Für die Schöpfung
The Creator's Bounty
A prayer of thanksgiving for the wonders of creation, the gift of human life, and the preservation of the body and soul.
O almighty God, heavenly Father—you who were not created, not born, but are from eternity before every beginning—I worship you; I honor, praise, and exalt you; and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your benefits, and especially that by your almighty power and divine Word you have created heaven and earth, sun, moon, and every creature, and everything that lives and exists, and that by your wisdom you govern and sustain them. I also thank you that, by your goodness and mercy, you have placed the whole earth, with every created creature, under the human race to serve it, and have distributed them for our good.1 But above all I praise you, my Creator and Lord, that you have also formed and made me, your creature, as a rational human being after your image; that you have given me body and soul and all my limbs, reason, understanding, and all my senses, and still preserve them. Great and wonderful is your goodness toward me—you who preserved and delivered me while I was still enclosed in my mother's womb, and drew me out from there as well; who did not let me be born blind, deaf, mute, lame, or frail. Your mercy toward me is great and many-sided, that you did not make and create me as a beast without understanding and reason. Who can fully tell the great deeds of the Lord and praise all his praiseworthy works? Who can recount all his praise?✦2 There is no one who can put into words all his benefits.✦
A Vow of Perpetual Praise
The petitioner commits to a life of continual praise and proclamation of God's righteousness and mercy.
And even though I, a poor sinner, cannot praise you as much or as highly as you deserve and as I am bound to, I won't stay silent for that reason; instead, I will continually exalt your holy name as much as I can and as far as I am able. I will exalt and praise your righteousness, grace, and great mercy as long as I live, and as long as I have breath, I won't forget the good you have shown me.✦ My mouth will proclaim your righteousness and your salvation day by day, though I cannot count them all.✦3 My tongue, which you created, will be full of your honor and your praise every day, and will always say: I thank the Lord in his sanctuary; I praise him in the firmament of his power; I extol him in his works; I exalt him in his great glory.✦4 Let everything that has breath give thanks to the Lord. Hallelujah!✦
Read the original Latin
O allmächtiger Gott, himmlischer Vater, der du nicht geschaffen, nicht geboren, sondern vor allem Anfang in Ewigkeit bist, ich anbete dich, ich ehre, lobe und preise dich, und sage dir Dank von Grund meines Herzens für alle deine Wohltaten und sonderlich, dass du Himmel und Erde, Sonne, Mond und alle Kreaturen, dazu alles, was da lebet und ist, durch deine Allmacht und göttliches Wort geschaffen hast, durch deine Weisheit regierest und erhältst. Auch danke ich dir, dass du den ganzen Erdboden samt allen erschaffenen Kreaturen durch deine Güte und Barmherzigkeit dem menschlichen Geschlechte dienstbar untergeben, und zu gut ausgeteilt hast. Insonderheit aber lobe ich dich, meinen Schöpfer und Herrn, dass du mich auch, deine Kreatur, zu einem vernünftigen Menschen nach deinem Bildnis formiert und gemacht hast; mir Leib und Seele und alle Glieder, Vernunft, Verstand und alle Sinne gegeben hast und noch bewahrest. Groß und wunderbar ist deine Güte an mir, der du mich, als ich noch im Mutterleibe verschlossen war, erhalten und errettet hast, auch von dannen herausgezogen; mich nicht blind, taub, stumm, lahm oder gebrechlich hast lassen geboren werden. Viel und mannigfaltig ist deine Barmherzigkeit an mir, dass du mich nicht zu einem Viehe, welches ohne Verstand und Vernunft ist, gemacht und erschaffen hast. Wer kann die großen Taten des Herrn ausreden, und alle seine löblichen Werke preisen? Wer kann alle sein Lob erzählen? Niemand ist, der alle seine Wohltaten aussprechen mag.
Und ob ich armer Sünder dich nicht loben kann, so viel und hoch als du würdig und ich schuldig bin, so will ich doch darum nicht schweigen, sondern deinen heiligen Namen ohne Unterlass rühmen, so viel ich kann und mir möglich ist. Ich will deine Gerechtigkeit, Gnade und große Barmherzigkeit rühmen und preisen, solange ich lebe; und weil ein lebendiger Atem in mir ist, will ich nicht vergessen, was du Gutes an mir erzeiget hast. Mein Mund soll verkündigen deine Gerechtigkeit, täglich dein Heil, die ich nicht alle zählen kann. Meine Zunge, die du mir erschaffen hast, soll deiner Ehren und deines Preises voll sein täglich und immer sagen: Ich danke dem Herrn in seinem Heiligtum, ich lobe ihn in der Feste seiner Macht, ich preise ihn in seinen Taten, ich rühme ihn in seiner großen Herrlichkeit. Alles, was Odem hat, danke dem Herrn, Halleluja.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Ps.106.2 — Who can declare the mighty acts of the LORD, or make heard all His praise?
- ↩Ps.106.2 — Who can declare the mighty acts of the LORD, or make heard all His praise?
- ↩Ps.104.33 — I will sing to the LORD while I live; I will sing praise to my God while I am still here.
- ↩Ps.71.15 — My mouth will declare your righteousness, all day long your salvation; for I cannot count them.
- ↩Ps.150.1-Ps.150.2 — Praise Yah! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in the expanse of his might. Ps.150.2 — Praise him for his mighty acts; praise him according to his abundant greatness.
- ↩Ps.150.6 — Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!
Notes
- 1 ↩dienstbar untergeben: rendered as 'placed ... under ... to serve it' (subjected for service); zu gut ausgeteilt as 'distributed ... for our good' (for benefit).
- 2 ↩alle sein Lob: Early New High German possessive (sein for seine); rendered as 'all his praise,' not as a corruption.
- 3 ↩die ich nicht alle zählen kann is plural; it most naturally covers the many acts of righteousness and salvation that cannot all be numbered.
- 4 ↩Feste seiner Macht follows the traditional psalmic rendering firmament of his power (Luther: in der Feste seiner Macht), not a fortress in the military sense.
Christian Prayers (Betbüchlein) companion
A prayer for every moment, already on your phone
Chosen Portion puts a curated historic prayer in front of you each day — so the words are there before the moment arrives.
Chosen Portion is the digital descendant of the carried prayer book: the short daily prayers this collection preserves, delivered one a day to your pocket.
- One short, memorable prayer delivered daily — build your repertoire a card at a time
- Prayers matched to real situations: fear, gratitude, decisions, grief, sleep
- Save favourites into your personal pocket collection you can open anywhere