Here’s a litany of confession based on the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20: 1-20; Deuteronomy 5:6-21). It was written by Bruce Prewer, and posted on his website, Bruce Prewer’s Homepage.
Litany for Deliverance
Save your people, God of truth and mercy,
from the chaos of divided loyalties
and the worship of many gods;
Save us, God of truth and mercy.
From making God in our own likeness
and the slavery of self-centredness;
Save us, God of truth and mercy.
From using God’s name trivially
and claiming him for our prejudices;
Save us, God of truth and mercy.
From neglecting sabbatical quiet times
and being obsessed with busyness;
Save us, God of truth and mercy.
From ignoring or despising the elderly
and over-indulging the new generation;
Save us, God of truth and mercy.
From glorifying armaments and war
and wishing our enemies dead;
Save us, God of truth and mercy.
From watering-down love and marriage
and the exploitation of sex;
Save us, God of truth and mercy.
From the legal robberies of the stock exchange,
and the cunning thefts of tax evasion;
Save us, God of truth and mercy.
From TV programmes that twist the facts,
and cruel gossip in supermarkets;
Save us, God of truth and mercy.
From those who preach greed as a virtue
and possession-lust which is never satisfied;
Save us, God of truth and mercy.
O Jesus Christ, Saviour of all who lose their way,
O Healing Spirit, Power who renews the world;
We need you, God of truth and mercy!
Amen.
—from Prayers For the Twenty-First Century, page 124. Copyright © Bruce Prewer and Open Book Publishers. Posted on Bruce Prewer’s Homepage. Visit his site for many other excellent worship resources.
For more worship resources related to this text, or other texts for October 2, 2011 (the sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost), click on Proper 22A in the list of “Labels” at the lower right side of the page.
For more worship resources on the Ten Commandments, click on Ten Commandments in the list of “Labels” at the lower right side of the page.
