PsalmSpeak

Psalm 136

2011-12-27T16:19:00.002-05:00

May you soar beyond your search,
~~and may you find the Source of love.

May you see your knowledge as a gift and favor,
~~not to beam or overshadow,
~~but to warm the fruit of unity.

May the spirit of your surrender brook such contentment
~~as to melt the winter mountain’s power,
~~and stream a secret valley of budding wonder.

And may your pooling will evaporate and rise to a high place,
~~and then be gently sent to green the faith of every living thing.

Psalm 135

2011-12-23T12:59:00.002-05:00

Pastel petals, bright-ripened spikes; bitter medicine from sweet poison:
~~my Lord, the giver.

Camouflaged predator, camouflaged prey; clever cover with clear purpose:
~~my Lord, the giver.

Measurement, infinity; oneness and one:
~~my Lord, the giver.

Natural disaster, natural wonder; folding an order in forming another:
~~my Lord, the giver, giver of treasure, coin of loss and gain.

Psalm 134

2011-12-16T10:23:00.001-05:00

Generation follows generation,
~~and son follows father.
Abdu’l-Baha, perfect follower of perfection,
~~son and light of the Blessed Perfection:
His example was set ray by ray and hope;
~~and in His twilight He set a plan to continue His work,
~~for generations sun by sun to continue His work.

Psalm 133

2011-10-15T13:18:00.000-04:00

Contented generations worship in the traditions of their fathers;
~~the centered bend their knees from the loins of their origins.

Believers sense Your wonder, Lord, and find a towering view;
~~they realize Your reason in their minds.

But I am poor in You, Lord; I mourn with the orphan,
~~and I hold nothing greater than the openness of his hand.

Psalm 132

2011-09-15T02:03:00.002-04:00

Where, Lord, are your children of community,
~~and where are your children of human unity?

Where are your former rule and order, Lord,
~~and honored borders under your sovereignty?

The seed of this generation is scattered past reach:
~~is this your plan?

As the ripened fruit drops and rolls its core to a new place,
~~and winged seeds flutter in the wayward wind,

and as the burr and barb snarl in fur and feather,
~~so they all fall by your design and plant a sign of your good nature:

and as surely as your friend the squirrel will lodge more acorns than he needs,
~~so each new life will embrace a greater season’s company.

Psalm 131

2011-09-08T23:56:00.001-04:00

Saving Grace, save us from the safe war, unmanned arms that captivate our minds: at their impact, I quake.
~~God, spare us the undeclared war, the terror of surrender to it: this new wave.
~~Set down the horror of remote war: the minute detail it leaves in its wake.

We praise the wonder of wireless fire,
~~we prize the ash of earth where we see the target die,
~~and we believe this artificial ease will become less dire.

Keep us, Lord, until the rain of self-propelled intelligence is seen as drought,
~~until a reign of peace is found,
~~until we have in hand the nearest perfect end for which we fought.

Psalm 130

2011-09-02T19:04:00.001-04:00

They say war can be won;
~~they say in war we stand to gain:

I say the soul has stepped back before training has begun;
~~I say our ground is set back if we march to win.

Psalm 129

2011-08-26T13:21:00.002-04:00

In home and travel, love;
~~if plan or puzzle, love;

from need or nourishment, love;
~~when seed or tree, love;

whether stored or spent, love;
~~when the neck of hope is broken, love;

whatever color and clear, love;
~~from temple to ankle, love;

above sold or stolen, love;
~~under one in anger, love;

although wronged, love;
~~even as soon as wronged, love;

my child, blue spruce, white pine, green tree, yellow daffodil,
~~do everything with love;

again, again, again, my love,
~~love.

Psalm 128

2011-08-26T13:20:00.000-04:00

A good life is a turning, as the sun’s flower, the day’s eye;
~~a strong breath of the soul is a nearing, like a prayer:

in the morning, the hope, the offering;
~~ in the evening, the reflection, the thanksgiving.

Psalm 127

2011-08-26T13:19:00.000-04:00

He that follows the word of the Lord
~~will lead the world to the Lord.

Psalm 126

2011-08-16T17:22:00.000-04:00

Hush awake, dear ones,
~~hush awake, darlings;

winter wolves and summer swans,
~~new spirit, new soul,

and gulls on the sail:
~~darlings, take your waking places.

Push away shadows, push away veils,
~~push away hollow dreams, their voiceless, unmoved, blind world;

nations and borders,
~~new eyes, new ways,

and undreamed grace of unknown peace:
~~dear ones, wash away your haze and wake a new vision of morning.

Psalm 125

2011-08-12T17:54:00.001-04:00

This I will remember when I take flight above my grave,
~~and this I will remember when I face the breaking day of sky:

that through the flood of life’s proud fire,
~~and in the quake of tears and time,

You remembered me, Lord,
~~and You increased my span until the moment I could fly.

Psalm 124

2011-08-12T17:53:00.002-04:00

Young, without a care, I had a good-luck rabbit’s foot;
~~I carried a silver-chained rabbit’s foot, not knowing its true owner.

Long ago lost, the dead foot unlocked a lesson:
~~the Lord of tender mercies frees the luckless child’s burden.

Psalm 123

2011-07-01T22:56:00.001-04:00

Let me come closer, Lord,
~~and come closer to me.

As psalmic lines move finger pilgrims over paper,
~~so make the measure of my verse, Lord, ever closer.

Psalm 122

2011-07-01T22:55:00.000-04:00

God enlightened His children as they grew;
~~He put forth a season of wildflowers in a promised land.

His early lovers called on Him in cycles of serpentine struggles;
~~the brave and frightened psalmist of Zion also called on Him.

In time, the Lord made youth from the lining of the child;
~~He raised His warmed ones to outgrow their ancient unawakened ways.

Soft rays dispersed cloudy young minds,
~~and mild rains filtered the dust of childhood.

Youth grew into a great century of light, filled and satisfied;
~~in this day, Earth is such a youth, robust, rebellious, in sweet ripeness and pride.

With dread and judgment, the Father Himself will appear to still this natural struggle;
~~the Lord will show their wandering the way.

Surely youth in all their wild lands will look toward light and glory;
~~they will walk toward light and glory along this rocky floor of the sky.

Psalm 121

2011-07-01T22:54:00.000-04:00

Set a table, celebrate and eat;
~~set out a feast after the yearly month of fasting.

What shall we eat in the beginning of spring, before the planting?
~~Before the Ridvan meeting and its planning, what shall we eat?

Winter greens over-winter underground;
~~feel the burst of fresh miracles as they become your mouth.

Psalm 120

2011-06-26T01:30:00.000-04:00

Where will the knight’s quest end,
~~and what will the pure knight find?

Enemies may cross his path,
~~and castle treasures tempt him.

Such were the Templar keepers who settled the foot of Mount Carmel;
~~they found their aim not an end, but the world’s center. Amen.

Psalm 119

2011-06-24T20:48:00.000-04:00

May the loving God comfort you with his name, the Comforter.

May the God of grace bless you in his name, the Blessed Beauty.

May the one true God be your trust by his name, the Spirit of Truth.

May the God of the prophets keep you through his name, the Promised One.

May the God of faith call you to his name, the Glory of God.

Psalm 118

2011-06-24T20:47:00.000-04:00

Praise the God of ages, who embraces us with the days of Ayyam-i-Ha,
~~moments like notes of his glad song,
~~dark and dawn like text on a page in his book of glory.

Psalm 117

2011-06-24T20:46:00.001-04:00

Praise the Giver of clear flowing rivers;
~~Thank the Bringer of pure misting falls.

As waters relinquish and vapors rise,
~~So the earth-bound release their souls to fly.

As rains replenish and settle fields of prayer,
~~So the time-bound find their souls renewed.

He has restored paradise through the clouds of glory;
~~In a drop through the gate of heaven, the place-bound are reborn.

Psalm 116

2011-06-24T20:45:00.000-04:00

Please, friend, if you seek a home of peace, family of man, divine foundation, windows to heaven;
~~pray a prayer, praise; sing a hymn, proclaim; raise a psalm: speak!

Psalm 115

2011-06-24T20:44:00.000-04:00

How can a helpless human survive immersed in water?
~~How is it feeblekind survives immersed nine months in water?

How can an infant overcome the aching tides of need and letting go?
~~Lord, help me pass the tempting waves of hope and having, past beginning to being.

Psalm 114

2011-06-24T20:43:00.000-04:00

For man, His mystery, the God of all accords a science to His will;
~~the Lord wraps wonder in His order that man may marvel at His rule.

Psalm 113

2011-06-24T20:42:00.000-04:00

Love is a call
~~and love, the message.

Love is a gift
~~and the gift’s long-lived use.

Love is the path a pilgrim follows
~~on his journey home.

Psalm 112

2011-06-24T20:41:00.000-04:00

The fledgling breaks free and sails in a smooth glide following nature’s will, but the freedom of human will is not smooth:
~~man is like the quavering of a fragile branch, a twig’s tremor as winged hope springs to flight.

Psalm 111

2011-06-24T20:40:00.000-04:00

Seed of Abraham, flower of brotherhood: Alleluia.
~~tree of life, root of remembrance and reunion: Allah’u’abha.

Psalm 110

2011-06-24T20:39:00.001-04:00

The principled man finds God within his midnight-perfect heart;
~~The pure soul severs his hushed, sweet sin.

The devoted one beholds God within his dearly-embraced free heart;
~~The loving soul rests his fever-born desire.

The accomplished self communes with God in his unicorn-beautiful true heart;
~~The worthy soul forfeits his gleaming, treasured fraud.

The inspired life discovers God within his desert-nested beating heart;
~~The creative soul relinquishes his hollow, howling void.

The perceptive mind remembers God within his ghostly certain heart;
~~The wise soul lays down his gossamer shroud of misery.

The faithful voice regains God within his king-bowing followed heart;
~~The brave soul forsakes his ready, bloodhounded dread.

The thankful spirit divines God within his ever-emptying full heart;
~~The joyous soul burns the flame of his glorious pain.

The powerful figure unearths God in his dragon-egg innocent heart;
~~The strong soul guts his finely fortified will.

The peaceful being faces God in his light-blinding whole heart;
~~The balanced soul drops his endless, beginningless fall.

Psalm 109

2011-06-21T11:22:00.000-04:00

Still in my dream and imagining: awake, Apocalypse!
~~Four horsemen are riding; four horsemen are writing with fire in the night fields, writing with stars on silver snow.

Wondrous vision, burning earth, I see a dark dawn:
~~Why raise my eyes to early embers?

It is the will of my Beloved: My eyes open in flames of love,
~~a Covenant as strong as the Holy City, a morning star, its heaven and Bride, the Holy Mountain, its gold dome.

Psalm 108

2011-06-21T11:20:00.000-04:00

The fearful set the world ablaze and turn its heart to ash,
~~but the faithful move the world;
~~they set the hearts ablaze and turn the earth to God.

Psalm 107

2011-06-21T11:18:00.001-04:00

As the eagle wields its sight for life, O Lord,
~~so let me see Your signs in Scripture, the mysteries of Your Word.

Psalm 106

2011-06-21T11:17:00.000-04:00

Who is Baha’u’llah, my Lord?
~~Who is my Lord? Baha’u’llah.

Psalm 105

2011-06-21T11:16:00.000-04:00

Praise God as the mineral kingdom praises God;
~~lift your voice as the rocks, mountains, rivers, air.

Praise God as the plant kingdom praises him;
~~lift your voice as the clover on the prairie, the ancient giant sequoia.

Praise God as the animal kingdom praises God;
~~lift your voice as the wolf whether lone or in the pack.

Praise God as the child of the kingdom gives him praise;
~~uplift your voice as the returned adult, having seen the saint.

Praise him;
~~give him praise.

Psalm 104

2011-06-21T11:14:00.000-04:00

Men shout power over my voice;
~~men, as cruel as children, shout power; they are crowned world’s owners over my voice.

They leave me nothing in a loud void;
~~they leave my company; I am nothingness in a just God.

I know them; I was once that child:
~~I, unknowing, was once childish, judging I was nothing like them, proud.

How can the child find himself above even a beast?
~~How blessed the man like a creature that hears past human voice, even high, even low.

Psalm 103

2011-06-21T11:13:00.000-04:00

One is God,
~~and none other.

His aim will not be scattered;
~~his heart will not be broken.

Psalm 102

2011-06-21T11:12:00.001-04:00

The Lord is my healer;
~~my soul is well in his all-healing hand.

My spirit is whole in the arm of his care;
~~the Holy One is my cure.

Give me medicine from the physician who follows him;
~~give me a remedy from the doctor who hallows him.

Psalm 101

2011-06-21T11:10:00.000-04:00

I set my feet in fields where you dwell, O Lord, in meadows swelled with chamomile;
~~I press my heels on hillocks where you ripen petaled eyes and there I sense a spray of yellow solace.

From your scent, the fragrance of lavender warms my bath;
~~from your palate, the flavor of coriander fills my bowl.

Let the greenlings of all the earth fall before me on a path that leads me only to your nearness;
~~let my desires descend from the ever-higher mountain pass.

Make my wonder at your handiwork a world of joy;
~~make my comfort the secrets of love you cradle in the folds of a rose.

Psalm 100

2011-06-21T11:09:00.000-04:00

Blessed is the daughter who loves the Lord as the willow loves the river,
~~as the slender branch loves the river and the wren.

Blessed is the son who loves God as stone loves the earth,
~~as soft, pure marble loves its earthly calling and the sculptor’s angel song.

Psalm 99

2011-06-21T11:08:00.001-04:00

As an upright man protects his daughter,
~~so shall I be mindful of my maiden thought.

Psalm 98

2011-06-21T11:07:00.001-04:00

As the glow of the moon shows the hidden work of the sun,
~~so the work of The Hidden Words shows the light of religion as one.

Psalm 97

2011-06-21T11:06:00.001-04:00

Let me look up, Lord, from my low place to the point of your wisdom;
~~let me be eye and eagle circling the high peak, absorbed by a crystal of snow.

Psalm 96

2011-06-21T11:03:00.000-04:00

Father of the fatherless, Friend of the friendless, Forgiver of the unforgiven,
~~One without whom my soul is utterly abandoned:

when my hope alone asks not to be forbidden,
~~unlock and open the hosts of heaven!

Psalm 95

2011-06-21T11:01:00.000-04:00

Psalm, praise grace and bliss.
Psalm, voice noise and glory.
Psalm, silence tears and sorrow.
Psalm, sing joy and heaven.

Psalm 81

2011-05-15T17:37:00.001-04:00

In its nature a dog will guide and guard, will herd and sled,
~~and in its working will obediently lead:
~~such is my course set in the land of the Lord.

Psalm 80

2011-05-10T14:16:00.004-04:00

Said the ascendant Lord: turn to the master,
~~follow him;

said the master: I am the servant,
~~follow me.

Psalm (to forgive) 94

2011-04-23T16:55:00.006-04:00

Teach me to forgive, Lord;
~~teach me to give as before.

I was an innocent injured, offended, orphaned;
~~I was abandoned to wander the hungry mouth of night.

In the belly of pain, I was fit with anger;
~~in desire's dark gut, my force was seized with war and prayer.

Seeking comfort aside from the Comforter, I was shaken: forgive me;
~~following power outside the Almighty, I was broken: teach me to be pure.

That I may give as You give, Lord,
~~lead me to myself once more.

Psalm 79

2011-02-05T17:24:00.002-05:00

In this place is the heart of the world;
~~the center of desire is in this sacred home.

In its embrace are two holy shrines;
~~pilgrims enter a fortified city, an embattled country,
~~land and limb blessed by the tree of life, its seed of peace.

Psalm 78

2010-12-09T09:26:00.001-05:00

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.

Psalm (follow) 93

2010-11-29T16:16:00.003-05:00

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.

Psalm 77

2010-11-27T19:06:00.004-05:00

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.

Psalm (not untarnished) 92

2010-11-11T17:53:00.002-05:00

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

Psalm 76

2010-11-08T14:39:00.001-05:00

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?

Psalm (let us break bread) 91

2010-10-19T14:00:00.004-04:00

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

Psalm 75

2010-10-03T02:46:00.002-04:00

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.

Psalm (my commander) 90

2010-09-18T01:39:00.003-04:00

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.

Psalm (as...yet) 89

2010-09-04T23:53:00.004-04:00

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.

Psalm (no other) 88

2010-07-25T17:09:00.005-04:00

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.

Psalm 74

2010-06-26T23:44:00.003-04:00

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.

Psalm (Angels) 87

2010-06-16T18:59:00.005-04:00

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.

Psalm of the River 86

2010-06-02T12:06:00.004-04:00

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.
.

Psalm (May 23) 85

2010-05-23T07:45:00.006-04:00

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.

Psalm 73

2010-05-07T00:24:00.003-04:00

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.

Psalm 72

2010-04-25T17:21:00.003-04:00

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.

Psalm (Be) 84

2010-04-14T17:28:00.002-04:00

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.

Psalm 71

2010-04-03T10:13:00.002-04:00

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.

Psalm (Easter) 83

2010-03-30T14:10:00.003-04:00

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.

Psalm 70

2010-03-29T20:16:00.001-04:00

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.

Psalm 69

2010-03-24T20:43:00.002-04:00

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.

Psalm 68

2010-03-06T23:41:00.001-05:00

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.

Psalm 67

2010-02-23T02:23:00.005-05:00

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.

Psalm (healing and wellbeing) 82

2010-02-20T13:14:00.006-05:00

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.

Psalm 66

2010-01-24T07:46:00.003-05:00

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.

Psalm 65*

2010-01-18T11:28:00.006-05:00

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.

Psalm 64

2010-01-01T13:50:00.003-05:00

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.

Psalm 63

2009-11-28T13:42:00.004-05:00

Happy this day for friends in faith:

~~Let us treasure faith together.

Dear Friends,

The irony of this photo is that in order to get a December holly picture, I had to take it in July. So, it reminds me to be a friend in faith throughout all seasons.

Loving greetings for the holidays,

Marley

Psalm 62

2009-11-18T14:37:00.004-05:00

Every eye shall see the Father in His glory,

~~and every pupil with insight shall recognize Him;

For every vision has been given and every sign and seal revealed,

~~and every view restored and every witness reborn.

Psalm 61

2009-11-14T13:20:00.004-05:00

This is the day not followed by night:
~~blindness will not lead the faith of God;

Follow the Master:*
~~that perfect Servant, pure Follower of the Glory of God.

*'Abdu'l-Baha (1844-1921)

Psalm 60

2009-11-08T19:51:00.005-05:00

Greater than centuries of heroic poetry is Your Word, Lord,
~~and grander than any man's command;

Mightier than epic ambition is Your Revelation,
~~and finer than the waterfall twisted into a silk scroll.

Psalm 59

2009-11-04T08:21:00.004-05:00

Nearing God increases wonder,

~~and nearing His whisper fills the listening soul:

His hum gives assurance;

~~His tap and pat begin and confirm a firm course.

His ringing call,

~~His thunderous-sounding ponderous pounding,

His vast and sweeping overpowering hail astounding

~~swell the trembling, listening, hearing soul.

Psalm 58

2009-10-27T23:25:00.004-04:00

Truth and Worthy Trust, let the bold who seek You see, and greatly pleased let them all be;
~~but please, Lord, teach me tenderly.

Inform my faith the way swelling days enlarge the meadow where expectant does graze,
~~not like the upward struggle of a burdened mountain burro.

Yet, if You choose to try me Job-like,
~~then set my life aside from deathly illness as sad as childless silence, from doubt sounding like a well-intentioned wife, and from defense surrounding like a force of friends:
~~then set my life inside the center of my soul, and cast Your will around me as You please.

Psalm 57

2009-10-19T00:55:00.002-04:00

Prophecy is honored;
~~God’s promise is fulfilled.

His servants have inherited the earth;
~~His humble and humbled will build the world anew.

On the far side of Armageddon, men reflect one human race and kind;
~~whether us or other, His kingdom will bring all mortals together.

The seed of the meek shall inherit it;
~~immortal generations will live in it: named one race, humankind.

Psalm 56

2009-10-15T21:47:00.003-04:00

That Your dear ones may be delivered,
~~that Your dearly loved be saved,
~~that Your beloved be set free, like the scent of hyacinths on a bend of wind,

Lord, let Your children remain as willful as a tumble of twisted twigs,
~~save the sincere, lifting as selflessly as dew in morning’s innocence;

And in the saddened land of a parched and hardened heart,
~~before day’s end folds up the sun, hear me.

Psalm 55

2009-10-09T12:17:00.002-04:00

Trust God, or it may be you who will love lust more than beauty’s perfect portion and prefer a lure rather than a friendship’s fitting gift;
~~have faith: He shall render, under winter’s hush, every single astonishment of spring.

Psalm 54

2009-10-09T12:15:00.003-04:00

The Lord Victorious bestowed upon us His Son, the Master, as an inheritance;
~~Center of His Covenant, whom He loved.

Psalm 53

2009-10-06T19:07:00.002-04:00

The believer follows the light and frees men from the darkness;
~~by this, God enfolds him in garments of fellowship, threads of friendship, silk and gold.

Psalm 52

2009-10-06T19:04:00.002-04:00

The greatest name of God increases my home and happiness;
~~“God the All-Glorious” creates my safe place of rest:

His name repeats between my lips,
~~the way a robin takes fresh flight with a single twig to build its nest.

Psalm 51

2009-09-28T22:26:00.001-04:00

Lord, what is man that You give him the gift of understanding and hands to serve Your purpose?
~~How brilliant is Your power that You give man unceasing answers to the universe!

Though the lion is master of the land and the great white shark the ocean,
~~You give man, the universal predator, all this, and greater still, the means to help and heal.

What is man that You extend his gifts by galaxies,
~~and more, You ever make him to become as great as You intend him to be.

One-Third Mark

2009-09-23T10:31:00.002-04:00

Dear Friends,

I've reached the one-third mark. I've posted 50 psalms. The project is to compose 150 psalms, the number in the biblical Book of Psalms. Others have taken on this challenge. My goal is to offer the Baha’i perspective. The Baha’i Faith is the most recent of the divinely-revealed religions, bringing the urgently-needed principles of justice among the nations of the world. I hope you will follow the links to the Baha’i websites which I’ve posted. Thanks to those who have visited. I always welcome your comments along this journey which is at once an ancient path and a timely message.

I’ve taken inspiration from these words written by Baha’u’llah (1817-1892), Founder of the Baha’i Faith: “Through the movement of Our Pen of glory We have, at the bidding of the omnipotent Ordainer, breathed a new life into every human frame, and instilled into every word a fresh potency.” Thank you for joining me on this journey of personal renewal.

Loving greetings,
Marley

Psalm 50 (after biblical psalm 133)

2009-09-20T23:59:00.009-04:00

Consider, how fair and how favorable it is for peoples to live as one in unity!

It is like the refreshing water over the valley, that purified the fertile journey of every nation, religion, even the good Samaritan:
~~the living word that forgave every parched slope on the path to everlasting life;

As the juice of ripened fruit, and as the juice of sanctified fruit that delivered the Father's law upon Mount Carmel:
~~for there He is known by the fruit of His command, that finally we love one another, even as we are loved by the Lord.

Biblical Psalm 133

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard:
~~that went down to the skirts of his garments;

As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion:
~~for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.

Psalm 49 (a lament)

2009-09-16T00:39:00.003-04:00

Nameless, I begin, Lord of All Names;
~~pulled wingless by children, Origin of Flight and Air, I am lower than a fly.

I stand without the world, Father of Creation,
~~nothing but a weary witness to its end.

They call me American, fierce eagle, proud;
~~they summon my keen sight to their aim: where is Your greater height?

They imagine me woman, title me white, shifting as moonlight in a stream;
~~they set my place at once above my reach yet beneath their feet: where is Your gender bridge?

They christen me in their tradition, now on a mountain, down in a valley, like a mule weighted with notions;
~~they announce their conclusions for the sake of echo: where is Your initial word?

Name me Your child, Lord, and I will be born to You;
~~I will live where isle and land are a reflection of heaven and every sound in Jerusalem is new.

Psalm 48

2009-09-13T19:27:00.002-04:00

Lift my ear to Your nearness, Lord;
~~Make me like a chuck in the winter wood,

Roused from deepest sleep and slow
~~By the early crocus licking lips of snow.

Psalm:Speak

2009-09-12T21:42:00.005-04:00

Psalm 47

2009-09-11T22:19:00.002-04:00

Trust in the Lord is a wondrous thing,
~~for faith is favor from the first and gain from the beginning.

Scientist and seeker ponder on shores of known and new,
~~ explorers sail on a shimmering veil,
~~yet those who quest share a hopeful horizon: trust is a divinely human thing.

When the tempest tests, courage pounds in the pilgrim’s chest;
~~when gale winds gust, his breast sounds a brave blast.

Then is he awakened to his hidden heart, aware of silent air, avowed in God,
~~his Lord alone, invisible, faithful, essential;
~~then is he alive in awe, alove in wonder: trust is a freely-given thing.

Psalm 46

2009-09-06T22:09:00.005-04:00

Happy the one whose mouth marks silence concerning the weaknesses of others,
~~and strengthened like the russet vixen as she secretly shifts her kits to a new den.

Psalm 45

2009-08-25T12:35:00.001-04:00

The Lord is my morning;
~~His word is my dawn, and every point of nearness my awakening.

Daylight delivers color and form;
~~my seeking heart is raised again.

I long to learn the laws of His nature
~~and to earn the ways of His good pleasure.

I long for the Lord the way a man seeks length and generations;
~~I am long for His way, all good ways.

And on the night of my days,
~~the Lord is my certain morning.

Psalm 44

2009-08-16T17:59:00.004-04:00

In Persia did our praise aspire;
~~we longed to serve God’s golden verse.

Each sage of ages gone brought every phase and shape of moon and carried lamps of psalm,
~~yet the heart of earth and mountain peaks speak of His godlier, gloried sun.

When one who loves God begins to solve the premise of empires and the danger of his own garden, the hostile and holiest birthplace of faith,
~~then, lighted by delight, he orients the stonier man.

In Iran, on that pleated, petaled sore rose, did rain descend:
~~let the one who ponders this respond.

Psalm 43

2009-08-07T09:31:00.002-04:00

In heaven on earth, a temple rises: hands in praise and dawning hearts have built it;
~~in the kingdom of God on earth, a house of worship is raised, a home for the Lord and homage in His quarried realm.

Flowers of civilization, red, white, Asian, African: green leaves of His book ring a new site;
~~in the day of God, nine gardens, nine pools, nine fountains encompass paradise.

Nine avenues advance the followers of light;
~~nine entrance ways ascend to dome the sun.

What is the marrow of a house of worship at time’s end, when every prophecy has been fulfilled?
~~What temple stands past truth of water, faith of birds in flight?
~~Word of God in word, song of God in song, scriptures of every religion recited in limitless light.

Psalm 42 (Psalm for a Planet, Part 2)

2009-08-01T01:05:00.005-04:00

I will dwell in a home where the word of the Lord has dominion;
~~All the year* I will dwell where His will is sovereign.

A man of worldly names and knowledge may settle on a hill with barred door,
~~and many men of earthly might and power may secure themselves from the stranger and the poor;

But as for me, I will build my household at the foot of His mountain splendor;
~~I will lodge on the lowlands by the peak of His grandeur.

Beside the shores of His light and loftiness, I will stay;
~~Within His ocean breeze, where scriptures speak, I will remain;
~~I will abide in the clear and cloudy air of questions and answers to prayer.

My shelter will be the lands of His mercy and glory;
~~my refuge will be the place of His perfection.

I will dwell in a house where the Lord may enter in honor,
~~a house so beautiful its dust is gold.

*The virtues in this psalm name the Baha’i calendar months.

Psalm 41

2009-07-25T07:57:00.001-04:00

How high, O Lord, Your Covenant above our universe:
~~What we stand under, how can we understand?

You forgive before us and place a planet at our feet:
~~And what have we to give?

If we offer our obedience, yet this mine of earthly wealth is Your creation:
~~When I bow my head, how great the riches within my reach!

Psalm 40 (a penitential psalm)

2009-07-20T00:44:00.003-04:00

I am alone, no, even myself I cannot trust, and ever-faithful death is dead to answer;
~~Lord, I am abandoned where carrion scavengers move on to search for better.

Man imposing his own will loses his balance and becomes ill,
~~but the tiny centipede without fault steps its way along its sum of summer nights.

Generations of vain desires are like snares in a field,
~~yet pitiful tares and weeds thrown to the fire send forth abundant seed.

The noon sun in the valley is hot and the cave in the mountain is cool at night,
~~but Lord, only You can feel the lukewarm heart, indifferent to its godly nature:
~~create in me the one green hope that grows, however slowly, on a sinner’s stony slope.

Psalm 39

2009-07-08T15:08:00.013-04:00

. . . . . . . . . . . . . (lilies of the field)

He who gives his earthly riches will receive heavenly wealth;
~~he who sacrifices his worldly goods, a treasury of virtue will be his everlasting gain:

the man who seeks to serve on earth will find a vein of riches in a higher kingdom;
~~the one who serves humankind, never-failing abundance will flow from his hand.