Beauty and Terror

Meaning in Psalm 29

Alfred D. Byrd

LET US GIVE to God the praise that is due
The One Who made both heavens and earth.
All creatures — humans or angels — are dust
Before the King Who sits on the Throne.
The glory of God exceeds description.
Beauty and terror unite as one
In the face of our God — in the rays of light
That pierce the veil that shields our gaze
From splendor too great for our eyes to bear.
(To see the Maker unveiled would be
The moment of death for flesh and blood.)

When we see our God appear before us,
Earthquake and storm assail our senses.
Treetops bow down, and mountains tremble—
Mighty on earth, to heaven they're weak—
Whenever the voice of God is heard.
Our God has made both mountains and trees
To withstand the tests of sun and of rain,
But has brought a flood upon the land
To sweep them away, and someday will send
A testing of fire to measure the worth
Of all that exists. The dross will burn,
But ore that is true will last forever,
Precious to God, in sight of the Throne.
The one who is weak before the Maker
Gathers a blessing of guidance and strength.

When we turn our thoughts to the One on high,
Our voices should break at once into song.
If we see our God as high and mighty,
Nothing on earth should keep us from saying,
"Glory belongs to the One alone!"
As we leave the things of this world behind us
(Baggage slows us en route to our goal),
Let us speed our steps towards the Throne
On which the One presides in glory
Over a throne room, the temple of light,
In which the ones who bow will be raised
To the heights of hope — to a home of peace.

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.

A Silence Coming from Heaven

Meaning in Psalm 28

Alfred D. Byrd

SOMETIMES, our God appears to be deaf
To our cries for help in times of grief.
We dread a silence coming from heaven:
Only the grave, we fear, awaits us—
Creatures of flesh whose lifespan is brief—
If we get no word from the One on high.

We seem at times to be one with the lost—
With those who are blind to the light of God
And go their own way to do what seems right
In the eyes of those who see death as the end.
They may smile at us and call us their friends,
But need or greed will make them our rivals,
Taking our goods or our lives for themselves
To feed the moment — forever be scorned!

If we see our lusts as pets to be fed
And spurn the future for thrills of the now,
We have no cause to complain of woes
That come when we see the future arrive
To test the works that we build today.
How easy it is to break and to burn;
How hard it is to build and to learn!
The One has told us, "The one who sows
Will reap a harvest of what is sown.
What is sown to darkness will end in death;
What's sown to the light will blossom with life!"

Both we who mourn and those who mock us
Needn't despair. The One remembers
Children of flesh and has opened a way
For all to turn from gloom to the light.
To God, both righteous and wicked are kinsmen
Needing only forgiveness for peace.

Beyond the darkness that fills this world
Resides forever the light of the Throne—
The place of the One, the goal of hope—
To which we all who are lost in this world
Can turn our gaze and find acceptance.
Heaven is open to all who seek it.
Shepherd, Fortress, and Giver of gifts—
The One, our God, awaits our response.
To those who persist in raising their hands
To the Throne of light, the temple of hope,
Will come a call to advance to receive
The blessings of light in a home of peace.

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.