The Potter’s Work

To the tune WINCHESTER NEW (“On Jordan’s Bank”):

As clay within the potter's hand,
so are we, Lord, within your pow'r:
each one a vessel you have planned
and labor on by hour and hour.

Whatever shape shall please you, Lord,
we take but by your touch alone,
and oh! the work is long and hard
'til we into your way have grown.

Yet, Potter, still you stoop and shape
the clay you laid upon your wheel.
Your artistry, the care you take,
your handiwork on earth reveals.

And this we see in every work,
in every vessel you create:
indelibly your maker's mark
is written into every shape.

And as the earth beneath us spins,
your touch is on us ever, Lord.
Each turn a rising day begins
wherein you shape us more and more.

Then mold us, fill us with your breath,
nor stop until you stop the wheel.
Until the moment of our death,
Lord, keep your hand upon us still!