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world...” He sang of
a timeless God from whom all things came into being and who was our original ‘home’,
our primary ‘refuge’ and ultimate ‘security’. He also sang of our blessed acceptance
by a gracious God, who through God’s gracious mercy has limited our time here on
this planet. As the psalmist concluded: “...may the LORD our God show us his approval...”
may each of us in trusting faith, be able to ask that God will bless our living and dying.



The psalmist boldly addressed God: “LORD!” There was no “softly, softly” approach!
The psalmist confidently and accurately addressed God as “LORD!” He next sang a
song of praise and recognition of a startling fact! “…through all the generations you
have been our home…!” When we say “home” – what does that mean? Whatever is
the outward appearance of the place we call ‘home’, it is a place of security, of refuge,
of familiar surroundings, the place of one’s origins; a place where we instinctively feel
accepted. This psalm is a message of hope in a situation of darkness and even despair.
Our hope is, that like Moses - who succeeded and failed before God, and was finally
abundantly blessed – and our prayer is that God will cleanse all that was wrong in our
living and loving; and that God will sanctify and bless all that was good in our life’s span!



1 From “Together in Song” #693
“Come as you are, that how I want you”
© Words by Deidre Brown
Used with permission.
Word of Life International Licence #2425

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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 90.
Used with permission.

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

Download/view a pdf file of this document here: pentecost21[30]a_2017.pdf