A Beast Made of Steel

Meaning in Psalm 44

Alfred D. Byrd

WATCHING the news of the world around us,
Many of us may wonder at times
Just where our God is in things that happen.
Randomness seemingly seizes control
Of lives that scurry from joy to despair.
A child is murdered; a killer goes free;
A flood or a fire consumes a town.
The famous flouting the law with lifestyles
Circling the globe with pleasure and glitter—
Watching the news, we're moved to agree
With those who tell us, "Your God is nowhere."

Reading the Scriptures, we learn of times
Of empires toppled — of slaves on the rise.
The One Who has made all things exist
Can build a nation from servants in exile—
Even a shepherd became a king—
And cast an empire, a beast made of steel,
To the depths of shame when it suits a plan.
Consider Israel, captive in Egypt:
Working through Moses, our God delivered
Exiles and slaves from a grip of bronze
And led them — a pillar of fire was their guide—
To a land of freedom to worship the Name.
Consider the Church, subjected to Rome:
The blood of martyrs, beloved of God,
Was stronger than steel and changed the world.
When we see the fate of Egypt and Rome,
And blessings that come to children of faith,
Can we doubt our God, the Maker of worlds—
Maker, Sustainer, and Judge of Kings?

We waver, however, because we observe
How often the good get hurt by the world.
We may live today in a land of safety—
Freedom for all is a shield for us—
But many a child of God in our time
Awaits a knock on a door at night
Or blows from a mob in public by day.
The world, as it did in Egypt and Rome,
Despises the light that comes from the Throne
And turns, because it can't touch our God,
To mocking or killing the servants of truth.

How long, our God, can You let the wicked
Revel in riches and dance until dawn?
Remember Your people, faithful, though fearful.
Tested daily by woes and by wealth,
They recall Your Name and long for Your light.
Deliver the weak from the hands of the strong
And confirm Your law of love in the eyes
Of those who have mocked and of those who have mourned.
For the praise of Your name, restore a world
That rests in peace — not absence of war,
But presence of light, of law, and of love—
A peace that abounds when we do what's right
For self, for neighbor — for You, our 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.