49B*
A Call to Worship
Pentecost 9B [Ordinary 17B] or [Proper 12B] 2015
Psalm 145: 10-18

Creating God, we gather to thank and praise you, as we are part of your creation.
“May everyone”, and all creation “on earth bless God’s holy name forever and ever.”1

Inspiring God, we gather to celebrate the wonders of your glory and mighty deeds.
Faithful God, we rejoice that our God always keeps promises of grace and mercy.

Intimate God, we gather to worship and revere you for the relationships that you have
initiated amongst all of humanity; and especially for people who call on God in prayer.
Abiding God, we give you our sincere gratitude for the miracle of your presence with
us, especially when you respond by being there for us and raising us up when we fall. Amen.

Psalm 145: 10-18
A psalm of praise of David.

10 All of your works will thank you, LORD,
and your faithful followers will praise you.
11 They will speak of the glory of your kingdom;
they will give examples of your power.
12 They will tell about your mighty deeds
and about the majesty and glory of your reign.
13 For your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.
You rule throughout all generations.
The LORD always keeps his promises; he is gracious in all he does.
14 The LORD helps the fallen and lifts those bent beneath their loads.

15 The eyes of all look to you in hope;
you give them their food as they need it.
16 When you open your hand,
you satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing.
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.

Prayers of Thankfulness and Praise
Pentecost 9B [Ordinary 17B] or [Proper 12B] 2015
Psalm 145: 10-18

Creating God, we gather to thank and praise you, because we are all a part of your
creation; and so we join in the chorus of all of creation in praising and thanking our
Maker for creating us. Through the centuries, humanity has been a part of God’s
glorious creation, and we have been blessed to delight in the work of God’s hands.
Yet, however amazing is the created world, God’s spiritual Kingdom is yet even more
glorious - so the psalmist teaches us – and we praise God for this wonderful gift.
A vital part of the glory of God’s eternal kingdom is the gracious compassion God
especially demonstrates to weak and impoverished creation – including humanity—
and so we bless God’s Holy Name and God’s Everlasting Being forever and ever.

Trustworthy God, each and every day we claim the promises God has made, and
we celebrate the wonders of God’s glory; God’s mighty and powerful deeds. Yet,
these more obvious wonders pale before the personal miracle of looking to God in
hope and expectation for an answered prayer; and of rejoicing with our gathered
faith community in the privileges of worshipping and praising the mercy of our God
in the intimacy of a trusted relationship. We praise and thank our God for these gifts.
Frequently, we fail or fall in our commitment to our God, yet we have God’s promise
that our God always “...helps the fallen and lifts those bent beneath their loads...
and that God “...is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him in truth...”

Abiding God, we rejoice and revere you for the relationships that you have initiated
with all of humanity, and especially with people who call on God in praise and prayer,
both in private and within the gathered community of faith. We give thanks that God
has opened up the opportunity of being in an intimate relationship with God; that we,
as weak and often helpless people can approach God’s throne of grace and mercy in
hope and confidence, because God has invited us to do so. Today we gather, as one
small part of God’s creation, to honour, praise, thank and glorify the God of all creation. Amen.

A Personal Meditation
Pentecost 9B [Ordinary 17B] or [Proper 12B] 2015
Psalm 145: 10-18

Psalm 145 verses 10-13a paraphrased states: “LORD, all your works will thank
you; they will speak of the glory of your kingdom; they will give examples of
your power; they tell about your mighty deeds and about the majesty and glory
of your reign; for your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom….” “Everlasting” is
an interesting word which is defined as “endless/unending”, “a very long time”,
“perpetual”, “timeless”, “infinite”, “ceaseless” and even “interminable”! Yet the
word “everlasting” is used rather lightly to advertise manufactured items that still
have a open-ended lifespan; people use it to describe a love for another person;
a hope for peace that lasts longer than the last period of peace; or sometimes it
is used cynically or scornfully. However, when we come to use “everlasting” as
part of a description of God – that is an entirely different matter! The mystery,
majesty, timelessness and power of God gives a whole new meaning to the word.

Creative pause: “....from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”2


Professor Walter Brueggemann writes about this psalm: “Psalm 145 is both
an alphabetical acrostic and a psalm of praise in worship....” and he quotes
J L Mays (“Psalms”, 1994) who ‘“suggests Psalm 145 is the overture to the final
movement of the Psalter.’ The final five psalms all echo features and language
in Psalm 145... The concluding line in verse 13 speaks of divine trustworthiness
and grace....The divine presence is the thing most needed for fullness in life;
the creator makes provision for a full life... The psalm’s concluding verse
articulates a powerful vow of praise. The speaker and ‘all flesh’ will praise YHWH.
The vow provides a sudden crescendo of an ending to the poem...”3 (See first
response in the ‘Call to Worship’). When author J L Mays likened Psalm 145 to an
overture, immediately several majestic orchestral overtures came into my mind.
I looked on the internet for lists of favourite overtures, but the lists were endless!

Creative pause: Have you ever thought of a psalm as a majestic musical overture?


Brueggemann writes further: “The psalm ties the divine presence to those who
pray in truth. God hears the petitions of the faithful and cares for them…..The
portrayal of YHWH…slows the pace for readers to meditate on the kindness and
justice of YHWH to bring hope to the hopeful.”3 The psalm also clearly states that
YHWH’s great powers are directed towards the weak and the needy. “..When
you open your hand, you satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing. The
LORD is righteous in everything he does; he is filled with kindness...” We are assured
through Scripture and through centuries of people’s intimate relationships with God,
that God’s-Own-Self was and is utterly dependable and faithful to all promises made.

Creative pause: God’s-Own-Self is utterly dependable and faithful to all promises.


1 Psalm 145: 21b (NLT)

2 Psalm 90: 2
THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®.
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica.
All rights reserved worldwide.

3 Text by Professor Walter Brueggemann
& William H Bellinger Junior from “Psalms”
Psalm 145, page 605-606
© 2014 Cambridge University Press

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 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:
© 2015 Joan Stott – ‘The Timeless Psalms’ RCL Psalms Year B. Used with permission.

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

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