For We Are Thy People

For we are thy people, and thou art our God;
We are thy children and thou our father.
We are thy servants, and thou art our master;
We are thy congregation and thou our portion.
We are thine inheritance, thou our lot;
We are thy flock, thou our shepherd.
We are thy vineyard, and thou art our keeper;
We are thy work, and thou our creator.
We are thy faithful one: thou art our beloved;
We are thy chosen: thou art the Lord our God.
We are thy subjects, thou our King;
We are thine acknowledged people, thou our acknowledged Lord.

--anonymous, from the Liturgy of Yom Kippur eve

Lord's Prayer Cycle Prayer 2: Your Kingdom Come

Our Father in heaven, 
loving Parent and Creator, 
tender Mother, 
we pray that your kingdom come on earth
as it is in heaven.

Reign over us, Almighty God,
that we may live our lives in service to You
and to each other.
Let us always remember
that You are God, and we are not.

Make us humble, compassionate, and unified,
re-enacting the broadness of God's table of kinship in heaven. 
Let us be dedicated to doing your will
by being a holy people
founded upon mercy and fellowship.

Let us denounce and end the systems of oppression
of which we are a part,
that steal from the poor to enrich the powerful,
that justify the terrorization of the marginalized;
that imprison children and rips apart families
who seek refuge from famine and wars
from which we profit.

Let us instead work to bring your dream for humanity to life,
and demand justice and equity of ourselves
and of our leaders.

Watch over those whose needs we now remember,
especially those we now name.

Amen. 

 --The Rev. Leslie Scoopmire, from my prayer blog

Psalms of Trust: Psalm 24

Psalm 24

The earth is God’s and all that is in it, 
     the world and all who dwell therein.
For it is God who founded it upon the seas
     and made it firm upon the rivers of the deep.
“Who can ascend the hill of the Most High,
     and who can stand in God’s holy place?”
“Those who have clean hands and a pure heart,
     who have not pledged themselves to falsehood,
     nor sworn by what is a fraud.
They shall receive a blessing from the Holy One
     and a just reward from the God of their salvation.”
Such is the generation of those who seek God,
     of those who seek your face, O God of Jacob.

     Lift up your heads, O gates;
lift them high, O everlasting doors,
     and the One who reigns in glory shall come in.
“Who is this who reigns in glory?”
     “The Holy One, strong and mighty,
     the Holy One, mighty in battle.”

     Lift up your heads, O gates;
lift them high, O everlasting doors,
     and the One who reigns in glory shall come in.

--from the St Helena Psalter

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The earth is the Lord's and everything in it,
     the world and its inhabitants, too.
Because God is the one who establshed it on the seas;
     God set it firmly on the waters.

Who can ascend the Lord's mountain?
     Who can stand in his holy sanctuary?
Only the one with clean hands and a pure heart;
     the one who hasn't made false promises.
     the one who hasn't sworn dishonestly.
That kind of person receives blessings from the Lord
     and righteousness from the God who saves.
And that's how things are
     with the generation that seeks him--
     that seeks the face of Jacob's God.

Mighty gates: lift up your heads!
Ancient doors: rise up high!
    So the glorious king can enter!
Who is this glorious king?
     The Lord-- strong and powerful!
     The Lord-- mighty in battle!
Mighty gates: lift up your heads!
Ancient doors: rise up high!
    So the glorious king can enter! 
Who is this glorious king?
The Lord of heavenly forces--
     he is the glorious king!

-- from the Common English Bible