The magnificent prayer in Neh. 9:5–38 expresses how creation and covenant come together in the historical tradition of a redeemed and redemptive people. The occasion is one of corporate confession of a disastrous failure to keep the covenant, and of renewal before the gracious God who does not give up on us. The first part of the prayer is the “address,” which we studied in chapter 7. The two crucial elements stated in the address are, precisely, creation and covenant:
