Benediction given at the Inauguration of Barack Obama

Benediction given at the Inauguration of

President Barack Obama

By Reverend Joseph Lowery

 

God of our weary years:

God of our silent tears;

Thou who has brought us thus far along the way;

Thou who hast by thy might led us into the light;

Keep us forever in the path, we pray.

 

Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met thee;

Lest our heart drunk with the wine of the world

We forget thee.

Shadowed beneath they hand

May we forever stand

True to thee, Oh God,

And true to our Native Land.

We truly give thanks for the glorious experience

We've shared this day.

We pray now for your blessing upon your servant

Barack Obama, the 44^th President of these United States,

His family and his administration.

He has come to this high office at a low moment

In the national and indeed the global fiscal climate.

But because we know

You got the whole world in your hands,

We pray for not only our own nation

But for the community of Nations.

Our faith does not shrink

Though pressed by the flood of mortal ills,

For we know that , Lord, you're able

And you're willing

To work through faithful leadership

To restore stability

Mend our broken-ness

Heal our wounds

And deliver us

From the exploitation of the poor of the least of these and

From favoritism toward the rich, the elite of these.

We thank you for the empowering

Of thy servant our 44^th President

To inspire our nation to believe:

Yes, we can work together

To achieve a more perfect nation.

And while we sown the seed of greed,

The wind of greed and corruption.

And even as we reap the whirlwind

of social and economic disruption,

We seek forgiveness,

And we come in the spirit of unity and solidarity

To commit support to our president

By our willingness to make sacrifices,

To respect your creation,

To turn to each other and not on each other.

And now, Lord, in the complex arena of human relations

Help us to make choices

on the side of Love not hate,

on the side of inclusion and not exclusion

tolerance not intolerance.

And as we leave this mountain top help us to hold onto

The spirit of fellowship

And the oneness of our family.

Let us take that power back to our homes,

Our work places, our churches, our mosks ,

Where ever we seek your will.

Bless President Barack, First Lady Michelle.

Look over our little angelic Sasha, and Meleea.

We go to walk together, children,

Pledging that we won't get weary

In the difficult days ahead.

We know you will not leave us alone,

With your hands of power,

And you heart of love.

Help us live now, lord, to work for that day

When nation shall not lift up sword against nation,

When tanks will be beaten into tractors,

When every man and every woman shall sit down

Under his or her own vine and fig tree

And none shall be afraid,

When justice will roll down like water and

Righteousness as a mighty stream.

Lord, in memory of all the saints who from their labors rest,

And in the joy of a new beginning.

We ask you to help us work for that day:

When Black will not be ask to give back;

When Yellow will be mellow;

When the Red Man can get ahead man;

And When White will embrace what is right;

That all those who do justice and love mercy shall say:

Amen (crowd) Amen

Say amen

(crowd) Amen

And amen

(Crowd) Amen