A World Gone Astray

Meaning in Psalm 14

Alfred D. Byrd

LOOKING at us from a throne on high,
Our God determines whether our minds
Have grasped creation as a work of love,
And whether our hearts conceive the desire
To meet the One Who made us, and gave us
Vision perceiving the light, and hearing
Seeking the word, of truth and of peace.

What appears, however, is a world gone astray.
Each person from birth has missed the mark
Of walking with God and doing what's right.
What was pure, rebellion has caused to stink.
Not even the truth has stayed untouched;
Perverted, it forms the grist of lies.

No room is left in the world for God.
"The heavens are empty!" the selfish proclaim.
Their pride desires to deny a god
Who sits in judgment on words and deeds,
And frowns on what the selfish treasure.
Putting the will of oneself on the throne,
The selfish shatter the union of goods
As formed by God, and turn all things
Against each other to fill the earth
With wine of conflict — with blood on the land.

The ones who make their will their own god
Don't seem to learn the lesson of time—
They walk in darkness and feed on despair.
It's not a lie to call them cannibals
Eating the life of the poor and the weak.

The lesson of time? The ones who've lived
For themselves alone will face the dread
Of dying unenvied by those whom they've harmed—
Of dying uncertain of why they've lived,
While they see the ones who've trusted in God
Accepting their end with peace born of hope.

The ones who prey on the poor and the weak
Will puzzle their heads, but fail to see
The refuge of God for lovers of truth.

From the throne on high, salvation will come.
Messiah will lift the chosen of God
From a bed of darkness to a throne in the light
Where they'll sing with joy the praise of their King.

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.

The Kind That Hates You

Meaning in Psalm 13

Alfred D. Byrd

SOMETIMES, my God, I feel forgotten,
Beaten with sorrows that come from a world
That uses Your Name as just a curse.
As days go by, it appears to me
That it's best to be the kind that hates You.
Lovers of self instead of the truth
Have things their own way and laugh at the faith
Of us who wait for Your Word to come true.
The lovers of self call out to us,
"For all that we see, your god doesn't care
About your pains of body and mind.
For all that we see, we might be his friends,
And you, his foes, the ones whom he hates.
Just look! You're slipping. It's we who'll win."
They'll throw a party when they see our fall.

Please send me, my God, the light of Your face
To open my eyes before I sleep
In a death in life, or in death for all time.
I need Your answer to why things go on
In a way that pleases the ones who spurn You.
Tell me an answer to ease my fears!

The answer? You give a time of testing,
Showing what lies in the depth of each heart,
To all who live, both the false and the true.
The answer is love, the love eternal
That You showed in telling all things "Become!"
And show by keeping the world in being.
Sunlight illumines righteous and wicked.
Evil may triumph; its end is sure.
The selfish will get the pay that they've earned;
My God will save the faithful from darkness.
Rescued from doubt, I'll sing to the One
Whose work began, and will end, as good.

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.

Fair Words on the Air

Meaning in Psalm 12

Alfred D. Byrd

SOMETIMES, watching the news, we may say,
"Our God, have You let all goodness vanish?
Help us, our God, if we're meant to survive!"

We watch the vain and selfish prosper,
Catching our eyes with gold and satin,
Walking on carpets from coaches to mansions,
Grinning and spreading fair words on the air,
And living as if just beauty matters.

Many speak words that may seem to us
Benign at first, or even helpful,
Promising riches, excitement, and love,
But hide in their depths the poison of greed,
The road to death for all who take it.
Others may kill us outright with no lies
To cover their deeds with a veil of false good.

The ones who do well in a world of evil
Tell us, "We're free to choose our own way.
No power compels us to stop and think
Of how our lifestyle may harm the earth."

To us who grieve in a world of falsehood,
Sometimes it seems that it's best to die
To be spared from seeing evil on top.

Above, however, this world of darkness,
Heaven is free of lies that bring pain.
The good can find joy in the light of God,
Who spoke all things to be in goodness—
"Perfect" describes the words of our God.
No trace of dross defiles their metal,
Purer than silver that dazzles our sight,
However refined that metal may be.

Our God, though high above creation,
Listens to cries of the weak and needy,
Saying, "Oppressors deprive us of joy."
The One Who heard the cry from Egypt—
Masters were making the Children of God
Grow weary as slaves lest they feel the lash—
Will say, "I'll rise and protect my loved ones,
Lovers of good, from those who harm them."

Tellers of lies, though they know a season
Brimming with glee, will grow poor and despised,
And words that promised beauty and wealth
Will appear at last for the wind that they are.

Our God, in due time, will protect our lives
From those who fear us because of the truth
That resides alone in the One Who made all.

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.

Heaven is Heartless?

Meaning in Psalm 11

Alfred D. Byrd

MANY may tell you, "Heaven is heartless,
Letting the world go on to its doom."
Wrongdoers may try to take our lives
With weapons of war, or with lies of peace,
And work in darkness to wreck what's good.
They try to dig away foundations
Keeping the people on paths of life.
"What's good is evil; what's evil is good"—
Confusion cripples even the best
When it comes the turn of the wrong to be right.
When they take away our place to stand,
What's left but falling, or flying like birds
To safety, however deceptive it is?

We find our answer, not here, but above,
Shining on all who have eyes to see.
In a realm beyond both death and decay,
Our God, Eternal, has made His abode:
A temple in heaven, a throne among stars,
The glories of those whom He made to serve Him.
Angels, spirits of fire, must bow down
To the One Who made all things by His Word;
What, then, is the earth but a place for His feet?
Let all who live keep silence before Him,
The One, unchanging, untroubled by fear!

"You're right!" our foes say. "The One is too high
To care for humans, mere ants in His sight."
Our God, however, is not uncaring,
Letting His creatures go on as they will,
But He looks at all of our deeds and judges
Fairly what lot each life should receive.

To those who oppress the friends of God—
To lovers of darkness, which covers their acts
From eyes of humans, but not of heaven—
Surely, the One will render judgment.
Evil may prosper for years of the earth,
But those are seconds when counted by God,
And the end, for the bad, will come too soon.
To those who despise both life and light,
There's wind of flame, and there's stench of sulfur—
Bitter returns on works of ill worth!

On those, however, who love the truth
And look with love on our God and His works—
On those who pass the tests of our God
When He tries our worth, it may be with fire—
His face will shine with the light of welcome,
Healing the heart taught grief by the world.
Today is bitter; tomorrow is sweet.
This world is passing, but heaven endures,
So choose the path that will end in the light.

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.