44A*
A Call to Worship
After Pentecost 3A [Ordinary 12A] or [Proper 7A] 2017
Psalm 86: 1-10, 16-17

Faithful God: we come to worship you today, seeking your nurturing care.
We come before you today, O God, trusting in your never-failing support.

Merciful God: we come in reverent awe before you, asking that you hear us.
We come before our God as we are hurting, and we need you to listen to us.

God of unfailing love: you are the God of comfort and compassion, and today
we are in need of your blessings and guidance, as each day is such a struggle.
We come before God today, because “...You alone are God... You are great
and perform wonderful deeds...” We come to make our petitions before you. Amen.

Psalm 86:1-10, 16-17
A prayer of David.

1 Bend down, O LORD, and hear my prayer;
answer me, for I need your help.
2 Protect me, for I am devoted to you.
Save me, for I serve you and trust you. You are my God.
3 Be merciful to me, O LORD,
for I am calling on you constantly.
4 Give me happiness, O LORD,
for I give myself to you.
5 O LORD, you are so good, so ready to forgive,
so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help.

6 Listen closely to my prayer, O LORD;
hear my urgent cry.
7 I will call to you whenever I’m in trouble,
and you will answer me.
8 No pagan god is like you, O LORD.
None can do what you do!
9 All the nations you made will come and bow before you, LORD;
they will praise your holy name.
10 For you are great and perform wonderful deeds.
You alone are God.

16 Look down and have mercy on me.
Give your strength to your servant; save me, the son of your servant.
17 Send me a sign of your favour. Then those who hate me
will be put to shame, for you, O LORD, help and comfort me.

Prayers of Petition
After Pentecost 3A [Ordinary 12A] or [Proper 7A] 2017
Psalm 86: 1-10, 16-17

Faithful God, as we gather together today, we come with our prayers of petition—
asking that you will hear our prayers, and to respond to them as you know is best
for us all. We come to worship you today because we know you are a God who sees
and knows our needs and that you always have compassion on vulnerable people.
Together, we seek your nurturing care, because we trust in your never-failing support.
We take great comfort in your promises because: “....O LORD, you are so good, so
ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help...” We ask that
you will be true to your nature as a God of love and mercy, so be merciful to us now.

Awe-inspiring God, we come as a community of faith to worship your Holy Name,
and to revere you for whom we know you to be. Hear our prayers this day, we ask—
daring even to tell you that our needs are urgent; so please bend down to be near
to us, so that we can sense your presence with us – even abiding deep within us!
You know we are hurting, and so we ask for your healing and saving touch upon us;
so that we can more faithfully serve you, and more truly be your people in this place.

God of unfailing love: we come before God today, because “...You alone are God...
You are great and perform wonderful deeds...”; and we know that those great deeds
come from the depths of God’s-Own-Self that is utterly comforting and compassionate.
Holy One, you know we are struggling; you know how weak we are; and how we are
exposed to the evils that seem to dominate our world; but we trust in you to give us
the strength we need as a sign of your blessings and guidance that you graciously
shower upon us. In hope and trust, we offer our prayers and praises to your Holy Name. Amen.

A Personal Meditation
After Pentecost 3A [Ordinary 12A] or [Proper 7A] 2017
Psalm 86: 1-10, 16-17

Do you have any favourite Old Testament texts that are significant to you? Why
are they so special to you? As a child and young woman, I was gifted with two
“Texts for the Day” books with Bible texts that were associated with birthday dates,
and on my birthday the texts listed for that day have underpinned my life of faith.
The first of those texts is: “The eternal God is your refuge, and his everlasting
arms are under you…”1 This has been especially precious to me, because like
many other people I grieve the loss of my partner, whether it was through death,
or by their choice to break a relationship. One of the life-empowering expressions
of love or affection that seems to be most missed is personal intimacy; and the
loss or lack of hugs and cuddles; and the touch of a loved one. The same applies
when children leave home or move away, so that physical contacts are limited.
I take great comfort in the knowledge that God’s arms are under me, holding me
up, and helping me deal with living alone, especially when I am very vulnerable.

Creative pause: “The eternal God is your refuge, and his everlasting arms are under you.”


The other book’s birthday text is much longer: “Have you never heard? Have you
never understood? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He
never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding.
He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become
weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the
LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run
and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.”2 I have been gifted with models
of eagles in flight that are placed above my computer, as permanent reminders of
God’s unfailing faithfulness; and I have a logo of an eagle on my personal stationery.

Creative pause: “...those who trust in the LORD …will soar high on wings like eagles…”2


David is attributed as the author of Psalm 86, which is a lament, yet it is quite unique
in its message. I think David was very familiar with the following Old Testament words
and they may have even been his own special understanding about God: “Then the
LORD came down in a cloud and stood there with [Moses]; and he called out his own
name, Yahweh. The LORD passed in front of Moses, calling out, “Yahweh! The LORD!
The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and
faithfulness. I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion,
and sin...”3 In his lament, the psalm’s author turned around God’s Self-revelation into a
doxology about God’s-Own-Self and God’s being and nature; almost as if to remind God
of God’s-Own faithfulness and love! The psalmist’s words sing of God’s faithfulness and
trustworthiness: “...For you are great and perform wonderful deeds. You alone are God...”
The psalmist’s prayer was for God to keep doing what God had always done; and to:
“...Look down and have mercy on me. Give your strength... O LORD, help and comfort me.”

Creative pause: “Bend down, O LORD, and hear my prayer... for I need your help...”


1 Deuteronomy 33:27a (NLT)

2 Isaiah 40: 28-31 (NLT)

3 Exodus 34: 5-7a (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 86.
Used with permission.

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

Download/view a pdf file of this document here: pentecost3[12]a_2017.pdf