Tag Archives: mercy

Do not accomplice me.

death, humanity, poetry, , , ,

TO THE MERCY KILLERS

If ever mercy move you murder me,
I pray you, kindly killers, let me live.
Never conspire with death to set me free,
but let me know such life as pain can give.
Even though I be a clot, an aching clench,
a stub, a stump, a butt, a scab, a knob,
a screaming pain, a putrefying stench,
still let me live, so long as life shall throb.
Even though I turn such traitor to myself
as beg to die, do not accomplice me.
Even though I seem not human, a mute shelf
of glucose, bottled blood, machinery
to swell the lungs and pump the heart — even so,
do not put out my life. Let me still glow.

-Dudley Randall, After the Killing

Drunken with the fatness.

mountains, poetry, Psalms, , ,

O Lord, Thy mercy is in heaven,
and Thy truth reacheth unto the clouds.

Thy righteousness is as the mountains of God,
Thy judgments are a great abyss.

Men and beasts wilt Thou save, O Lord.
How Thou hast multiplied Thy mercy, O God!

Let the sons of men hope in the shelter of Thy wings.

They shall be drunken with the fatness of Thy house,
and of the torrent of Thy delight shalt Thou make them to drink.

For in Thee is the fountain of life,
in Thy light shall we see light.

-From Psalm 35

Clara Porges – Bergell Mountains

Expect kissing and fruit.

poetry, Psalms, ,

The poetry of this Psalm enlivens my spirit with its many action verbs that evoke the overflowing love and energies of God as we humans experience Him, being turned, quickened, gladdened; hearing our Father speak peace and living in His Kingdom where righteousness and peace kiss, truth springs up, and fruit naturally grows on the trees.

O God, Thou wilt turn and quicken us,
and Thy people shall be glad in Thee.

Show us, O Lord, Thy mercy,
and Thy salvation do Thou give unto us.

I will hear what the Lord God will speak in me;
for He will speak peace to His people and to His saints
and to them that turn their heart unto Him.

Surely nigh unto them that fear Him is His salvation,
that glory may dwell in our land.

Mercy and truth are met together,
righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

Truth is sprung up out of the earth,
and righteousness hath looked down from heaven.

Yea, for the Lord will give goodness,
and our land shall yield her fruit.

Righteousness shall go before Him
and shall set His footsteps in the way.

-From Psalm 84

A garden chant of constancy.

my garden, nature, Psalms, , , , , , ,

Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous;
praise is meet for the upright.
Give praise to the Lord with the harp,
chant unto Him with the ten-stringed psaltery.
Sing unto Him a new song,
chant well unto Him with jubilation.
For the word of the Lord is true,
and all His works are in faithfulness.
The Lord loveth mercy and judgment;
the earth is full of the mercy of the Lord.

-From Psalm 32

When I saw these plum buds this morning, I thought of how the earth is full of predictability, spring following winter, summer following spring, leaves falling off the trees every autumn without fail.

It’s just one way, consisting of uncountable events, that He demonstrates His constancy.

For the word of the Lord is true,
and all His works are in faithfulness.