Defender of the poor and the powerless,
You speak into the messy edges of life
the theft of animals,
the loss of property,
the harm done by carelessness or greed.
Your justice is not about crushing the guilty under shame,
but about making things right.
You command restitution
more returned than was taken
so that justice restores rather than simply punishes.
You make room for mercy,
allowing the guilty to repay in labor
when their hands are empty of silver.
You protect the sojourner,
the widow,
and the orphan,
and You warn that to oppress them
is to invite Your own fierce anger.
You promise to hear their cries,
because You are the God who heard ours.
You forbid charging interest to the poor,
because generosity is not meant to be exploited.
You command that even a borrowed cloak
be returned before nightfall,
for You know the chill of the desert
and care for the warmth of the vulnerable.
You call for reverence
not to curse You or revile leaders,
but to honor the order You have established.
You call Your people to bring the first of the harvest,
to offer what is best,
because all of it is Yours.
Lord, make my heart quick to restore
what I have damaged.
Teach me to look at the needy
without calculating their worth to me,
and to help without holding the debt over them.
Let my compassion be swift,
my justice generous,
and my reverence genuine.
In the name of Jesus,
who paid my debt in full
and defends the cause of the needy,
Amen.