7/5/23
I hope you all enjoyed a happy Independence Day! I think my entire neighborhood reenacted the Revolutionary War last night, so I can’t say I slept much, but it still was a great day. One of my favorite parts of the day was cutting open a perfectly ripe watermelon, and that ripping sound as the watermelon burst open when I plunged in the knife . . . well, it’s one of the most satisfying sounds of the summer!
The last couple of Sundays, I’ve included a litany (a call and response) in our Worship Order, and both Sundays skipped over it! [insert eye-roll here]. The first week, I was battling with my throat, and purposefully skipped it; the second week, well, as my doctor reminded me, “when you reach a certain age . . .” [insert bigger eye-roll]
But I do want to write about it, because it’s part of the Guide for Daily Prayer we gave out on Sunday. It’s under the heading of “Intercession,” and while it might seem a bit formal for some, except for one line from Leviticus, the words are all taken from the Psalms! When you pray this prayer, you are praying scripture.
The prayer was compiled at least as early as 1662, and it follows the pattern of prayer I’ve been writing about lately: We pray for all those who serve God, then for the world, for the nation, for the needy, and finally for ourselves. It’s a good outline for your own prayers, moving us away from praying only for “me and mine.”
Since we’re reading through Psalms again, I thought about just challenging you to watch for these prayers as you make your way through the book . . . but I decided that was mean, and I’d just give them to you
Show us your mercy, O Lord;
And grant us your salvation (Psalm 85:7).
Clothe your ministers with righteousness;
Let your people sing with joy (Psalm 132:9).
Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;
For only in you can we live in safety (Leviticus 26:6).
I have to stop for a moment since we’ve just celebrated Independence day. In the original 1662 prayer book, the following line read:
O Lord, save the King.
And mercifully hear us when we call upon thee (Psalm 20:9).
In the NRSV, Psalm 20:9 reads: “Give victory to the king, O Lord; answer us when we call,” or in the Message, “Make the king a winner, God; the day we call, give us your answer.” I think you see the problem: Whether King George or King Charles is on the throne, after 1776 it was highly unlikely anyone in the United States would be praying for the king!
If anything, our prayers might be like the response of the Rabbi in Fiddler on the Roof when asked, “Is there a blessing for the Czar?” The Rabbi responded, “A blessing for the Czar? Of course! May the Lord bless and keep the Czar . . . far away from us!”
So, after the war for independence, we now pray:
Lord, keep this nation under your care;
And guide us in the way of justice and truth (from Psalm 20:9 . . . sorta).
And the prayer continues:
Let your way be known upon earth;
Your saving health among all nations (Psalm 67:2).
Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;
Nor the hope of the poor be taken away (Psalm 9:18)
Create in us clean hearts, O God;
And sustain us with your Holy Spirit (Psalm 51:11).
So, there it is: an invitation, a guide, an opportunity to pray the scriptures with the saints from ages past and across the world today. But don’t stop when you finish praying these words. Let them be a jumping off place, an inspiration for your own personal prayers, as you lift up to God your needs, the needs of those close to you, and the needs of our nation and the whole world.
And, since I’m writing this on July 4, 2023, I’ll close with those words from Psalm 20:9, words I hope we’ll all pray from our hearts: “Lord, keep this nation under your care; and guide us in the way of justice and truth.”
Amen.
Blessings,