The Grave is Silent

Meaning in Psalm 6

Alfred D. Byrd

ETERNAL, my God, please hear what I say.
I've cried for so long I fear my death.
All night, I've lain awake on my bed
And drenched my pillow with tears of grief.
They blur my vision and make me feeble.

Wrongness has filled my life, I confess.
A crowd that has no love for Your Word,
But does what it wants, or conforms to the world,
Is always around me. I've followed its ways
And done, my God, what turns me from You.

Eternal, my God, if you want to strike me—
Punish my heart for what it's done wrong—
You'll be in the right. Please don't, I beg you,
Do so in anger. Please spare me Your wrath!
If You turn the whole of Your might on me,
You'll leave me not even a breath to praise You.

If You take my life, what good will I be?
No corpse can sing a hymn to Your Name!
The grave is silent, devoid of Your praise.
Please leave me alive to tell of Your love,
The love that made the world come to be
And keeps it going from day to day.

Eternal, my God, You've heard my plea;
You've spared my life and shown me forgiveness!
Fearing rejection, I've found acceptance,
Freedom to give You a life of service.
Enemies spurning the paths of the One,
Feel shame for fighting against your Maker.
Listen to words of love triumphant
And seize this moment to turn to God.

If this poem spoke to you, you may enjoy my Biblical epic poems

A Song of the One, the age-old account of Creatlon, Fall, Redemption, and Glory retold in verse for a new millennium, and

The Stars Bow Down: An Epic of Joseph, the timeless tale of a favorite son whose brothers sold him into slavery, but whom God raised from a prison to save the known world from famine.