Another offering for “The Poetry Project” Read Psalm 88 Get Me Out of Here “Get me out of here” is all my heart wanted to say.I was surrounded.The mockers were many.Friends were few.Words were vicious.Every thought took me deeper into troubles.Every memory deeper into depression.Like one walking among the dead,Like one unremembered even by You, … More Get Me Out of Here
The “Poetry Project” is a period feature of the blog composed of “poetic” reflections on each of the psalms in the psalter. The goal is produce a poetic-ish reflection on either the whole psalm or some portion of the psalm. I’m not under any illusions. I am not a poet. I have a poets heart … More The Poetry Project: Teaching a Soul to Sing Again
Read Psalm 88 Sometimes called the “saddest psalm in the psalter” Psalm 88 is a psalm of deepest despair. But it is despair out of which there is a beam of hope shining brightly in the midst of its gloom. The English Standard editors supply the following heading: I Cry Out Day and Night Before … More 18 Verses, 1 Request: The Saddest Song in the Psalter
Psalm 32:1-2 (ESV) 1 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,and in whose spirit there is no deceit. Can a sinner in need ever grow weary of these verses?This one can’t. An offering for the Poetry Project Read … More When Sin Caught Me and Sent Me to Mercy
David writes to be remembered. It is not himself that he wants to be remembered. It is his God. David is enthralled with YHWH ( יְהֹוָה ). He is intoxicated with a vision of God and the knowledge of God’s greatness. Sixteen times he invokes the name of Israel’s God. Sixteen times he remembers that … More Have You Been Humbled into Gladness?
When you get to Psalm 96 in your reading through the Psalms, you have arrived at a Psalm intoxicated with the worthiness of God. The Psalmist knows his God and because he knows God he wants others to know Him. His Psalm is his invitation to the nations, to the all creation, to everything in … More What Revel’s “Bolero” Has in Common with Psalm 96
Sometimes we tell stories backward; Maybe most of the time. We announce the joy or sorrow and then we tell how it happened. “I got a new job!” and then we fill in the details. “My wife has been diagnosed with cancer,” and then we tell the story of how she hasn’t felt right for … More Writing the Story Backwards
I’m not a political junkie. But I did write a book on political leadership. It was a study through all the passages in the book of Proverbs that mentioned words like “king”, “governor”, “ruler” and words associated with ruling or judging. It was a close examination of what these leaders were commanded to do, what … More Doing Justice: The Job of Leaders
We are still traveling in West Virginia and I have little time to write, but here is a brief meditation and prayer based on a portion of Psalm 18. The Lord Praised for Giving Deliverance. Read Psalm 18 (esp. 1-3, and 25-29) An Offering for The Poetry Project Our Stronghold in the Darkness O LORD, my … More Psalm 18 Light Piercing Darkness
Read Psalm 28 A Prayer for Help, and Praise for Its Answer. The terms, metaphors and names of God in the 28th Psalm: LORD (vs. 1, 5, 6), YHWH My Rock (vs. 1), the LORD is my strength (vs. 7), the LORD is their strength (vs. 8) (or “… His people’s strength”) … More The Strength of the Weak
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