The Bible is full of greetings, and our worship leader greets us in God’s name.
Based on Philippians 1:1-2
To all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Zurich, together with the overseers and deacons: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
We begin our worship with a silent meditation on our Psalm of the Day during the Prelude. Use this time to focus your hearts and minds on God as he speaks to us through his Word.
Psalm 33
1 Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous;
it is fitting for the upright to praise him.
2 Praise the Lord with the harp;
make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.
3 Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully, and shout for joy.
4 For the word of the Lord is right and true;
he is faithful in all he does.
5 The Lord loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of his unfailing love.
6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
7 He gathers the waters of the sea into jars;
he puts the deep into storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all the people of the world revere him.
9 For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.
10 The Lord foils the plans of the nations;
he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.
11 But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever,
the purposes of his heart through all generations.
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people he chose for his inheritance.
13 From heaven the Lord looks down
and sees all mankind;
14 from his dwelling place he watches
all who live on earth—
15 he who forms the hearts of all,
who considers everything they do.
16 No king is saved by the size of his army;
no warrior escapes by his great strength.
17 A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
despite all its great strength it cannot save.
18 But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
19 to deliver them from death
and keep them alive in famine.
20 We wait in hope for the Lord;
he is our help and our shield.
21 In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
22 May your unfailing love be with us, Lord,
even as we put our hope in you.
Toccata in D Minor
Johann Sebastian Bach (BWV 538)
Ruth Pfister, organ
Our Call to Worship draws us into conversation with our God, and is usually taken from our Psalm of the Day. We address one another and enter God’s presence together.
From Psalm 33
Leader: Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous!
People: If we are true to him, it is fitting for us to praise him!
Leader: Praise the LORD with the harp.
People: We will offer our voices and instruments as praise!
Leader: Sing to the LORD a new song!
People: We will sing and play with our skill, and lift our shouts of joy!
Leader: Let us worship God!
Having called one another to God’s praise, we turn to God and ask for his presence and power.
From Psalm 33
Great God and Lord, you have commanded us to sing, and to play skillfully. Take pleasure in the songs of our lips and the music of our instruments. You have called us to treasure your Word, and to learn and imitate your own love and justice from its truth. We gladly submit ourselves to its teaching and eagerly anticipate the change you will effect in our hearts and lives as it takes root within us. Speak to us with the same grace and power with which you spoke the heavens, the seas, the land, and every creature into being, and we will be made anew. As we worship you, remind us that you alone are strong to save, and make us conscious that we are utterly dependent on you. We wait upon you now. Shower us with your unfailing love. We ask it in Christ’s name. Amen.
With our Song of Praise, we begin our worship by exalting God for who he is and what he has done.
Rejoice, You Righteous, in the Lord (Psalm 33)
Text: Psalm 33 rendered by Isaac Watts, alt.and additional stanza: Stager
Tune: AZMON, by Carl G. Gläser (1784-1829), adapted by Lowell Mason (1829)
Ellie and Andy Stager
(Musical Notation [PDF])
Rejoice, you righteous, in the Lord,
What better thing to do?
Exalt his name, his ways, his word,
How holy, just, and true!
His mercy and his righteousness
Let heav’n and earth proclaim!
His works of nature and of grace
Reveal his wondrous name.
His word, with energy divine
The skies above us spread,
Made starry hosts throughout them shine:
All by his wisdom led.
He taught the swelling waves to flow
To their appointed deep;
The flowing seas their limits know,
And still their station keep.
All people on his spacious earth,
With fear before him stand!
He spoke, and nature found its birth,
And rests on his command.
He scorns the angry nations’ rage,
And breaks their vain designs;
His counsel stands through every age,
And in full glory shines.
The lovingkindness of the LORD
Be with us as we wait
With joyful hearts upon his word,
All things to re-create!