THE LANDLORD'S PRAYER OFFERING IN THE TEMPLE
O God, I thank Thee that I am not as other men. Thou art very wonderful and very kind — for Thou hast made me Thine own selected one!
All Thy works praise Thee — and yield their tribute to me! The earth, created Thou it — and gavest it to me!
The sea also is Thine, but Thou hast given me its bed for a long distance out from the shore — so that none may ride upon its waters without paying toll to me.
The firmament of the Heavens is Thine, and Thou hast set the sun therein to give light and warmth by day, likewise the moon and the stars whereby to radiate through the gloom and the darkness of the night, and these also enrich my exchequer.
Thou ridest Thy chariots in the clouds and causeth the winds to blow, and dost thereby still further increase my plenteousness.
Thou hast decreed that the non-elect of mankind shall live by labour, and hast conferred on me the power to make them hand over annual tribute to me and mine for the opportunity of so doing.
Thou hast ordained that the earth which Thou gavest me shall rise in value through the operation of natural laws and social factors, and hast appointed me to collect these enhanced values and to use them for myself and my house.
In further manifestation of Thy concern for me and mine, Thou hast commanded that the non-elect shall forge weapons for defending that which Thou hast given to me; that they — the non-elect — shall provide forces to use these weapons on my behalf, that they shall pay the capital costs thereof, and that they shall further provide out of their own common labors such funds as may be needed for feeding and clothing themselves and their dependents, and of providing compensation for the dependents of those who fall or are maimed and bruised whilst engaged in safeguarding Thy gifts to myself, in order that no toll shall be made upon Thy goodness to my house. Yea, Lord, I thank Thee that I am Thine own elect, and that Thy wonderful goodness is made plain in the tribute which Thy created handiwork brings to me and to my house. Amen, Amen, and yet again Amen.
—john Archer
This version was printed in Land and Freedom in 1917.
In another version, the final paragraphs read slightly differently:
In further manifestation of Thy concern for me and mine, Thou hast, in Thy wisdom, commanded the non-elect to forge weapons for defending that which Thou hast given me; that they shall provide the forces which shall wield these weapons in keeping secure for me that which Thou gavest me.
Thy favour to me and my house is further demonstrated in Thy command that the non-elect shall provide, out of the fruits of their labours, such monies as may be required to provide compensation to the dependents of those who fall, and to those who are maimed and bruised whilst defending us and our properties from our enemies, so that little or no toll shall be made upon Thy goodness to me and mine.
The Lord be praised for all His wonderful goodness to me and my house. Yea, Lord, it is good to be Thine own elected one. For all the favours of the past I thank Thee, and for the favours which are still to come I bless Thy holy name. Amen, and yet again Amen.
This version was printed back-to-back with the Prayer of the Landless.
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