David’s Lament for Saul and Jonathan
(words for hymns and bible reading can be found below the order of service)
Welcome and Intimations
Call to Worship
Hymn MP 188 /CH4 36: God is our strength and refuge
Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
Hymn CH4 718: We cannot measure
Introduction to reading
Reading 2 Samuel 1:1,17-27
Video : Bring it all to me ( Ferryhill Church Aberdeen)
Reflection
Hymn: 21st Century Lament by Mary Henderson
Prayer of Intercession
Hymn CH4 730: From the falter of breath
Benediction
Call to Worship
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases
His mercies never come to an end
They are new every morning
Great is your faithfulness Lord God
So we will worship you
Hymn MP 188 /CH4 36: God is our strength and refuge
1 God is our strength and refuge,
our present help in trouble;
and we therefore will not fear,
though the earth should change!
Though mountains shake and tremble,
though swirling floods are raging,
God the Lord of hosts
is with us evermore!
2 There is a flowing river,
within God’s holy city;
God is in the midst of her –
she shall not be moved!
God’s help is swiftly given,
thrones vanish at His presence –
God the Lord of hosts
is with us evermore!
3 Come, see the works of our maker,
learn of His deeds all-powerful;
wars will cease across the world
when He shatters the spear!
Be still and know your Creator,
uplift Him in the nations –
God the Lord of hosts
is with us evermore!
Hymn CH4 718: We cannot measure
1 We cannot measure how we heal
or answer every sufferer’s prayer,
yet we believe your grace responds
where faith and doubt unite to care.
Your hands, though bloodied on the cross,
survive to hold and heal and warn,
to carry all through death to life
and cradle children yet unborn.
2 The pain that will not go away;
the guilt that clings from things long past,
the fear of what the future holds,
are present as if meant to last.
But present too is love which tends
the hurt we never hope to find,
the private agonies inside,
the memories that haunt the mind.
3 So some have come who need your help
and some have come to make amends
as hands which shaped and saved the world
as present in the touch of friends/
Lord, let your Spirit meet us here
to mend the body, mind and soul,
to disentangle peace from pain
and make your broken people whole.
Reading 2 Samuel 1:1
After Saul’s death David came back from his victory over the Amalekites and stayed in Ziklag for two days.
Reading 2 Samuel 17-27
David took up this lament concerning Saul and his son Jonathan, and he ordered that the people of Judah be taught this lament of the bow (it is written in the Book of Jashar):
“A gazelle[a] lies slain on your heights, Israel. How the mighty have fallen!
“Tell it not in Gath, proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon,
lest the daughters of the Philistines be glad, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised rejoice.
“Mountains of Gilboa, may you have neither dew nor rain,
may no showers fall on your terraced fields.
For there the shield of the mighty was despised,
the shield of Saul—no longer rubbed with oil.
“From the blood of the slain, from the flesh of the mighty,
the bow of Jonathan did not turn back, the sword of Saul did not return unsatisfied.
Saul and Jonathan—in life they were loved and admired,
and in death they were not parted.
They were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.
“Daughters of Israel, weep for Saul,
who clothed you in scarlet and finery,
who adorned your garments with ornaments of gold.
“How the mighty have fallen in battle!
Jonathan lies slain on your heights.
I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother;
you were very dear to me.
Your love for me was wonderful,
more wonderful than that of women.
“How the mighty have fallen!
The weapons of war have perished!”
Hymn: 21st Century Lament by Mary Henderson
1 Gone are the wild lands, forests and islands.
Gone is the birdsong before break of day.
Nature is weeping, her sad vigil keeping.
God’s good creation is wasting away.
2 Where are the wise ones, stars-in-their-eyes ones?
Where are the sounds of the children at play?
Old ones are leaving, loved ones are grieving.
Sickness and sorrow have ta’en them away.
3 God of the mountains, forests and fountains,
maker of all things, oh hear us, we pray.
Friend of the dying, all wants supplying,
lover of all who live, be with us today.