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Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.

Lord of All Hopefulness

Lord of all hopefulness, Lord of all joy, whose trust, ever child-like, no cares can destroy, be there at my waking, and give me, I pray, your bliss in my heart, Lord, at the break of the day.

Lord of all eagerness, Lord of all faith, whose strong hands were skilled at the plane and the lathe, be there at my labors, and give me, I pray, your strength in my heart, Lord, at the noon of the day.

Lord of all kindliness, Lord of all grace, your hands swift to welcome, your arms to embrace, be there at my homing, and give me, I pray, your love in my heart, Lord, at the eve of the day.

Lord of all gentleness, Lord of all calm, whose voice is contentment, whose presence is balm, be there at my sleeping, and give me, I pray, your peace in my heart, Lord, at the end of the day.

Prayer to Resist Temptation

Holy God, You know the temptations that I am facing today. But your Word promises that I will not be tempted beyond what I can bear.

Help me, heavenly Father, to stand up against sin, to resist whatever temptation I may encounter this day, in whatever form it may come. Your Word promises that you will provide a way out of any temptation, and I pray to be able to find it and to have the wisdom to use it, and walk away when temptation arises. All thanks be to you, O Lord, for you are a faithful deliverer and that I can count on your help in my time of need.

Prayer of Resolve

I  bind myself to you this day, oh Christ, in your truth and in your sacrifice. I give to you my anxiety and my fear, my depression and my doubt, for you have promised to take them if we only ask; and I take upon myself your burden, for it is light and your way is gentle. May I keep this in my heart and mind all this day.

God be with you 'til we meet again.

St. Michael Archangel by Guido Reni (ca. 1635). The final triumph of light over darkness. Michael, the embodiment of the Church militant, defeats Satan in a scene based on the Book of Revelation.

The Great Beauty

Exodus 9:13-14 (NIV)

The Seventh Plague: Hail [1]

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning, confront Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me, or this time I will send the full force of my plagues against you and against your officials and your people, so you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth.

For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth. But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. You still set yourself against my people and will not let them go.

Therefore, at this time tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm that has ever fallen on Egypt, from the day it was founded till now. Give an order now to bring your livestock and everything you have in the field to a place of shelter, because the hail will fall on every person and animal that has not been brought in and is still out in the field, and they will die.’”

Those officials of Pharaoh who feared the word of the Lord hurried to bring their slaves and their livestock inside. But those who ignored the word of the Lord left their slaves and livestock in the field.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that hail will fall all over Egypt — on people and animals and on everything growing in the fields of Egypt.”

When Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, the Lord sent thunder and hail, and lightning flashed down to the ground. So the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt; hail fell and lightning flashed back and forth. It was the worst storm in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation.

A pharaoh depicted on even footing with the jackal-god, Anubis.

Notes on the Scripture

For the first time in Exodus, the Lord speaks broadly (through His prophet, Moses) of His power, His will, and His purpose. The time has come in the Divine purpose not only for the Hebrews to inherit Canaan, but also for the earth to understand His power and "proclaim His name".

"Fear of the Lord," the Bible tells us several times, "is the beginning of all wisdom." (E.g. Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 1:7) "Fear" has a specific meaning, however; for we are not to fear God as we might fear, say, a murderous maniac or a vicious dog. God has been good to us and will continue His blessings. Ultimately, He will even sacrifice His own life that we might find grace and eternal life. Fear of God might be better translated as "respect", except respect is not a strong enough word.

The opposite of fear, in this context, is pridefulness. And the dichotomy between a deep and fundamental respect for God, on the one hand, and the false pride anchored deep in our human psyche, on the other, permeates Exodus.

God could, we now realize, destroy in the blink of an eye. With the flick of a finger, He could send the earth spinning into the sun or out towards former-planet Pluto, or send the 100 billion stars of our galaxy into a collision course with Andromeda. In Genesis, we saw not only His ability to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, but even more frightening, His willingness to do so out of anger for human sin. He is a terrifying God, not a cuddly kitten.

But even at His most fearsome, God leaves a door open by which we can escape. The key to the door lies in subordinating our pride. Egypt was a land permeated by idolatry and pride; yet, God has not destroyed it. All he asks of Pharaoh, at this point, is not to oppose His specific will: That the Hebrews be released to fulfill their destiny. Pharaoh must bend his pride to God's will.

Pharaoh is the proudest and most powerful man on earth. He has no reason to think that this god of the slaves can best him; and his pride makes it impossible for him to see an obvious truth, one that many officials have begun to understand.

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