Minister: Lift up your hearts!
Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord!
O Lord our God, we bless the Lord,
Our strength, and the one who teaches strength;
You teach our hands for war,
And our fingers for fighting.
You are goodness itself, our goodness.
You are our fortress, and high tower
Our deliverer, and our shield.
We trust in You, for You bring the nations to Christ.
O Lord, why do You pay attention to us?
What is the son of man that You take account?
Man is a shadow, a vanity,
Our days are shadow that flit by.
Bend the heavens over, O Lord, and come down.
Touch the mountains and make them smoke.
Take lightning bolts from Your quiver
and shoot them all.
Deliver us, Lord, from the hands of strange generations.
Their mouths shape lies,
And their right hand is the hand of falsehood.
But as for us, we sing a new song,
And we sing it to You—
on a psaltery and a ten-stringed harp
we sing Your praises.
You give salvation to kings;
You delivered David from the devouring sword.
Do the same for us, we pray,
And save us from the lying children,
Whose mouths shape lies,
And whose right hand is the hand of lies.
We plead for this so that our sons may be like saplings,
Oaks that will strike awe
in the hearts of future generations.
And that our daughters may be as pillars,
Sculpted in the palace style.
We ask that our barns would be full,
Stuffed with Your blessings,
All manner of blessings,
And that our sheep and cattle and oxen will multiply
Beyond all reckoning.
To the glory of Your name,
we ask so that we may praise You.
Destroy all crime, we pray,
the breaking in, and the looting,
We ask that there be no complaining in our streets,
No whining in our homes, or in our hearts.
Happy are such people,
those whose prayers like this are heard.
Happy are the people
Whose God is the Lord.
And so, gracious Father, we worship You now through Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end, amen.