Morgensegen am Mittwoch
A Morning Offering of Praise and Protection
The prayer begins by joining the chorus of creation in praising God for the night's protection and seeking his continued care for the community.
Almighty, merciful God! Since all your creatures are to praise and glorify you without ceasing—which even the little birds under heaven do, who early toward daybreak, with their little tongues and voices, most sweetly honor you, eternal God, as their Lord and Creator—so I too thank you now from the heart that you have kept me through the past night and all the earlier time of my life under your protection and shelter up to this present hour, and have awakened me from the sleep and darkness of this night and let me rise glad and well.1 I ask you, through the saving resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to keep me safe from now on from every misfortune and harm, along with all those bound to me by blood or in any other way.23 O Lord, help your people and bless your inheritance; shepherd them and lift them up forever!✦
A Petition for Holiness and Interior Purity
The focus shifts to the interior life, asking for grace to live in obedience and to guard the soul against fleshly temptations.
In this early hour fill me also with your mercy, so that today I may spend this whole day with joy in your commandments, free from every mortal sin.4 Show me your grace like a morning dew-cloud, and like a fruitful dew that spreads early and moistens the land: so stretch your kindness over me and refresh my sluggish spirit, that I may do your will alert and glad.5 Rule me with your Holy Spirit so that I may serve you with a pure heart in true righteousness and holiness that is pleasing to you.6 Guard me so that I don't sin against you today and somehow stain my conscience with fleshly lusts that war against the soul.
The Discipline of the Tongue and Self-Examination
The prayer concludes with specific petitions regarding speech, the avoidance of slander, and a plea for self-knowledge before God's judgment.
Keep my tongue from evil, and my lips from speaking falsehood or deceit.✦ Keep shameful words and foolish chatter, which don't befit a Christian, far from me.✦7 Help me so that I don't offend anyone with my lips, nor gossip about them, condemn them, or damn them, and that I may neither slander nor revile anyone.✦8 Oh, that I could put a lock on my mouth and press a firm seal on my lips, so that I wouldn't fall through them and my tongue wouldn't ruin me!9 Give me grace to know myself in my failings and to correct myself, so that I may not fall under your strict judgment and sentence.✦10 Grant me this, eternal God, through Christ, your dear Son. Amen.
Read the original Latin
Allmächtiger, barmherziger Gott! Nachdem alle deine Kreaturen dich ohne Unterlass loben und preisen sollen, welches auch tun die Vöglein unter dem Himmel, die früh gegen dem Tage mit ihren Zünglein und Stimmlein aufs lieblichste dich, ewiger Gott, als ihren Herrn und Schöpfer rühmen, so danke ich dir jetzt auch von Herzen, dass du mich die vergangene Nacht und alle vorige Zeit meines Lebens unter deinem Schutz und Schirm bis auf diese gegenwärtige Stunde erhalten hast und mich aus dem Schlafe und Finsternis dieser Nacht erweckt, fröhlich und gesund hast lassen aufstehen. Ich bitte dich durch die heilwärtige Auferstehung Jesu Christi von den Toten, du wollest mich fürbaß auch behüten vor allem Unglück und Übel, samt allen, die mir mit Blutfreundschaft und sonsten verwandt sind. O Herr, hilf deinem Volk und segne dein Erbe und weide sie und erhöhe sie ewiglich! Du wollest mich auch in dieser Frühstunde mit deiner Barmherzigkeit erfüllen, dass ich heute mit Freuden diesen ganzen Tag in deinen Geboten ohne alle Todsünde zubringe. Erzeige mir deine Gnade wie eine Tauwolke des Morgens, und wie ein fruchtbarer Tau, der früh morgens sich ausbreitet und das Land befeuchtet, also wollest du deine Güte über mich ausstrecken, mein träges Gemüt erfrischen, dass ich wacker und fröhlich deinen Willen tue. Regiere mich mit deinem Heiligen Geist, dass ich dir mit reinem Herzen möge dienen in rechtschaffener Gerechtigkeit und Heiligkeit, die dir gefällig ist. Behüte mich, dass ich heute nicht wider dich sündige und etwa mein Gewissen beflecke mit fleischlichen Lüsten, welche wider die Seele streiten.
Bewahre auch meine Zunge vor Bösem und meine Lippen, dass sie nicht falsch reden oder trügen. Schandbare Worte und Narrenteiding, die den Christen nicht geziemen, lass ferne von mir sein. Hilf, dass ich mit meinen Lippen niemand ärgere noch afterrede, verurteile oder verdamme, auch niemand lästere oder schmähe. O, dass ich könnte ein Schloss an meinen Mund legen und ein festes Siegel auf mein Maul drücken, dass ich dadurch nicht zu Fall käme und meine Zunge mich nicht verderbte! Gib Gnade, dass ich mich selbst in meinen Gebrechen erkenne und strafe, damit ich nicht in dein gestreng Urteil und Gericht falle. Solches verleihe mir, ewiger Gott, durch Christum, deinen lieben Sohn. Amen.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Ps.28.9 — Save your people, and bless your inheritance; shepherd them, and carry them forever.
- ↩Ps.34.13;Ps.141.3 — Who is the person who desires life, who loves many days, that he may see good? Ps.141.3 — Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips.
- ↩Eph.5.4;Col.3.8 — and there must be no obscenity, or foolish talk, or coarse jesting—these are not fitting—but rather thanksgiving. Col.3.8 — But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.
- ↩Jas.4.11;Matt.7.1;Titus.3.2 — Do not speak against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother speaks against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. Matt.7.1 — Do not judge, so that you will not be judged. Titus.3.2 — to slander no one, to be peaceable, to be gentle, showing all humility toward all people.
- ↩1Cor.11.31 — But if we examined ourselves, we would not be judged.
Notes
- 1 ↩Schutz und Schirm is a fixed German prayer pair (protection and covering/shelter); rendered as 'protection and shelter' to keep both members without archaism.
- 2 ↩heilwärtige is early modern German for saving/salutary (heil + -wärtig); rendered 'saving' rather than the stiffer 'salutary'.
- 3 ↩fürbaß means henceforth/from now on; 'from now on' keeps the continuing-protection sense.
- 4 ↩Todsünde retained as 'mortal sin' for doctrinal specificity rather than softened to generic 'serious sin'.
- 5 ↩Tauwolke des Morgens kept as 'morning dew-cloud' to preserve the concrete meteorological image rather than flattening to mere 'morning mist'.
- 6 ↩rechtschaffener Gerechtigkeit rendered 'true righteousness' (upright/genuine), not merely 'civil righteousness'.
- 7 ↩Narrenteiding is early modern German for empty foolery / nonsense talk; rendered as 'foolish chatter'.
- 8 ↩afterrede is backbiting/gossip; rendered as 'gossip about them' to keep the speech-sin sense plain.
- 9 ↩Maul is coarser than Mund in modern German; both mean mouth here. Rendered as 'lips' for natural English parallel without crude register.
- 10 ↩strafe of oneself is self-correction/discipline, not merely legal punishment; rendered as 'correct myself'.
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