Who of us wants to hear words of critique even when they are true and spoken in love? Our natural instinct is to rebuff such words and deny their veracity. At the same time, few of us know how to offer true words of critique and prefer to avoid them. We often do the same in worship, especially when it comes to the prayers of confession. Some worshiping communities skip such prayers all together. After all, some might say that we want to encourage our people and praise God not get mired in the negative.
Something similar is sometimes said about the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL). Some might say it has a penchant for cutting out the negative from its scripture readings, and the reading for the ninth Sunday after Pentecost in Year C is one such example. The Psalm assigned for this Sunday is Psalm 50:1-8, 43. If that is all we read, we can pat ourselves on the back, thinking that God is pleased with our worship, and all is well. Even if we were to read the entirety of the Psalm, it would still be easy to assume that the verses condemning those who have forgotten God are about non-believers. But with some honest reflection, we must admit that we too fail to live blameless lives. Gratefully, the last word of scripture is never condemnation but hope, and so it is with Psalm 50. However, words of hope and grace are meaningless if we don’t understand just how mired we are in sin. What’s more, calls to live lives of justice and grace are missing their mark if we leave the bar too low.
We need to dwell on difficult passages like Psalm 50. We need to hear God’s words of judgement in order to change our ways and receive God’s message of hope and abundant grace.
Words of judgement aren’t easy to speak, but it is the holy calling of those who lead worship to do so along with offering the soothing words of hope.
Worship Elements Based on Psalm 50
What has been provided below are several worship elements all based on Psalm 50. Direct quotations from Psalm 50, the New International Version, appear in blue font. You may use all of them in one service or just one of the elements. Note that suggestions for congregational song have not been included; please insert them where appropriate.
Call to Worship: Psalm 50:1
The Mighty One, God, the Lord,
speaks and summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to where it sets.
God has called us.
We have come to worship our God
who is worthy of our praise and honor.
Opening Prayer:
Let us pray.
Almighty God,
we praise you for your awesome power and majesty.
You reign over all creation,
calling the world to you,
desiring that we love this world and all it contains
as you love it,
desiring that our worship of you not only be on our lips
but in our care for this world,
evident through lives dedicated
to seeking peace and justice
—working toward a world that reflects your beauty.
Almighty God,
we praise you for your awesome power and majesty.
May our lives be a reflection of you.
Amen.
Call to Confession: Psalm 50:1–8
Hear this call to confession from the beginning of Psalm 50.
The Mighty One, God, the Lord,
speaks and summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to where it sets.
From Zion, perfect in beauty,
God shines forth.
Our God comes
and will not be silent;
a fire devours before him,
and around him a tempest rages.
He summons the heavens above,
and the earth, that he may judge his people.
“Gather to me this consecrated people,
who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
And the heavens proclaim his righteousness,
for he is a God of justice
“Listen, my people, and I will speak;
I will testify against you, Israel:
I am God, your God.
I bring no charges against you concerning your sacrifices
or concerning your burnt offerings, which are ever before me…”
Words of hope and grace are meaningless if we don’t understand just how mired we are in sin. What’s more, calls to live lives of justice and grace are missing their mark if we leave the bar too low.
People of God, let us not forget that our God is a God of judgement and we, God’s people, have covenanted with him to be a righteous people, a people that not only gathers to worship on this day but are also called to worship God all week. We do this by living lives that reflect who God is. While God may not find fault with our worship gatherings, the psalm lists some of the ways we do not follow God’s ways in the rest of our lives and ignore God’s law. God wants us to consider the implications of neglecting the law and in essence forgetting who God is, saying:
I will tear you to pieces, with no one to rescue you.
Consider this…consider God’s call to follow the law—ignore it at your peril.
Scripture makes it very clear that going through the ritual of worship, Bible study, even daily prayer and devotions means nothing to God if the rest of our lives are not aligned with God’s will.
Often we talk of God’s mercy, but downplay God’s judgement. As you stand before our God at this moment, think of your life, especially the life you live when no one is looking. Does your life reflect the heart of the God you worship? Have you forgotten God?
[Moment of Silence]
Prayer of Confession
Let us pray.
Holy, almighty, God,
we know that we fail you more often than we realize.
We do not love as we should.
We have forgotten you.
We take more than we need, misuse what we have been given, and steal what isn’t ours.
We pick on our siblings, argue with our parents, and gossip about coworkers.
We ignore those in need, figuring we are too busy, and it isn’t our problem.
Forgive us for not looking at the world as you look at it,
thus failing to see you in it.
Forgive us for not loving the world as you love it,
thus failing to love you.
Forgive us for not being seekers of justice and givers of mercy,
thus turning away from you.
Forgive us
for forgetting you.
Holy, almighty, God,
we know that we fail you more often than we realize.
We do not love as we should.
Forgive us.
Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
People of God, the good news of the gospel is this: The Almighty God is both God of justice and mercy. Psalm 50 doesn’t end with condemnation but with hope. Listen to God’s words of assurance from the last verse of Psalm 50:
Those who sacrifice thank offerings honor me,
and to the blameless I will show my salvation.
Christ’s death on the cross has assured us of our salvation.
Thanks be to God!