48A*
A Call to Worship
Pentecost 6A [Ordinary 16A] or [Proper 11A] 2014
Psalm 139: 1-12, 23-24

God of all knowledge and truth, we come before you seeking to receive your truth.
Eternal Wisdom, we come together to learn understanding of life from its Source.

God, unknown yet known, we come before you to hear more about who you are.
God, who is hidden and yet seen everywhere we look, we praise and worship you.

God of justice and loving mercy, we come before you to learn about ourselves via
your knowledge of us, acknowledging that you are our Creator and the Lover of our
soul and being. We come to honour and revere you, Wondrous Creator of all things.
God before us and God around us all, we come to celebrate and give thanks for the
daily experiences we have of the Being of God, in all its fullness of love and beauty. Amen.

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Psalm 139: 1-12, 23-24
For the choir director: A psalm of David

1 O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.
2 You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my every thought when far away.
3 You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest.
Every moment you know where I am.
4 You know what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD.
5 You both precede and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to know!

7 I can never escape from your spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the place of the dead, you are there.
9 If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10 even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night –
12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are both alike to you.

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my thoughts.
24 Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

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Prayers of Thankfulness and Trust
Pentecost 6A [Ordinary 16A] or [Proper 11A] 2014
Psalm 139: 1-12, 23-24

God of all knowledge and truth, we come before you seeking to receive your truth.
Eternal Wisdom, we come together as individuals and as a community, to learn
understanding of life from its Source. Gracious God, we come together in a fellowship
of trust and encouragement to reaffirm for ourselves whom we are in your sight; and
also to be reaffirmed in the presence of that trusting and caring fellowship about
whom they perceive us to be in God’s sight. We give thanks for the strength, joy and
encouragement we receive within such a fellowship of believers. Sometimes, we are
overwhelmed at God’s knowledge of us, and what that implies; as often we will not
even acknowledge to ourselves the dark secrets hidden deep within our inner beings.
Yet “…Darkness and light are both alike to you…” and so we take consolation from
God’s accepting and forgiving knowledge of us, and give thanks for God’s great mercy.

Holy God, the Creator and the Lover of our individual souls and beings; and the Creator
and Lover of our community life, we come to honour and revere you, Wondrous Creator
of all things. Merciful God, we also come to worship you and pray, because we know we
are fallible human beings; and that we fall short of our own standards, much less God’s
expectations and standards of true reverence and honest worship. Guide and teach us
when we have failed; direct and instruct us when our thoughts are not pure and holy; and
lead us along the path to your everlasting life through our committed praise and prayer.

God, unknown yet known, we come before you to hear more about who and what you
are; and how that Being of God is expressed in our daily life; in our shared life as a
community of faith; and as a complex world community. God, whose beauty, grace and
love is hidden from our view, yet these attributes of God are seen everywhere we look;
and are experienced each day and night throughout our earthly life’s span. Unknown,
yet known God, we celebrate with joy the exhilarating knowledge that God’s presence
surrounds us so intimately – that this Holy Presence is within us in our mind, our heart,
our inner physical and well as spiritual beings; that this Holy Presence really is above
and below us; before, after and beside us! How wonderfully gracious is our All-Wise God. Amen.

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A Personal Meditation
Pentecost 6A [Ordinary 16A] or [Proper 11A] 2014
Psalm 139: 1-12, 23-24

The first verse of Psalm 139 makes a clear statement about God’s knowledge
of me, and all other people. “O Lord, you have examined my heart and know
everything about me….” As God is within as well as without my being, there are
no surprises there! Yet in verses 23 and 24, the author asks for an even more
extensive examination of who and what he was! “…Search me, O God, and know
my heart; test me and know my thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends
you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” The absolute honesty of the
Psalms and their authors present me with quite a challenge - especially if I am
not entirely honest with myself about who I really think I am. But am I the best
person to judge that? Perhaps I should simply rest trustingly and confidently in
God’s judgement and mercy, and be guided along that path to self-understanding.



Judgement, especially the concept of end-of-life-judgement often has an ominous
effect upon people. There have been so many cartoons and imaginary scenarios
of the “great judgement day” that it is not surprising that people become scared
or are apprehensive! Yet the psalmist actually asked for such a judgement. Was
that because he knew that judgement was a moment by moment event, and having
been judged, confessed, and been forgiven in the past; that he had utter confidence
in God’s all-encompassing knowledge, wisdom and love? Am I that trusting of God?



The psalmist asked God to point out any offending parts within himself, yet he did not
seek judgement on those offences, only that he be turned on to a new direction on
“...the path of everlasting life…” What is the main theme of this Psalm? Is it God’s
intimate knowledge of us; God’s-Own-Self hidden beyond our understanding; or is it
God’s desire to lead us “…along the path of everlasting life”? I believe that “…the path
of everlasting life” will include a deeper knowledge of God and of God’s mercy, grace
and God’s steadfast love for humanity; a deeper understanding of our individual self.
Also, a less fraught concept of God’s judgement; and a gaining of a new perspective
when we consider God and our relationship with God; and that all we know and have
experienced about love, mercy, forgiveness and grace, has God as its ultimate source.

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Acknowledgements:
Unless stated otherwise, all Bible readings and extracts used in these weekly Prayers and
Meditations are from the ‘New Living Translation’, © 1996. Copyright. All rights reserved.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189 USA.

*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:
© 2014 Joan Stott – ‘The Timeless Psalms’ RCL Psalms Year A. Used with permission.

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

Download/view a pdf file of this document here: pentecost6[16]a_2014.pdf

© 2014 Joan Stott - " The Timeless Psalms" RCL Psalm Year A