a prayer of the seeker of the ancient way Jun 3, 2026

Thus says the lord,
stand at the crossroads and look,
and ask for the ancient paths,
where the good way lies; And walk in it,
and find rest for your souls.

Does not wisdom call,
and does not understanding raise her voice?
On the heights, beside the way,
at the crossroads she takes her stand...

Listen to me, you that pursue righteousness,
you that seek the lord.
Look to the rock from which you were hewn,
and to the quarry from which you were dug.

The heavens are telling the glory of god,
and the dome proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours forth speech,
and night to night declares knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words;
Their voice is not heard.
Yet their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.

Where were you when i laid the foundation of the earth?...
Who determined its measurements?...
Or who stretched the line upon it?
On what were its bases sunk,
or who laid its cornerstone
when the morning stars sang together
and all the children of god shouted for joy?

Or who shut in the sea with doors
when it burst out from the womb?
When i made the clouds its garment,
and thick darkness its swaddling band,
and prescribed bounds for it,
and set bars and doors, and said,
"Thus far shall you come, and no farther,
and here shall your proud waves be stopped"?

Who has cut a channel for the torrents of rain,
and a way for the thunderbolt,
to bring rain on a land where no one lives,
on the desert, which is empty of human life,
to satisfy the waste and desolate land,
and to make the ground put forth grass?

Who has put wisdom in the inward parts,
or given understanding to the mind?...
Who provides for the raven its prey,
when its young ones cry to god,
and wander about for lack of food?...
Is it by your wisdom that the hawk soars,
and spreads its wings toward the south?

Have we not all one father?
Has not one god created us?
Why then are we faithless to one another,
profaning the covenant of our ancestors?

I know that you can do all things,
and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted...
I have uttered what i did not understand,
things too wonderful for me, which i did not know...
I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
but now my eye sees you, therefore i despise myself,
and repent in dust and ashes.

Search me, o god, and know my heart;
Test me and know my thoughts.
See if there is any hurtful way in me,
and lead me in the ancient way.

When you are angry, do not sin;
Ponder it on your beds, and be silent.
Be angry but do not sin;
Do not let the sun go down on your anger.

Cast away from you all the transgressions
that you have committed against me,
and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit!
Why will you die, o house of israel?
For i have no pleasure in the death of anyone,
says the lord god.
Turn, then, and live.

The lord created me as the beginning of his way...
When there were no depths i was brought forth...
When he established the heavens, i was there...
When he assigned to the sea its limit...
When he marked out the foundations of the earth,
then i was beside him, like a master worker, like a little child...
rejoicing before him always... and delighting in the sons of man.

I have called you in righteousness.
I have taken you by the hand and kept you.
I have given you as a covenant to the people,
a light to the nations,
to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness.

I have put my words in your mouth,
and hidden you in the shadow of my hand,
stretching out the heavens
and laying the foundations of the earth,
and saying to zion, "you are my people."

The lord has given me the tongue of a teacher,
that i may know how to sustain the weary with a word.
Morning by morning he wakens---
wakens my ear to listen as those who are taught.
The lord god has opened my ear,
and i was not rebellious.
I did not turn backward.

Righteous father,
the world does not know you,
but i know you...
I made your name known to them,
and i will make it known,
so that the love with which you have loved me
may be in them.

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a prayer of the seeker of the ancient way

links to: light and time, stone monuments in the far depth

all writing, chronological
previous: carrying a tune