On the wings of the wind

After 2 Samuel 22 

I ride the wings

of the wind, lifted

from danger and

peril and my own

stupidity and sin,

lifted and cleansed,

brought into presence,

carried through and

over the fire, over 

the storm, arriving

at a place of safety,

of peace, peace within

my own soul.

 

Photograph by Irina Iriser via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Some Friday Readings

 

The Mad Farmer on Claude, AI, and the Church – Hayden Nesbit at Mere Orthodoxy.

 

“Idle,” poem by Anne Corkett – D.S. Martin at Kingdom Poets.

 

Psalm 119 in Eight Words – Andrew Wilson at Think Theology.

 

“Lord, Who Throughout These 40 Days,” hymn by Claudia Hernaman – Anthony Esolen at Word & Song.

 

What else does God name? – Seth Lewis.

Remembering a song

After 2 Samuel 22 

I remember a song

I sang before, long before,

a song to celebrate,

a song to remember

my rescue ar a time

of peril, a time

of disaster, a time

when my life seemed

over. Yet it wasn’t.

I sang a song

of deliverance, a song

of rescue, a song

of salvation, a song

of redemption fom

disaster. I sang

the song then;

I sing the song

now.

 

Photograph by Hailey Reed via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Some Thursday Readings

 

Holy Sonnet VII by John Donne – D.S. Martin at Kingdom Poets.

 

“Psalm XIII,” poem by Sir Philip Sidney – Sally Thomas at Poems Ancient and Modern.

 

“When Jesus Left His Father’s Throne,” hymn by James Montgomery – Anthony Esolen at Word & Song.

 

Right Here – poem by Seth Lewis.

A time of trouble

After Daniel 12:1-13 

Warning: trouble ahead.

Promise: deliverance.

A time unlike any

before, a time 

of trouble, danger,

death, destruction, war

and desolation, yet

a door opens, slightly,

a sliver of light shines

through the darkness,

the light of deliverance

and salvation for the people

enduring, their names

recorded. They slip

through the door; they

enter the light, saved

from destruction ongoing.

 

Photograph by Jordy Meow via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Found in the book

After Daniel 11:21-12:3 

Destruction and death

unimaginable, but then

a sliver of light, a people

protected, a people

delivered, all of whose

names are written

in the book, some

to awake to life and

some to awake to shame.

Those in life shine

in brightness of the sky,

the righteousness

of the stars

eternal.

 

Photograph by Alif Caesar Rizqi Pratama via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Not the natural order

After Exodus 6:1-8

It’s not the natural order.

no matter what the theorists

and philosophers say;

you have

no betters

except me.

Nothing stands

between us.

The natural order is

I am

you are

I am the

you are my

I am the Lord

you are my beloved

I am the Lord your

you are my beloved people

I am the Lord your God

and I will deliver

you.

Photograph by Artak Petrosyan via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Not a contract

After Exodus 6:1-8

Not a contract,

not an I do this

and you do that.

Instead, a statement:

you will see what

I will do.

Instead: a promise

without contingency.

I will bring you out.

I will deliver you.

I will take you.

I will be.

I will give.

Instead: a promise

forever. 

Photograph by Cytonn Photography via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Gates besieged

After Micah 5:1-5

The troops besiege

the gates, the city

trembles, seeking

deliverance as

the soldiers scream

and shout and shake

the gates.

A cry goes up:

Who will deliver us

who will save us

from the locust army

surrounding us, ready

to devour us

A voice:

From the small

from the tiny

comes salvation

and the source is

Bethlehem

Photograph by Hakon Sataoen via Unsplash. Used with permission.

To sing a song

After Psalm 6

I sing a song,

a story, a biography

of anguish and sorrow,

a song that reaches

outward and upward

to the ears that hear,

the ears that listen,

the heart that heeds

and responds, overwhelming,

as arms embrace me,

as heart that keeps time

surrounds me,

making my song

a note in its own.

Photograph by Laith Abuabdu via Unsplash. Used with permission.

We sit in darkness

After Isaiah 33

We sit in darkness,

surrounded, besieged

on all sides, defenses

exhausted, resources

gone, given to appease,

given in vain, nothing

left, nothing to give,

allies vanished, the brave

weeping in the streets,

abandoned and naked,

exposed to destruction.

Only then do we pray

only then do we seek

only then do we throw

   ourselves at his feet

only then

only then does the wind blow.

Photograph by George Hodan via Public Domain Pictures. Used with permission.

The foreigner

After Isaiah 45

I wouldn’t have imagined

in my wildest fantasies

that he would anoint and bless

and raise up a foreigner

to bring justice to his people,

a feared one, a king, and bring

him honor and glory and

strength and riches to use

to reestablish his people,

without price, without reward,

to do it because it was just

and right and ordained.

Never would I have imagined

this. Never.

But he did.

Photograph by Julie Gentry via Public Domain Images. Used with permission.