A Service of Prayer for November 18, 2020

Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other.

Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky.

The LORD will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase.

Righteousness will go before him, and will make a path for his steps.

Psalm 85:10-13

One thing I have learned over the course of my life is to trust in God’s faithfulness. It isn’t easy to do in the anxiety or the heat of the moment. That is where our prayer life comes in. After all, in the end things do seem to work out.

DIALOGUE

O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth shall declare your praise.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amens

Alleluia.

PSALMODY

Give glory to God, our light and our life.
Oh, come, let us worship him.
Oh, come, let us sing to the Lord; let us shout for joy to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving and raise a loud shout to him with psalms.
For the Lord is a great God and a great king above all gods.
In his hand are the caverns of the earth; the heights of the hills are also his.
The sea is his, for he made it; and his hands have molded the dry land.
Oh, come, let us bow down and bend the knee, and kneel before the Lord, our maker.
For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen

Give glory to God, our light and our life. 
Oh, come, let us worship him.

Psalm 9:1-14

I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart;
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

When my enemies turned back,
they stumbled and perished before you.
  For you have maintained my just cause;
you have sat on the throne giving righteous judgment.

You have rebuked the nations, you have destroyed the wicked;
you have blotted out their name forever and ever.
  The enemies have vanished in everlasting ruins;
their cities you have rooted out;
the very memory of them has perished.

But the LORD sits enthroned forever,
he has established his throne for judgment.
  He judges the world with righteousness;
he judges the peoples with equity.

The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
  And those who know your name put their trust in you,
for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.

Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion.
Declare his deeds among the peoples.
  For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;
he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.

Be gracious to me, O LORD.
See what I suffer from those who hate me;
you are the one who lifts me up from the gates of death,
  so that I may recount all your praises,
and, in the gates of daughter Zion,
rejoice in your deliverance.

    HYMN
You Servants of God

1. You servants of God, your master proclaim,
and publish abroad his wonderful name;
the name, all-victorious, of Jesus extol;
his kingdom is glorious and rules over all!

2. Our God rules on high, almighty to save;
and still he is nigh, his presence we have.
The great congregation his triumph shall sing,
ascribing salvation to Jesus, our king!

3. Salvation to God who sits on the throne!
Let all cry aloud and honor the Son.
The praises of Jesus the angels proclaim,
fall down on their faces, and worship the Lamb.

4. Then let us adore and give him his right,
all glory and pow’r and wisdom and might,
all honor and blessing, with angels above,
and thanks never ceasing, and infinite love!

Text: Charles Wesley, 1707-1788, alt.

READINGS
Job 16:1-21

 Then Job answered:
“I have heard many such things;
miserable comforters are you all.
  Have windy words no limit?
Or what provokes you that you keep on talking?
  I also could talk as you do,
if you were in my place;
I could join words together against you,
and shake my head at you.
  I could encourage you with my mouth,
and the solace of my lips would assuage your pain.

“If I speak, my pain is not assuaged,
and if I forbear, how much of it leaves me?
  Surely now God has worn me out;
he has made desolate all my company.
  And he has shriveled me up,
which is a witness against me;
my leanness has risen up against me,
and it testifies to my face.
He has torn me in his wrath, and hated me;
he has gnashed his teeth at me;
my adversary sharpens his eyes against me.
They have gaped at me with their mouths;
they have struck me insolently on the cheek;
they mass themselves together against me.
  God gives me up to the ungodly,
and casts me into the hands of the wicked.
  I was at ease, and he broke me in two;
he seized me by the neck and dashed me to pieces;
he set me up as his target;
  his archers surround me.
He slashes open my kidneys, and shows no mercy;
he pours out my gall on the ground.
  He bursts upon me again and again;
he rushes at me like a warrior.
  I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin,
and have laid my strength in the dust.
  My face is red with weeping,
and deep darkness is on my eyelids,
  though there is no violence in my hands,
and my prayer is pure.

  “O earth, do not cover my blood;
let my outcry find no resting place.
  Even now, in fact, my witness is in heaven,
and he that vouches for me is on high.
My friends scorn me;
my eye pours out tears to God,
  that he would maintain the right of a mortal with God,
as one does for a neighbor. 

Silence for meditation.

Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets,
but in these last days God has spoken to us by the Son.

GOSPEL
Matthew 24:45-51

“Who then is the faithful and wise slave, whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give the other slaves their allowance of food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives. Truly I tell you, he will put that one in charge of all his possessions. But if that wicked slave says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ and he begins to beat his fellow slaves, and eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know. He will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 

Silence for meditation.

Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets,
but in these last days God has spoken to us by the Son.

MESSAGE

One thing I have learned over the course of my life is to trust in God’s faithfulness. It isn’t easy to do in the anxiety or the heat of the moment, but in the end things seem to work out. That is where our prayer life comes in. Prayer gives us the opportunity to calm our anxious souls and to surrender our troubled hearts to our Lord and Savior. So, today our lessons focus on our trust and faith in God’s lovingkindness and in God’s love and faithfulness towards us.

Sometimes trials can get us down. I find that when I turn on the news (and I can easily become addicted to watching the news), it seems as though everything is falling apart.  I suspect that’s how the Jews felt when they were dragged off to Babylon. They were left without a king, no longer did they have land, and their enemies destroyed the Temple. What was left? Well, they had their prophets, their stories of God’s saving activity, and their faith in God.

Psalm 9, a psalm of thanksgiving, is a song of the people of God who live in faith amidst the afflictions of history during the exilic period. It actually is the first part of a single psalm that includes both Psalm 9 and 10. The main image is God, who is enthroned as king. He is both judge and warrior. Yet God carries out these roles with greater power and equity than human monarchs. God cares for the oppressed and will not abandon those who call on His name. There is comfort and hope is God’s faithfulness towards His people. 

Righteous Job has everything taken away from him. Even his friends blame him for his misfortune. Job lashes out at his friends. But soon he shifts his focus from the friends to God. God has become Job’s foe, ruining his life, in ways that he describes, perhaps metaphorically, as physical attacks on parts of his body. Job feels social rejection as well as physical ailments. He returns to the idea that he has no recourse against God and that all he can do is wait for death. He seems to have lost all hope and yet he stills believes in God. He appeals to the One who represents mortals before God as a neighbor stands up for a neighbor. 

I often hear people say, why did God do that to my loved one? Why did God let him/her suffer so much? And, in these verses, I hear Job asking why has God done all of these things to me? Did God do them to Job? We see at the beginning of this book, God and Satan having a conversation. Satan wagers that the righteous Job will curse God to his face if everything he has is taken away from him. God replies, “We’ll see. Go ahead—do what you want with all that is his. Just don’t hurt him.” It’s true that God allows things to happen during the course of our lives, but I don’t believe a faithful God, who loves us does evil things to us. Can we maintain our faith and trust in God’s goodness during times of trial? That is the question! We live in a broken world where viruses attack our bodies, people do evil things, and nature can cause havoc. But God is there with us to comfort and walk with us as we navigate whatever adversity we face.

In our gospel lesson from Matthew, the words that stand out for me are: Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives. Truly I tell you, he will put that one in charge of all his possessions. The bottom line is to be a faithful servant. To care for and faithfully use what God has entrusted to us. Furthermore, I believe God wants us to use what we have to usher in His kingdom here on earth. We pray in the Lord’s Prayer, Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” How does that happen? It happens as God works in and through us.

So, rejoice in the good, trust in God’s faithfulness, let Christ work in and through you, and pray. For it is in prayer that God comes, calms, comforts our broken spirits.

In Christ, 
Pastor Harkness

THE GOSPEL CANTICLE

Refrain:

In the tender compassion of our God the Dawn from on high shall break upon us.

Blessed are you, Lord, the God of Israel,
you have come to your people and set them free.
You have raised up for us a mighty Savior,
born of the house of your servant David. Refrain

Through your holy prophets, you promised of old
to save us from our enemies, from the hands of all who hate us;
you promised to show mercy to our forebears
and to remember your holy covenant. Refrain

This was the oath you swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship you without fear,
holy and righteous before you, all the days of our life. Refrain

And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High,
For you will go before the Lord to prepare the way,
to give God's people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins. Refrain

In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace. Refrain

PRAYERS

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.

Let us pray,
Mighty God of mercy, we thank you for the resurrection dawn, bringing the glory of our risen Lord who makes every day new.
Especially we thank you—
for the sustaining goodness of your creation . . .
for the new creation in Christ and all gifts of healing and forgiveness . . .
for the gifts of relationship with others . . .
for the communion of faith in your church . . .

Merciful God of might, renew this weary world, heal the hurts of all your children, and bring about your peace for all in Christ Jesus, the living Lord.
Especially we pray—
for those who govern nations of the world especially our president and governors . . .
for the people of our country, for the restoration of peace, and for justice . . .
for the people in countries ravaged by strife or warfare . . .
for all who work for peace and international harmony . . .
for all who strive to save the earth from carelessness and destruction . . .
for the church of Jesus Christ in every land . . .

Almighty and everlasting God, you have brought us in safety to this new day. Preserve us with your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin nor be overcome in adversity. In all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen

LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those
who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
forever and ever. 
Amen

Let us bless the Lord
Thanks be to God.

BENEDICTION

Almighty God, the Father,  ☩  the Son, and the Holy Spirit, bless and preserve us. Amen

HYMN
Rejoice, Rejoice, Believers

1. Rejoice, rejoice, believers,
and let your lights appear;
the evening is advancing,
and darker night is near.
The bridegroom is arising
and soon is drawing nigh.
Up, pray and watch and wrestle;
at midnight comes the cry.

2. The watchers on the mountain
proclaim the bridegroom near;
go forth as he approaches
with alleluias clear.
The marriage feast is waiting;
the gates wide open stand.
Arise, O heirs of glory;
the bridegroom is at hand.

3. The saints, who here in patience
their cross and suff'rings bore,
shall live and reign forever
when sorrow is no more.
Around the throne of glory
the Lamb they shall behold;
in triumph cast before him
their diadems of gold.

4. Our hope and expectation,
O Jesus, now appear;
arise, O Sun so longed for,
o'er this benighted sphere.
With hearts and hands uplifted,
we plead, O Lord, to see
the day of earth's redemption
that sets your people free!

Text: Laurentius Laurenti, 1660-1722; tr. Sarah B. Findlater, 1823-1907

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