Call to Worship
Psalm 24: 3 Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place?
4 Those who have clean hands and pure hearts, who do not lift up their souls to what is false, and do not swear deceitfully.
5 They will receive blessing from the LORD, and vindication from the God of their salvation.
Song: Great is thy faithfulness
Prayers: Psalm 67 together:
Be silent, Be still. Wait before your God
Say nothing, Ask nothing
Be still.
Let your God look upon you.
That is all.
God knows. God understands
God loves you with an enormous love.
God only wants to look upon you with love
Quiet
Still Be.
Let your God love you. (Silence)
The Lords prayer
Hymn: Father I place into your hands
Notices and Offering
Setting the Scene: Norman and the Prayer letter
Chorus: Prayer Phone
Intercessions:
Joan – World Leprosy Day
Homelessness Prayer
Prayer For: Michael (Winifred Grandson)
John W (Claudia husband needs our prayers in Whips in the Cardiac unit – Claudia says how our prayers helped her she she was in hospital recently, and asked that we pray for John)
Florence K– Prayers for strength and peace.
African Chant:
Amen Siakudumisa, Amen Siakudumisa, Amen Bawo, Amen Bawo, Amen Siakudumisa.
Amen, We Praise Your Name O God, Amen, We Praise Your Name O God, Amen Amen, Amen Amen, Amen, We Praise Your Name O God,
Bible Readings:
1 Thes 5: 11 -28 – Beverly C
Hymn: Sweet hour of prayer
Talk / Sermon:
Our Prayer Book – The Psalms.
Intro: Prayer in our world:
Pic:
We continue this week to look at prayer and the privilege which is ours to pray. Pray is basically conversation with God, sometimes it’s made up of words, other times it’s silence, sometimes its listening other times it’s bringing deep requests, sometimes we crave space and time to pray, and at other times prayer just takes over as we become aware of creation and the beauty around us. There are times in life that lead us to prayer – the birth of a child, waiting for test results, as the airplane taxis to the runway for takeoff, watching a beautiful sunset, being around the bed of a dying friend – these and other times cause us to look away from ourselves and focus towards God in prayer and reflection.
This morning we read from 1 Thess 5 and we are encouraged to (17/18) pray continually; and give thanks in all circumstances. Paul writes to the Church at Philippi and says (Phil 4:6) worry about nothing, pray about everything
I wonder what resources do you use when you pray? Last week Paul shared with us loads of things that help him – we see that Paul is visually stimulated by many things; Norman has shared with us about the Prayer letter, and how that helps him and can help us too; but what about you, what helps you in your praying?
Suggestions: A newspaper; a map; music; the telephone.
Prayer is the bridge that makes the connection between our everyday, routine world and Gods glorious Kingdom.
In prayer we meet God and God touches us.
Through prayer we become more like Jesus and more open to God speaking to us. Through prayer we learn to look at events in a new light.
Through prayer we get sustenance to face the problems we face.
Through prayer we find within ourselves the means to offer help to others.
Through prayer we learn that God is with us and so we can face the world with confidence.
It has been said that, if we do not pray we are not fully human! Last week some of us were privileged to walk thru the Old Testament - I think everyone present learn something, whether it was a reminder of what we knew already and had forgotten, or something new, it was a helpful experience and those who stuck with the six hour study were to be commended.
1. The Psalm to help us
But some points were raised on parts of scripture that were skipped over lightly; one area that we didn’t major on was the Psalms. To my recollection the only thing George mentioned was that not all the Psalms were written by David, and we moved on. So today, let us stop at the Psalms, for this is a rich book of the Bible with prayers in for all of us to use and enjoy. When you don’t know what to pray, there is a Psalm for you:
Psalm 10: when we are discouraged
Psalm 7 – when we are falsely accused
Psalm 108 – Is for you when you have given a gift and the person is ungrateful
Psalm 33 – when you are in trouble
Psalm 55 – when you are tempted
Psalm 30 – if you’re feeling impatient.
Psalm 28 if you are afraid of storms
Are you envious? - try Psalm 36
Are you proud? Psalm 35
Are you lacking in confidence? Read Psalm 26
And try Psalm 88 if you feel really far from God – this Psalm carried no glimmer of hope, just a cry of despair.
The Psalter is a rich resource book and we can indeed grow through using it in our quiet times: Its rich in the history of Israel, rich in the History of Christ, and rich in the History of the worshipping community.
2. Rich in Israel’s History:
1. The Psalms were the prayer book of the Israelites. When God called the Israelites He made them his chosen people. The Psalms were the Israelites’ response to God’s call and their answer to him. All of Israel ’s life finds expression in the Psalms. They have arisen as a result of a developing relationship between God and his people. We see in the Psalms notes of jubilation when they got it right, and cry of despair when they failed. Some Psalms are personal words of lament, others corporate words of worship.
Israel ’s history in the book of Psalms is so deep. Sigmund Mowinckel was one of the most important writers on the Psalms of the twentieth century. In 1951 He published a book “ The Psalms in Israel 's Worship”. Mowinckel's really wanted to stress the original place of the psalms in worship at the Temple in Jerusalem. He wants the reader to see the whole breadth of the temple worship system that is there: preparing for worship, sacrifice, praise, and the high place that thee temple and Jerusalem held within their society. He says that the breadth of emotions in the Psalms only add to the importance of their importance, whether it’s a hymn of praise or a prayer of lament, they all make sense as parts of Temple worship – in true worship there is to be a place for all our human emotions, our tears and our jubilation, our frustration and our rejoicing.
The Psalms were Israel’s liturgy. This was their Book of Common Prayer (as our Anglican friends would use) or their Baptist Patterns and Prayers. This liturgy contained great spiritual value that was the central focus of their meeting together, leading them to open their hearts as they considered the weekly passage fro the Torah. .
And yet they are much more them the basis of temple Worship, for here in the Psalms are private, heart felt prayers of confession and lament. Prayers best prayed in private, with much heart searching and time for reflection. .
The Great Kings of Israel’s would have used these Psalms in worship, and praying on behalf of the nation. The prophets would have been familiar with these words; the multitudes of people would have entered the Temple for worship aware that their God requires clean hands and a pure heart before they would enter the temple.
3 . Rich in Christ’s History:
It’s good to remember that the Psalms were also the prayer of Jesus. Being raised as a good Jew Jesus would have known most of them by heart. The Psalms were indeed the poetry for the day, the hymns of worship, the sound bites, and the backbone of his society. As Mary learned of the forthcoming birth of Christ it the words of the Psalms that helped her shape the Magnificat , we see links to Psalms (as well as the prayer of Hannah) This whole prayer become another Psalm, and we recognise the pattern and flow, the nuances and rhythm. Here we see that Jesus would have been raised with the Psalms – maybe sang at bedtimes, re-enacted in the playground, as well as read in the Temple.
We see this as again and again in his teachings Jesus quotes from the Psalms more than twenty times. In fact, at some of the most crucial times in Christ’s ministry it was the Psalm he used to help him through.
(Mat 22: 44) In his great teaching on the greatest commandment (Love your neighbour as yourself. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbour as yourself.) Jesus goes on to quote Psalm 110: 1 "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool."
On the triumphant entry into Jerusalem (Matt 21:14-16). Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babes thou hast prepared praise for thyself'?" Psalm 8.
When Jesus cast the money changers from the temple, saying, "How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!" (John 2:16 ), we read that his disciples remembered Psalm 69:9, as Jesus quoted it and said: “it was written, Zeal for your house will consume me" (John 2:17 ).
As Judas betrayed him at the Table - John 13:18 (Psalm 41:9) Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted, who ate of my bread, has lifted the heel against me.
And on the Cross: When words were hard to find, they were easier to remember:
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Psalm 22: 1)
Into thine hand I commit my spirit: (Psalm 31:5)
Certain Psalms are known of the Messianic Psalms – Psalms that cry for the coming Messiah, Psalms that begin to reveal the life of Christ. Psalm 22 verse 18 we would now read as an almost blow by blow description of an event which happened over 200 years later “They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing."
Psalm 69 is another messianic psalm. Jesus himself said he was hated without a cause, "but this is to fulfil what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’" (John 15:25). Christ was referring to Psalm 69:4.
As Christ grew accustomed to these familiar words, did he feel the ache in his heart? Did he see his life, his death, his resurrection in these words? As he prayed in the temple, did he hand it all over to his father, the day as well as the future, veiled and yet revealed.
The Psalms would have brought Jesus reassurance and pain. Here again we recognise the ups and downs, all found in this book of prayer.
4. Rich in our History
Throughout the centuries the Psalms have been the backbone of the Jewish and Christian worship tradition.
The Psalms remained part of Christian worship in the early church. In early Christian worship a psalm was sung following the Old Testament reading.
In the great cathedrals in the middle ages, psalms were sung at various points in the service. This provided the congregation with a resource for private meditation at quieter points in the service. This singing was echoed as, one choir responding to another with alternate psalm verses.
The psalms were an important in the development of the daily prayer cycle of the Christian churches and monastic communities. Catholic churches and religious orders have maintained this Liturgy of the Hours since the time of the Reformation. This liturgy covers all the Psalms over a four week period.
During and after the Reformation Protestant churches made various changes to the way psalms were used in worship. Martin Luther replaced the traditional singing of psalms with the singing of hymns, while John Calvin permitted psalms to be sung, but only in the metrical version.
In our own traditions Psalms have featured. On Friday Joan was telling me about an across London competition to learn the Psalms, and Freda told me how the choir would often sing an introit that was words taken from a psalm.
The psalms give us a great insight into how prayer should be. As prayers the psalms take us through the whole range of life experiences. There are psalms of praise to God as creator and Lord of human history, psalms of thanksgiving for past blessings, psalms of trust, psalms that express both individual and community distress to God, and psalms that lead us in confession. There are psalms for all experiences in life and we are free to use individual psalms as they offer us help in prayer.
Many people find it useful to pray the psalms in the order in which they come to us, namely from 1 to 150. There is no special pattern in the order of the psalms, although there the first section is predominantly psalms of lament, and the later psalms mostly Psalms of praise.
To pray the psalms in order can mean we pray a psalm of praise one day, and a psalm of distress the next. We might even find ourselves praying a psalm of distress when we personally feel like praising. But does this matter? While we may often want to pray a psalm that "fits" our mood, it can be important and responsible to pray psalms that don’t.
It’s good to remember that the Book of Psalms has been the "prayer book" of countless faithful people over many years. . The psalms are not just there for our private use. When we pray the psalms we join our personal or communal prayers to the prayers of all the people of God, past, present and future. When we pray a psalm of praise we join in the praise of others. When we pray a psalm of lament and distress we join our prayers to the prayers of those in distress. When we pray those psalms that do not fit our present mood we can pray for others who are in the kind of situation described in the psalm. The psalms then become windows to help shape our intercession to God on behalf of others.
5: Conclusion:
In the Psalms we talk to God and join with Israel and Jesus in continuing to praise and worship God. The poetry written by the Psalmist can now become ours. . Our lives go through ups and downs. The emotions expressed in the Psalms reflect the same ups and downs. Joy, sorrow, expectation and fear, anguish, desperation, triumph, peace: all these emotions have their part in our lives. They are also the material of the Psalms. The Psalms are like a mirror of our lives. All the Scriptures speak to us but the Psalms can indeed speak for us.
These prayers are indeed relevant today, for as we read the stories we discover our story; although we may be removed from them by thousands of years, we see that our humanity still bears the same struggles and failings, and in prayer, reflection and study the wise can learn from their mistakes!
Pray about evening – Paul says – well what batter place to recommend you that the book of Psalms, where we discover a people who indeed prayed about everything, whether in a pit or victorious on the battlefield. May we share the privilege of prayer by allowing these prayers shape our prayers and teach us how to pray? Amen
Let us reflect on His word to out hearts in a moments silent reflection together.
(Following this service – burial of Jim Dulson’s ashes in the church garden. Please can I ask that there is respect shown and some quiet on the concourse until the family join the rest of us for refreshment. Those who are parents, please can you look after your children to facilitate this to happen in the right manner. Hymn chosen by the family in memory of our dear friend Jim.
Hymn: Brother Sister let me serve you
Benediction
Psalm 72: 19 Praise be to his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and Amen