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A Prayer for Mercy in the Storm
The petitioner acknowledges God's power in the thunderstorm and pleads for protection and repentance.
Most mighty and powerful God in heaven and on earth! By your thunder and lightning right now, we are reminded that you are very angry with us sinful people. Through such a sound—before which all creatures must tremble and take fright—you call us, as by the true bell of repentance, to the knowledge of our sins and to true repentance, so that we may not be damned with the godless, wicked world.1 You are such a mighty and powerful Lord that if you chose to act by your strict justice, you could destroy the whole world in an instant with a single clap of thunder and flash of lightning. But we fall on the knees of our heart and humbly ask: turn from your fierce wrath, which burns against sin like a fire.✦2 Have mercy on us, spare us, lift your gracious face over us, and be merciful to us.✦ Protect our bodies and lives, our homes and farms, our cities and land, our possessions and everything we have, as well as the crops in the field, from hail, ice, fire kindled by the storm, from great floods, and from every harm.34 Protect us also from an evil, sudden death, and graciously grant that many sinners, deterred by your word, thunder, and lightning from their godless ways and life, may turn to you from the heart and be converted.5
Looking Toward the Final Judgment
The prayer shifts from the temporal storm to the eternal perspective, asking for readiness for Christ's return.
Let's remember at every hour and moment your glorious coming for judgment, and be ready to receive you with joy and to enter with you into eternal joy.✦✦6 Amen. Ah Lord, be gracious and merciful to us poor sinners in body and soul, here in this life and there in the life to come. Amen.
Read the original Latin
Großmächtiger und starker Gott im Himmel und auf Erden! Aus deinem jetzigen Donner und Blitzen werden wir erinnert, dass du über uns sündige Menschen sehr zornig bist. Du rufest uns durch solchen Schall, vor welchem alle Kreaturen zittern und erschrecken müssen, als durch die rechte Bußglocke, zur Erkenntnis unserer Sünden und zur wahren Buße, damit wir nicht mit der gottlosen bösen Welt mögen verdammet werden. Du bist ein so mächtiger und gewaltiger Herr, dass du auch, wo du nach deiner strengen Gerechtigkeit verfahren wolltest, mit einem einzigen Donnerschlage und Blitze die ganze Welt im Augenblicke verderben könntest. Aber wir fallen auf die Knie unseres Herzens und bitten demütiglich, lass ab von deinem grimmigen Zorne, der wider die Sünde wie ein Feuer brennet. Erbarme dich unser, verschone unser, erhebe über uns dein gnädiges Angesicht und sei uns barmherzig. Bewahre unser Leib und Leben, Haus und Hof, Stadt und Land, unser Hab und Gut und alles, was wir haben, auch die Früchte auf dem Felde vor Hagel, Schlossen, Anzündung des Wetters, vor großen Wasserfluten und vor allem Schaden. Behüte uns auch vor einem bösen, schnellen Tod und verleihe gnädiglich, dass viel Sünder durch dein Wort, Donner und Blitzen vom gottlosen Wesen und Leben abgeschrecket, sich von Herzen zu dir wenden und bekehren mögen.
Lass uns alle Stunden und Augenblicke an deine herrliche Zukunft zum Gericht gedenken, und bereit sein, dich mit Freuden zu empfahen und mit dir zur ewigen Freude einzugehen. Amen. Ach Herr, sei uns armen Sündern an Leib und Seel, hier in diesem und dort im zukünftigen Leben, gnädig und barmherzig. Amen.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Deut.32.22;Ps.89.46 — For a fire is kindled in my anger, and it burns to the depths of Sheol; it devours the earth and its produce, and sets ablaze the foundations of the mountains. Ps.89.46 — You have cut short the days of his youth; you have covered him with shame. Selah
- ↩Num.6.25-Num.6.26;Ps.4.6 — The LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. Num.6.26 — The LORD lift up his face upon you and give you peace. Ps.4.6 — Offer sacrifices of righteousness, and trust in the LORD.
- ↩Matt.24.30 — And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
- ↩Matt.25.21 — His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You were faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.'
Notes
- 1 ↩Bußglocke: literally 'repentance/penance bell'; rendered as 'bell of repentance' to keep the early modern image of a summons to conversion.
- 2 ↩Knie unseres Herzens kept as 'knees of our heart'—an interior kneeling idiom, not physical knees alone.
- 3 ↩Anzündung des Wetters: early modern weather-prayer idiom for fire kindled by lightning/storm; rendered 'fire kindled by the storm' rather than generic 'bad weather'.
- 4 ↩Schlossen: hailstones/ice pellets, paired with Hagel; rendered 'ice' to keep the paired storm threats without doubling 'hail'.
- 5 ↩böser, schneller Tod: 'evil, sudden death' means a sudden death without repentance, not merely a physically abrupt death.
- 6 ↩Early modern Zukunft here means advent/coming (parousia), not abstract 'future'; paired with zum Gericht.
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