An Extra Devotion

From time to time, during devotion season, I sent out "extras." Below are two poems -- both are "re-statements" of Psalms -- one a psalm of praise, and the other a psalm which calls for repentance. Both are Psalms of David. Isn't there a blessing in knowing that we worship a God who hears our praise and also takes away our sin? May you find the abundance of God's grace today.

Kim

Be My Voice
Psalm 29

I depend on you, God’s many angels.
I count on you, His heavenly creations,
To praise his name,
When my lips fall silent,
When I stand here, a creature of dust,
Made silent in amazement at his glory.
Fill the heavens with His praises,
Glorify his name with your sweet songs,
For there are times when my throat closes,
And my tongue falls silent.
There are times when his majesty is too great
For my feeble songs and my useless words.

His voice is never silent.
It echoes across the waters
Lifting waves in its wake.
His voice is powerful,
Thunderous,
Mighty and glorious.
His voice is majesty.

The bass of his voice makes mighty trees tremble.
Even the most towering,
Even the ones which seem to reach all the way to heaven.
The tenor strains lift me to my feet,
And give me wings to skip like a child.

His voice has the heat and flash of fire,
It shakes the wilderness,
It thunders across empty land,
Land not seen by anyone.
His voice even reaches to the wilderness of my heart,
His breath warms my coldness.

His mighty voice,
His powerful exhalation,
Stirs the leaves of the trees
Whips them around as if a mighty storm were passing.
His exhaled breath,
Strips away the leaves,
Strips away my pretenses.
Leaves us all bare,
Until all that we have left
Is to glorify his name.

Our mighty God sits high in heaven,
Enthroned as a king
A reassurance for all of eternity.
He gives me strength.
He gives us strength.
He creates in us a mighty and powerful ability
To do His work in the world.
He rules from heaven,
And he gives us the wonderful blessing of peace.

Praise His name and His mighty works,
Be my voice, all you angels,
For when I stand here speechless.


A Call to Confession
Psalm 32

My sin weighs on my thoughts
Like bricks holding down a kite
Which yearns to fly.

Blessed am I when my sin is forgiven
hen my mistakes are wiped clean.

My Lord and my Father
Will hold nothing against me.
Will relieve me of my guilt.
All I must do is surrender.
I must be honest with him,
For in that honestyI will find that I have been lying to myself.

In the silence of my guilt
I became smaller and smaller
God faded away.
And I groaned for him,
Calling for him to return.
He was so far away
That I didn’t even feel the touch of his hand
Even though it never left me.
My strength dried up
And blew away, like dust.

Finally, I told him of my mistakes.
As if he hadn’t known.
I gave up hiding them from him.
“Please God, take this from me.
Forgive me, for I ache under this burden.”

He lifted them away,
Left me clean,
Pulled me close, for he had never left.

I pray that everyone may know and understand.
I pray that all may find the love that he offers.
In their distress, may they find shelter and protection,
As the heavy waters of pain rush upon them.
May they find serenity in his embrace
As I have,
May he keep them from harm
And surround them with his assurances of home.

All who have problems, troubles, sin,
Listen.
Learn from this voice of experience.
Surrender your pride, your stubborn nature.
Give it all to God.
Draw near to him and find peace.

The weight of sin is enormous,
And we carry it so often,
That we ignore the wounds it leaves,
The holes it tears in our skin.
We are so accustomed to the burden,
That we think blisters are our lot in life.
Come to God for healing,
To find release.
Remember that tears are not to be our nature.
And that shouts of joy await us.


Kim Matthews