Psalm 123
To you I lift up my eyes,
O you who are enthroned in the heavens!
2 As the eyes of servants
look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maid
to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord our God,
until he has mercy upon us.
3 Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us,
for we have had more than enough of contempt.
4 Our soul has had more than its fill
of the scorn of those who are at ease,
of the contempt of the proud.
Prayer:
Oh Lord our God, today we thank you for
the relaitonship we have with you which is nurtured in your church…
for friends and family who add joy and color to our lives…
for natural wonders around us which allow us to see you in a unique way…
for the diversity of this world – for the great family of humankind which is so diverse and yet so similar…
(other prayers of thanksgiving)…
We know you hear us when we offer thanks and when we ask for help.
Today we pray for
the church in all her many forms and especially the church in the southern hemisphere…
the ruling and teaching elders who, as the session, watch over our spiritual well being….
for deacons who carry out the ministries of compassion…
for our nation, state, and community as we all try to navigate through the racial tensions and walk the path of reconciliation and peace…
for our world, nation, state, and community as we all try to cope with the Covid-19 pandemic: those who are ill, who are grieving, who are jobless, who are fearful or skeptical as a result of the virus….
(other prayers of intercession)… Amen.