65C*
A Call to Worship
Pentecost 25C [Ordinary 32C] or [Proper 27C] 2016
Psalm 145: 1-5, 17-21

“I will exalt you, my God and King, and praise your name forever and ever…"
"...I will praise you every day; yes, No one can measure his greatness...”

“...I will praise you forever. Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise...!"
“...I will meditate on your...glorious splendour and your wonderful miracles...”

“...The Lord is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him in truth.
He grants the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cries for help...”.
“...Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! ... may everyone on earth
bless his holy name forever and ever... I will exalt you, my God and King...” Amen.

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Psalm 145: 1-5, 17-21
A psalm of praise of David.

1 I will exalt you, my God and King,
and praise your name forever and ever.
2 I will praise you every day; yes, I will praise you forever.
3 Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise!
No one can measure his greatness.
4 Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts;
let them proclaim your power.
5 I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendour
and your wonderful miracles.

17 The Lord is righteous in everything he does;
he is filled with kindness.
18 The Lord is close to all who call on him,
yes, to all who call on him in truth.
19 He grants the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cries for help and rescues them.
20 The Lord protects all those who love him,
but he destroys the wicked.

21 I will praise the Lord, and may everyone on earth
bless his holy name forever and ever.

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Prayers of Praise and Thankfulness
Pentecost 25C [Ordinary 32C] or [Proper 27C] 2016
Psalm 145: 1-5, 17-21

God of mercy and holy grace, we gather to worship, praise and thank our Glorious
God, who reveals God’s-Own-Self to each of us in ways that are relevant; that give
meaning and purpose to our relationship with God and with each other; and which
teach us just a little about the God who rules and reigns all creation and especially
humanity in love and mercy. May we each make this personal declaration, as with
one voice we pray: “I will exalt you, my God and King, and praise your name forever
and ever...I will praise you every day...” May our living and loving be a testimony
of our commitment to the God of improbabilities and impossibilities; the God of all
mysteries and marvels; and the God of all hopes, dreams and expectations – “...yes,
no one can measure God’s greatness... I will praise your name forever and ever...”

God of hope and possibilities, you inspire us with promises and you encourage us
to expand our own potential as people dedicated to proclaiming the miracles of living
within God’s kingdom of justice and peace. Help us to each make and live out this
personal declaration, as with one voice we pray: “...Great is the LORD! He is most
worthy of praise... I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendour and your
wonderful miracles...” As we live within the grace of the God who makes impossibilities
happen, guide and direct us in the way of being a blessing to people in need of hope.

God of love and generosity, with deep sincerity and with an honest heart and mind—
we gather to worship and honour our Eternal God and King. On this day when we
share together in worship, help us to each make and live out this personal declaration,
as with one voice we pray: “...Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise!...may
everyone on earth bless his holy name forever and ever... I will exalt you, my God and
King...” In awe and wonder, we add our voices to the theme of praise to God that echoes
around the world and throughout all of creation: “...The LORD is ...filled with kindness.
The LORD is close to all who call on him...” We draw near to the Holy One in amazement
and reverence, we open ourselves to God to receive the promised blessings and joy. Amen.

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A Personal Meditation
Pentecost 25C [Ordinary 32C] or [Proper 27C] 2016
Psalm 145: 1-5, 17-21

Psalm 145 commences with a deeply personal statement of faith in the One,
True and Holy God, who is both God and King; and revered through personal
knowledge and day-by-day and hour-by-hour experiences of God’s holy mercy
and goodness. Professor Walter Brueggemann writes in his book “The Psalms
and the Life of Faith”: “...God’s wondrous acts are of two kinds. First, these acts
are God’s historical interventions whereby this covenanted community of promise
comes to exist.....Second, Yahweh governs the world, creation, to bring light out
of darkness, life out of chaos, and food in the face of hunger... These two themes,
Israel’s miraculous life and creation’s miraculous function together constitute
God’s wondrous deeds... [which] might be variously rendered as ‘impossible’,
‘difficult’, ‘miraculous’, or ‘inexplicable’.¹ Is this true: with love, nothing is impossible?



I do not usually include such large quotations from Brueggemann, but he highlighted
for me a very new concept of God, as he continued on the theme of ‘impossibilities’:
“...there is no doubt that the ‘songs of impossibilities’ came to be a way of speaking
in any doxology... It still is important that this poignant notion of ‘impossible’ is used
to characterise Israel’s experience. It means that doxology functions in Israel to affirm
that life is gift, that all management is provisional, that human definitions of reality
are tenuous, and that Israel is prepared to be surprised by a God who will not be
contained in its definitions of the possible. Thus the emergence of the ‘impossible’
in Israel’s history is linked to Israel’s assertion of the incomparability of Yahweh.
What makes Yahweh incomparable is the coming into human experience of such
impossibilities that break open every definition of reality and power. Thus the character
of God contains for Israel the undeniable basis for hope against any closed system...”²



A Doxology is defined as a short hymn of praise to God, usually sung at a Christian
or Jewish service of worship. The word’s origins are found in the Greek word “doxa”,
which means glory, splendour or grandeur; and the Greek word “logos” which means
word or speaking. So a Doxology is a word sung or spoken that praises and glorifies
God, who through love and mercy, creates and enables the impossible. Yet how many
of us as we sing those familiar words ever think about what we are doing or singing—
and why? If we cannot answer that question with a “Yes”, is it because we have not
listened to our forebears as they told us of God’s mighty acts - in the past and present?
“...I will praise the LORD, AND MAY EVERYONE ON EARTH BLESS HIS HOLY NAME FOREVER...”



1 Text by Professor Walter Brueggemann
“The Psalms and the Life of Faith”
Chapter 2, page 40
©1995 Augsburg Publishing House
Minneapolis MN 55440, USA

2 Chapter 9, page 177
ibid

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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 inspiration available from the scholarship and 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:
© 2016 Joan Stott – ‘The Timeless Psalms’ RCL Psalms Year C. Used with permission.

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

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