[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 54 (Wednesday, April 24, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S4003]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

                                 prayer

  The guest Chaplain, Maj. Tom Sillanpa, Salvation Army, Westfield, IN, 
offered the following prayer:
  O righteous Father and merciful God of hope, we would pause and 
ponder Thy Word from the psalmist: ``Mercy and truth are met together; 
righteousness and peace have kissed each other.''--Psalm 85:10. O Lord, 
Your covenant love and justice, our faithfulness and heart's repose, 
happily bless and unite Your people. It is the answer of hope, a 
message of peace and salvation, certain when God and men meet upon this 
terrestrial plain. We see an upright beam upholding Thy law. Ah! yet 
another, a horizontal beam picturing Thy loving-kindness--outstretched 
arms of mercy which would embrace the whole world. O Father, grant Thy 
well-being to our dear Senators serving Thee in righteousness. It 
exalts our Nation and brings glory to Thy name. Continue to mold a 
godly character in us all as we face the future unafraid and show 
unexpected strength and vision. For evil shall perish and righteousness 
shall reign in God's own good time as surely as the morning cometh. We 
pray in Jesus' holy name. Amen.

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