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 44th 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 44th 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
