A Psalm Prayer

This prayer comes from Psalm 90:1-6, a scripture which always makes me think of the marvelous passage from Job 38 where God gets lavishly poetic with Job in describing the differences between humans and God.

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Our Father, Creator of the Universe,

You have been our help in every generation, and you will be our refuge for generations to come. Through storm and war, in times of peace and plenty, in all the great and small places of the earth, you were, you are, and you will be.

You laid the foundations of the earth while the morning stars sang and all the creatures of the universe shouted for joy. When the sea was born you clothed it with clouds and formed its limits. You know the warehouses of snow and hail, and the ways to the places the winds call home.

A thousand years is a long time for us, but it passes for you like yesterday’s dream. We arrive on earth and then are gone; “Return to the dust,” you say, and we become once again the clay of creation.

Be our guide while this life lasts. Be our hope for this brief span. And one bright morning, when this life is over, welcome us home.