12/9/10

Psalm 78

To wake is to see;
~~to awaken and see is to view a new sky.

To see as an eagle, which abides by the wisdom of the Lord, is to look to His delight;
~~to look to the light is to find the heart’s eye.

11/29/10

Psalm (follow) 93





Love God with all your heart, and follow your heart;
~~love God, heart, and follow.


The maiden flight risks all, full wing and emptying,
~~as does honest conversation.


First cast your heart onto the shore:
~~continents of wonderment will teem with being.


11/27/10

Psalm 77

Not Sultan, Shah, nor Caesar, none;
~~none but God and God alone:

He sends His blessed Rain, His human Word,
~~and once again, His Blessed endures the human sword.

The more able their attempts to wound,
~~the more capable is His Strength found.

The more they try to bury the Promised One,
~~the more their fury wish the Promise gone;
~~the more splendidly has His Light always shone.

11/11/10

Psalm (not untarnished) 92

not untarnished, not unflawed,
~~but restored;

not unsullied, not unscarred,
~~but pruned, trained, not unfruitful;

wiser from the lesson, stronger from the poison,
~~reborn, remade, not ungrateful

11/8/10

Psalm 76

Why must Your Love suffer, Lord;
~~why offer Your Word on Earth to teeth of cruelty?

And why do You say it is the work of the Pure,
~~and prisoning the Perfect will set men free?

10/19/10

Psalm (let us break bread) 91










As gently as night clouds taste the wafer moon,
~~let us break bread together this day, all brothers under the sky of heaven.

10/3/10

Psalm 75

My Lord is a wise Lord, wisdom born in the core, as surely as the heart envisions spring;
~~my King is a knowing King, knowledge risen from the root, as surely as the soul knows its way home.

9/18/10

Psalm (my commander) 90

Be my commander, Lord;
~~be my commander and chief.

Men give orders,
~~but you give order to the world.

Men range mountains,
~~but you make the mountains to range.

Man’s might, with all his war, is in your power;
~~with all your power to do as you might, Lord, hear my prayer:

free the captives of the world;
~~free a world captive to war.




9/4/10

Psalm (as...yet) 89

As the frail new birth protests, forced from warm waters into the sting of the light;
~~yet the enlightened spirit proclaims rebirth, strong on the shore, warmed by the word of the Lord.





7/25/10

Psalm (no other) 88

No fortress of stone nor palace of gold will still my soul;
~~not a fortress in mountain mist or palace of sun in a sapphire sky will still my ceaseless soul.

Nothing in my honor named on a banner,
~~not anything known of my renown raised on a towering standard;

None such as mother of pearl,
~~no one so much as queen of hearts;

Never a sword of glory,
~~not ever a saber of greatness in feat or threat;

Neither wellspring of healing nor fountain of youth,
~~not either diamond mine or lion’s pride, not even royal robe or cloak or warm-blooded coat;

Nor silver spoon and noble land,
~~neither any table spread with milk and honey;

Naught but God alone will fill the whole of my soul;
~~none ought but God, for no other will fill my soul.







6/26/10

Psalm 74

In Tehran, Husayn Ali was born;
~~in the heart of Persia and the throne of Iran, Baha’u’llah, the Glory of God, was born.

In the land of Ta, the Redeemer of All Mankind arose;
~~the Lord of the Covenant, the Sun of Righteousness arose.

In the 1817th year of our Lord, the Wronged One of the World appeared;
~~in the nineteenth century, in the middle east, the First and the Last was made manifest.

In the age of fading monarchs and fallen stars, the King of Glory emerged;
~~in the time of the end, the Day of God Himself began.



6/16/10

Psalm (Angels) 87








Angels, surround me, come down around me:
~~angels surround me, angels come down around me.

Angels, calm me:
~~angels calm me, comfort and console me.

Angels, guide me:
~~angels guide me, guard and teach me.

Angels, hear me:
~~angels hear me.








6/2/10

Psalm of the River 86

I will sing your verses, O my Ocean;
~~I will sing your sacred waves on the shore of my soul.

I will stir the air to hear the spirit of your prayer;
~~I will lift my voice the way a water’s body raises rain to touch the land.

I will be a song of devotion, a storm of passion, a stream of praise;
~~I will be a rage of river that roars its way to the sea.

.











5/23/10

Psalm (May 23) 85












Raise my spirit, O my soul, to such rays of inspiration that I find myself above the realm of rise and fall;
~~rouse my sight, O my soul, to the site of streaming light, past days of shameless waste and the dark hunger of night.

Lift my innocence, O my soul, like a windborne seed;
~~begin an air of wonder in newfound life, O my soul, with a wakened planting, like a beaming stand of trees, or a grace of ease to stand on the springborn’s first morning.















5/7/10

Psalm 73

What have I to give, Lord, and what have I to offer?
~~What gifts have I save the favors You have given me?

Your presence moves within me the way spring hyacinths refresh the wind;
~~Your purpose moves me the way the questions of a child at play renew a man’s strength to plow and plant.

4/25/10

Psalm 72

As cycles and seasons restore the nature of the world,
~~so signs and scriptures renew the religion of the Lord;

and the divine is in the man
~~as the tree is in the seed.

4/14/10

Psalm (Be) 84

Be honest, and the Lord will show you truth;
~~be pure, and He will reveal your virtue.

Be content, and He will provide your already-answered prayer;
~~be patient, and He will prepare your saved place before His open door.



4/3/10

Psalm 71

Celebrate your Creator, people of God and children of men;
~~praise the Summoner of Dawn and Decider of the End:



though He is beyond above,
~~He sends pure warmth like the sun;



though He is outside understanding,
~~He sends illumination like a mirror, His Perfect One.



3/30/10

Psalm (Easter) 83

How great is the risen Lord,
~~and great is His return.

Before Abraham was, I am
~~the Anointed One,

The Glory of God,
~~the Promised One.







3/29/10

Psalm 70

Help me, Lord, for he who seeks a sprouting at the time of spring
~~will also seek the toil of early stirring:

help me set my first step into the vernal season of Your testament,
~~for I have put frail feet within the warming law of Your covenant.


3/24/10

Psalm 69

Deep within my dark and my desire, O Labyrinth of Love,
~~Hear me in my fear and lead me:
~~for You have sent me, You await me.




3/6/10

Psalm 68

O wonderful is the Founder of Love, Who made us,
~~and a wonder is the Master of the Mystery of Love.

He forms from love the way the potter places an embrace in clay to render a vessel as proven as a friend,
~~the way the lutenist brings bliss from silence, the way the luthier hears with his hands.

How can it be He makes us like Himself, when gleaners search the Earth for seeds of Eden,
~~and poets stack similes skyward toward an incomparable heaven?

When He makes a shape of loving purpose, it becomes heart-like,
~~and man, mainly water, rain-like, clearer than glass; in sunlight, purer than a church of stained glass.

2/23/10

Psalm 67

Fortunate are the hopeful, who opt not to follow the doubtful, neither accompany the proud, nor attend the vain divided by pride like earth that breaks apart;
~~And favored are the faithful, believers in peace, filled with the promise that lights the minds of men.

For the reward of the watchful is now to be seen: the time of peace emerging like the sudden butterfly waiting, wings formed and filling,
~~the hour of absolute knowing, still, to be astonished at its flight.





2/20/10

Psalm (healing and wellbeing) 82

Joy in the Lord is my home,
~~and delight in His will is my dwelling.

I make room for His grace,
~~but never is there a place for walls of pride.

The open door of His word is my all;
~~the warm and open door of His word is my all-abiding all.

I welcome the Lord:
~~come in, Lord, and I am well.

Should I fall ill, the shelter of the Lord will be my healing,
~~and should I fail, the healing Lord will be the shelter of my fall.






1/24/10

Psalm 66

The Lord has honored His promise:
~~He has offered us His Promised One.

In scripture, His name is known:
~~In tablets of stone, His name is found, and also in psalm His sign.

Who is the Promised One, called The Glory of God?
~~He is Baha'u'llah, the glory of the love-ripened promise of God.


1/18/10

Psalm 65*

Ancient Presence, ever-present,
~~restore our "make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands,"
for the God of faith brings us together:
~~the faith of God gathers us, all humankind.

Intimate Mystery of the ardent heart,
~~refresh "we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture,"
for the God of faith brings together every kind:
~~the faith of God gathers us, all humankind.

Endless Beginning of love,
~~renew "the Lord is good," revive "his truth endureth to all generations,"
for the God of faith brings together every human:
~~the faith of God gathers us, all humankind.


* Psalm 65 begins a presentation of the Baha'i Faith ("Anna's Presentation") which will continue over the next several entries.

1/1/10

Psalm 64

The word of the Lord is a glorious gift: share it.
His test is a lesson: teach it.
His kingdom brings new life, as joyous as a royal birth: announce it.
His command is above all lands, neither right nor left of the limbs of man: raise His call.
His plan, gained in the end, brings humans to humanity: further it.
His love is a firm foundation, the earth a sign: consider it, consider this humble love.
His cause is the banner of unity, His beauty in every view: gather together under it, one body, one soul.
His message is a weighty book and a mighty decree: for His glory, show it, make it known.