Lightning, wind, and thunder rocked my boat.
Soaked, tossed, and shaken like a mote
Quickly listing starboard
No sign of the harbor.
End this wretched dream.
How long will I scream?
Calm the storm.
Smooth the sea.
Rescue me.
Stomach heaving, breathing comes in gasps.
Waves of rain cascade and drench my back.
Acid coats my throat.
I gag. I lose hope.
My temples pulse and throb
I look straight up and sob,
Calm the storm.
Still the waves.
Rescue me.
The water looked like glass when I set sail
The bow sliced smoothly through it mirrored skin
For hours I sipped coffee, leaned on rails
Unaware the breeze was tailed by wind,
Inky black had stained the cotton clouds.
Calm the storm.
Hush the wind.
Rescue me.
Deck shoes slipped, I fell and bruised my knee
Defeated on the deck, I wouldn’t see
You sketch a new horizon.
You hushed the wind.
You stilled the waves.
You smoothed the sea.
Despite my shallow faith,
In my most desperate need,
You calmed the storm.
You rescued me.
Psalm 6 in Limerick
1-2
O Lord, don't rebuke while you're mad
My body's in agony: bad!
Don't discipline rage-filled
lest my voice should be stilled.
Compassion and healing, please add.
3-4
Heartsick , I wonder, "How long
until you restore the sweet song
that hints 'you're returning'"
For rescue, I'm yearning:
Your unfailing love saves from wrong.
5-6
We can't sing your praise once we're dead.
Our song would lie silent instead.
I'm worn out from sobbing,
My wet pillow's robbing
The sleep that I need on my bed.
7-8
My vision's grief-blurred--tired, red eyes.
My enemies plot and plant lies.
Away evildoers:
Return to your sewers.
The Lord's heard my crying. I'll rise!
9-10
The listening Lord heard my plea.
He will answer my prayer, now, you'll see.
Disgraced, terrified, will
My enemies hide 'til
They think God's stopped favoring me.
O Lord, don't rebuke while you're mad
My body's in agony: bad!
Don't discipline rage-filled
lest my voice should be stilled.
Compassion and healing, please add.
3-4
Heartsick , I wonder, "How long
until you restore the sweet song
that hints 'you're returning'"
For rescue, I'm yearning:
Your unfailing love saves from wrong.
5-6
We can't sing your praise once we're dead.
Our song would lie silent instead.
I'm worn out from sobbing,
My wet pillow's robbing
The sleep that I need on my bed.
7-8
My vision's grief-blurred--tired, red eyes.
My enemies plot and plant lies.
Away evildoers:
Return to your sewers.
The Lord's heard my crying. I'll rise!
9-10
The listening Lord heard my plea.
He will answer my prayer, now, you'll see.
Disgraced, terrified, will
My enemies hide 'til
They think God's stopped favoring me.
Psalm 5 in English Sonnet form
1 O Lord, please, pay attention when I pray
And hear my groaning voice. 2 Afford my plea
For help a welcomed ear. I'll not betray
To singularly seek your aid. 3 From me
A morning supplication hear, O Lord.
Expectantly I bring requests to you.
4 O God, you shun delight in disaccord.
You cannot tolerate the slightest skew.
5 The proud cannot your presence stand, therefore.
For evildoers find your hatred just.
6 You will destroy the one who lies. What for?
Both murder and deceit find your disgust.
7 Because of your unfailing love, I come.
With deepest awe I worship. Silent--dumb.
8 Into the right path lead me, please, my Lord.
Or enemies will conquer me. To do,
To me make clear, my ought. Direct toward
Those turns that I should follow back to you.
9 My enemies can't speak one truthful word.
Their deepest wish? Destroy all other men!
Their talk is foul: a stenching , full boneyard .
In flattery they speak and lie again.
10 O God, declare their guilt. Themselves ensnare
By traps that they have laid. They're Rebels all!
Because they sin, away their drive prepare .
11 Let refugees in you rejoice--enthral !
12 The godly find your blessings, tidy sum
Invested girdling them tight as a drum.
And hear my groaning voice. 2 Afford my plea
For help a welcomed ear. I'll not betray
To singularly seek your aid. 3 From me
A morning supplication hear, O Lord.
Expectantly I bring requests to you.
4 O God, you shun delight in disaccord.
You cannot tolerate the slightest skew.
5 The proud cannot your presence stand, therefore.
For evildoers find your hatred just.
6 You will destroy the one who lies. What for?
Both murder and deceit find your disgust.
7 Because of your unfailing love, I come.
With deepest awe I worship. Silent--dumb.
8 Into the right path lead me, please, my Lord.
Or enemies will conquer me. To do,
To me make clear, my ought. Direct toward
Those turns that I should follow back to you.
9 My enemies can't speak one truthful word.
Their deepest wish? Destroy all other men!
Their talk is foul: a stenching , full boneyard .
In flattery they speak and lie again.
10 O God, declare their guilt. Themselves ensnare
By traps that they have laid. They're Rebels all!
Because they sin, away their drive prepare .
11 Let refugees in you rejoice--enthral !
12 The godly find your blessings, tidy sum
Invested girdling them tight as a drum.
Matt 3:8
"Prove by the way that you live that you have really turned from your sins and turned to God."
This makes me think of the song Evidence.
"If you were arrested for being a Christian,
Would there be enough evidence to convict you?"
How do you prove you believe? Peculiar behavior and language sets you apart. Do you have the proof?
This makes me think of the song Evidence.
"If you were arrested for being a Christian,
Would there be enough evidence to convict you?"
How do you prove you believe? Peculiar behavior and language sets you apart. Do you have the proof?
Psalm 4 in Trochaic Pentameter
1Answer when I call, O God, repeat my
Innocence. Remove distress from me and
Hear my pray’r. 2 My reputation spoil, how
Long? These groundless accusations brew? How
Long will you pursue these lies? 3 You can be
Sure of this: The Lord has set apart the
Godly for himself. The Lord will answer
When I call to him. 4 Don’t sin by letting
Anger gain control of you. About it,
Think all night and silence keep. 5 And in the
Lord must trust and offer sacrifices
True. 6 Say many people, “Who will show us
Better times?” Your smiling face shine on us,
Lord! 7 You’ve given greater joy than those who
Have abundant harvests: grain and wine. 8 In
Peace will I lie down and sleep for you, O
Lord, alone will keep me safe and sheltered.
Innocence. Remove distress from me and
Hear my pray’r. 2 My reputation spoil, how
Long? These groundless accusations brew? How
Long will you pursue these lies? 3 You can be
Sure of this: The Lord has set apart the
Godly for himself. The Lord will answer
When I call to him. 4 Don’t sin by letting
Anger gain control of you. About it,
Think all night and silence keep. 5 And in the
Lord must trust and offer sacrifices
True. 6 Say many people, “Who will show us
Better times?” Your smiling face shine on us,
Lord! 7 You’ve given greater joy than those who
Have abundant harvests: grain and wine. 8 In
Peace will I lie down and sleep for you, O
Lord, alone will keep me safe and sheltered.
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God....
I've often thought about whether we've gotten the intent of this Commandment wrong.
Perhaps it means that we don't call ourselves Christian (Hebrew, Israelite) and then refuse to act like Jesus' sibling (YHWH's child).
Tonight I re-read a well-circulated email and one of the quotes made me wonder about both our traditional interpretation (don't say the GD idiom) and my spin (avoid hypocrisy).
"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth." --Billy Age 4.
Both interpretations work with this one: How do we say His name? Can people tell we love him without our ever explicitly saying so, just by the way we say "LORD" or "God" or "Jesus"? Is His name safe in our mouths?
Hmmmm!
Perhaps it means that we don't call ourselves Christian (Hebrew, Israelite) and then refuse to act like Jesus' sibling (YHWH's child).
Tonight I re-read a well-circulated email and one of the quotes made me wonder about both our traditional interpretation (don't say the GD idiom) and my spin (avoid hypocrisy).
"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth." --Billy Age 4.
Both interpretations work with this one: How do we say His name? Can people tell we love him without our ever explicitly saying so, just by the way we say "LORD" or "God" or "Jesus"? Is His name safe in our mouths?
Hmmmm!
Psalm 3
Do you have any enemies?
No, not people who simply dislike you. We all have those. Personalities, likes, dislikes, food, music, many things cause people to have differences that cause them to pick one or ignore another.
I mean enemies. People who desire your destruction!
I don't. I can't name any, in any event.
On that score, I cannot really empathize with David. Entire nations opposed him. Personally--emotionaly, socialy, physicaly! They conspired to kill him.
In light of this psalm, I am thankful. Thankful to God that I do not have enemies.
No, not people who simply dislike you. We all have those. Personalities, likes, dislikes, food, music, many things cause people to have differences that cause them to pick one or ignore another.
I mean enemies. People who desire your destruction!
I don't. I can't name any, in any event.
On that score, I cannot really empathize with David. Entire nations opposed him. Personally--emotionaly, socialy, physicaly! They conspired to kill him.
In light of this psalm, I am thankful. Thankful to God that I do not have enemies.
Borrowed words
Sometimes the best thing we can say isn't original:
from the pens of Kipley Pete and Bart Millard [MercyMe]
I'm finding myself at a loss for words
and the funny thing is, it's okay.
The last thing I need is to be heard,
but to hear what you would say.
Word of God, speak! Would you pour down like rain
washing my eyes to see your majesty,
to be still and know that you're in this place.
Please, let me stay, and rest, in your holiness.
Word of God, speak!
I'm finding myself in the midst of you
beyond the music, beyond the noise.
All that I needed was to be with you
in the quiet, to hear your voice.
Word of God, speak! Would you pour down like rain
washing my eyes to see your majesty,
to be still and know that you're in this place.
Please, let me stay, and rest, in your holiness.
Word of God, speak!
Word of God, speak! Would you pour down like rain
washing my eyes to see your majesty,
to be still and know that you're in this place.
Please, let me stay, and rest, in your holiness.
Word of God, speak!
I'm finding myself at a loss for words
and the funny thing is, it's okay....
from the pens of Kipley Pete and Bart Millard [MercyMe]
I'm finding myself at a loss for words
and the funny thing is, it's okay.
The last thing I need is to be heard,
but to hear what you would say.
Word of God, speak! Would you pour down like rain
washing my eyes to see your majesty,
to be still and know that you're in this place.
Please, let me stay, and rest, in your holiness.
Word of God, speak!
I'm finding myself in the midst of you
beyond the music, beyond the noise.
All that I needed was to be with you
in the quiet, to hear your voice.
Word of God, speak! Would you pour down like rain
washing my eyes to see your majesty,
to be still and know that you're in this place.
Please, let me stay, and rest, in your holiness.
Word of God, speak!
Word of God, speak! Would you pour down like rain
washing my eyes to see your majesty,
to be still and know that you're in this place.
Please, let me stay, and rest, in your holiness.
Word of God, speak!
I'm finding myself at a loss for words
and the funny thing is, it's okay....
Psalm 2
Grumble. Rumble. Roar! 'til
"Freedom!" we sing.
Laughter
Invades liberty's licentious melody,
Insists justice's inescapability,
Implies royal ascendancy.
Bent knee or broken leg,
All will bow.
Volunteer or conscript?
Greater joy for one--embarassing capitulation for the other.
Oh to be the one and not the other!
"Freedom!" we sing.
Laughter
Invades liberty's licentious melody,
Insists justice's inescapability,
Implies royal ascendancy.
Bent knee or broken leg,
All will bow.
Volunteer or conscript?
Greater joy for one--embarassing capitulation for the other.
Oh to be the one and not the other!
Exhaustion
Today I tapped my reserves.
Practiced piano all morning.
Sang Barbershop all afternoon.
Rehearsed guitar all evening.
Engineered sound in the late hours.
Woke insomniac in the wee hours.
Returned a van in the early hours.
It's now 5 a.m. here after the time change.
I am exhausted.
Then I thought: God only knows exhaustion vicariously through His creation.
GOD himself is utterly incapable of EXHAUSTION!
Practiced piano all morning.
Sang Barbershop all afternoon.
Rehearsed guitar all evening.
Engineered sound in the late hours.
Woke insomniac in the wee hours.
Returned a van in the early hours.
It's now 5 a.m. here after the time change.
I am exhausted.
Then I thought: God only knows exhaustion vicariously through His creation.
GOD himself is utterly incapable of EXHAUSTION!
THE Thespian
The roar of the greaspaint
the smell of the crowd
grow instantly faint.
Though he doesn't speak loud
he commands attention
and, before he's bowed
paints character worth mention.
This life-ending role taints
every retention:
His robe is a shroud.
the smell of the crowd
grow instantly faint.
Though he doesn't speak loud
he commands attention
and, before he's bowed
paints character worth mention.
This life-ending role taints
every retention:
His robe is a shroud.
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