DELIVER US FROM EVIL

From a prayer service for Judge Joan Lefkow's slain husband and mother:

"Deliver the souls of your servants from the power of evil," the people in the church prayed.

They turned to the 70th Psalm.

"Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked,

from the clutches of the evildoer and the oppressor…"

They read "Ministrations at the Time of Death," the basic text for a funeral service.

"From all evil, from all sin, from all tribulation ..."

"Good Lord, deliver them."

And then they turned to a final prayer, a prayer that sounded as though it had been written in memory of Michael Lefkow and Mrs. Humphrey.

"Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; Give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love's sake."

Hat tip to First Draft.