I Owned the World

Meaning in Psalm 51

Alfred D. Byrd

PROUDLY, I've lived, but I've done great wrong.
In the eyes of the world, was I a king?
Did I sit enthroned and hear the pleas
Of the poor, the sick, and the weak for justice?
Sometimes, I felt that I owned the world
And could do with it whatever pleased me.
Trappings of power obscured my vision.
Nothing — no crown — allowed me to take
The wife of a friend to warm my bed
Or the life of that friend to hide my sin.
How much I deserve to hear one tell me,
"David, it's you who've sinned against God!"

My God, I need Your mercy today.
I've covered my life, Your gift, with shame,
I've broken the bonds of trust with a friend,
I've taught my people to lust and be killed,
And, worst of all of the wrongs that I've done,
I've flouted the will of my God, my Maker.
Even within the womb that bore me,
Darkness was present within my soul.
That darkness has guided my acts in life
Until I reached a point of despair.
You wanted within me, my God, the truth,
The wisdom to know the right from wrongs
And to choose the right for the sake of life,
But you got rebellion, a sin, and a death,
And mercy alone, my God, can restore
My life to You in peace and gladness.

Wash me, my God, with water of life
To cleanse my soul from all that grieves You.
Cleanness of heart is what You desire.
Whatever it takes to reach that goal
Is what I want to be right with You.
If I knew that blood of beasts would please You,
Thousands of them would die for my sins,
But it's You alone, my God, Who can save
The guilty from death when I come to You.
You've made a way to forgive my sins
And to turn one filthy purer than snow.

In response to love that forgives my sins—
In response to mercy that gives me new life,
I offer, my God, a heart that breaks
With sorrow for wrongs that I've done to You.
I offer thanksgiving for life out of death;
I offer praises — endless, I wish—
To the One Who lives above the earth,
Yet comes to a world defiled with sin
To rescue and heal the lives of rebels.
Only in You, my God, is there hope
Of a world of peace that rests on justice;
Only in You, my God, is there life
That endures beyond the harms of our sins.
May You use my tongue to teach my neighbors
The way of truth that can build a world
Both safe for us and pleasing to You.

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 Fire That Consumes

Meaning in Psalm 50

Alfred D. Byrd

Darkness above the world is so deep
That we think, "Our God is far from us."
Successes of sin may tempt us to murmur,
"Heaven must be in league with malice."
Looking only at things of the world
(The here and the now — no past, no future),
Many may yield to despair and say,
"Whoever has made the world has left it.
Everything happens by chance alone."

When we see our God, there'll be a fire
That flows from the throne of the One Who is—
A fire that consumes the dross of evil.
Heaven will shake from the shout of its King:
"Your Judge has arrived; step up and receive
A sentence of justice — the word of My truth."

Throughout all places and times, there's been
A remnant of persons who've served the King
To the best of their will with what they know.
With the blood and the flesh of beasts and of birds,
They sought the favor of God above them.
Looking with mercy on those who gave
The best that they had to the Best Who is,
Our God will tell them, "I won't rebuke you
For staining an altar with blood and with fat.
I want you, however, to know the truth:
I have no need for livestock or birds.
I made the cattle that feed in your fields;
I made the fields that feed your cattle.
Mountains and valleys together are mine.
If I were to feel a pang of hunger
(Speaking to children, I say what they'll grasp),
I'd make some cattle to feed Myself.
What I want from you isn't flesh and blood.
I want thanksgiving for what I've done.
When you make a promise, I want you to keep it,
However it hurts you to do what you've said.
When you get in trouble, remember your King;
I'll come to help you, and you, when you're well,
Should give me glory as Maker and Friend."

Throughout all places and times, there's been
A host of those who've lived for themselves
And used the gifts of the One for wrong.
With gaining power and wealth as their goal,
They've denied the right of God to rule them.
Looking with sorrow on those who gave
The best that they have to the worst of ends,
Our God will tell them, "Don't speak of Me
When you do what you want and wish to look good.
When you heard the truth, you thought it a burden
Keeping Your Honors from having some fun.
Rejecting your God, you were gods to yourselves.
I said, 'Whoever does work should keep
The gain of labor for health and for home,'
But you say, 'To rob another is fine;
We're proud to be the friends of a thief.'
I said, 'The two who marry are one;
Let no one attempt to break that oneness,
Holy to Me, and a source of life,'
But you say, 'To marry confines the soul;
It's freedom to sleep with the wife of a friend.'
To lie to sisters, to slander a brother—
Hatred has been the root of your speech!
You thought, because your God was silent,
Giving you chances to change on your own,
That I was no better than someone like you.
The time for clinging to lies is over;
Heaven comes down to proclaim the truth."

The One Who made the heavens above
Has given each person below a choice:
To spurn the truth and to lose one's life,
Or to give the One Who made you the praise
That's due to the One Whose law is love.

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 Words of Light

Meaning in Psalm 49

Alfred D. Byrd

LISTEN to wisdom that came from God
Through prophets who taught us the words of light.
The truth is the same whoever you are,
A big shot, a no one, loaded, or broke:
You live for a while, and then you die,
And nothing that's done for this world alone
Will go with you to the world beyond it.
Only what's done for the love of God
Will matter before the throne of the Judge.

It's easy for us to see the world
As a stage on which the rich are kings
Confirmed on their throne by a god of gold.
They may serve their god with gifts of blood—
The blood of those who labor for wealth
That goes to others who leave the worker
Barely enough to sustain one's life
For a round of work from day to day.
The rich who trust in a god of gold
Behave as if forever ahead
Is nothing but bliss renewed each dusk
For a child who scorns the touch of age
And dances till dawn without a care.
A surgeon can cut a wrinkle away,
A drink restores one's vigor for hours,
The music is loud, the smiles are bright—
It's time to party! Forever is now.

At length, each life will face a turning.
Midnight has tolled, a coach turns pumpkin,
Pipers demand the pay for their play,
And all must prepare to leave this world.
The one with nothing will leave with nothing.
Strangely, so, too, the wealthy go out.
The one with foresight to grow one's wealth
Will leave it to heirs who may be less wise
Than the one who scratched a fortune from dirt.
How swiftly a fool can squander riches!
Butterflies flutter, but then they're gone.
Go bury a fortune inside a tomb
To help the dead in the world to come!
A robber will break the seal on the tomb
And carry a fortune in gold away.
A wheel that spins will bring disaster—
Violence follows a trail of gold—
To all who trust in things of this world.

The rich and the poor have come together,
Standing before the throne of the Judge.
When we see the face of our God unveiled
And hear the questions, "What good have you done
With what I gave you in life on the earth?
What claim do you have to life on high?"
The one who trusts in looks and in wealth
Can give no answer that passes the test.
Our grins and our gold can pay no ransom
Sparing our lives from judgment before us.
Only the one who believes in God
And yields one's life to serving the truth
Will find redemption, a gift of the One
Who gives us our life both below and above.

Don't yield to fear when you see a sinner
Driving a car outshining a palace,
Stuffing his face with meat and with sweets,
Living in rooms as wide as the sky,
And acting as if the world is his due.
When it comes his time to settle with death,
He'll share the fate of a beast of the field.
Don't let your envy distract you from hope.
Your work in this world is to love your God
And to love your neighbor as much as yourself.
Whatever you build in this world on love
Will endure with God in the world to come.

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.

Distant No Longer

Meaning in Psalm 48

Alfred D. Byrd

CHOOSING a mountain as base for a throne,
Our God has come to live among us.
Distant no longer, our Maker is close
Whenever we come to praise and to serve
The One Who loved us before we were made.
A temple expresses our love in return—
A temple recalling the throne room on high.
The King Whom we serve, though near, extends
Beyond the stars, beyond our dreaming.
Nothing can put into words how great
Is the First and Last, above all others,
Maker of worlds and Judge of all things.

Amid, however, the crush of a crowd,
The truth of God has been forgotten;
Darkness has fallen, and feet go astray.
This world of ours is a work of God's,
But has turned aside to ways of its own
That run to revolt, disaster, and death.
Despite the wrongness of spurning one's Maker,
Many have chosen the toys of this world
Above the hope of a home on high.
The Throne, it seems to eyes of rebels
Wanting to live for the here and now,
Has vanished, leaving behind the thrones
Of men who strut like gods on a stage
Where we see the mighty go down to failure.

Jealousy spurs them to works of shame.
The kings of the world — how often they strive
To silence the voice of God on the earth
By seizing, tormenting, and killing the faithful.
Children of God away from their home
Must flee for refuge to God in their heart
Until they see their Savior appear
In glory to vanquish the kings of the earth
And to fix the Throne among us forever.

Nothing can change what has come from God.
Our Maker is righteous, enforcing a law
Of love for self, for neighbors — for God—
As the way to peace arising from justice.
Only the law of love is secure.
Whoever obeys this law has life;
Whoever rejects this law is dead
To the way of life that starts in God
And ends in return to the Throne on high.
Let us seek the temple and meet the God
Who loves us despite our going astray.
Behind the temple of wood and of stone
There stands a temple of lives renewed,
United by God abiding within them.
Praising its God, the temple endures,
Sustained by the God Whose name is Love.

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.

To Honor Justice

Meaning in Psalm 47

Alfred D. Byrd

HUMANS contend for thrones and for wealth,
But pay no heed to the One Who made
The earth from which the wealth has been mined—
To the One Who has set a throne on high.
Unless a ruler is right with God,
The throne beneath that ruler totters.
Nothing goes right in the end for one
Who makes his own will the law of the land.
The ruler, however, who does what's right
And teaches the people to honor the law
Will be respected, not only below,
But also above in the court of God.

The law of God is simple and pure:
To love your God with all of your heart,
And to love your neighbor as much as yourself.
To offer strangers the status of friends,
To help the fallen rise up again,
To speak no lie in a court of law,
To honor justice, to judge with mercy—
Doing these things will please your God
And extend your life in a land at peace.
To make, however, your lust and your greed
The measure of what you choose to enjoy;
To turn to vengeance instead of justice
(Killing your foe, not healing a rift)—
To do these evils will fill your land
With anger, mistrust, upheaval, and grief.

Wherever a people may live on the earth,
Whatever a people may take as law,
Our God is the King of all that is,
And all must submit at last to judgment
Given by God from the throne on high.
A land that fixes its gaze on the world
Will rise no higher than here and now,
And will fall at last to darkness — to death.
The land, however, that fixes its gaze
On the law that comes from the throne of God
Will know in this world the blessings of peace—
Not only the absence of times of war,
But also, and better, the bonds of trust
Between the neighbors who form the land—
Between each person and God, the King.
Let us come to the court of the King with praise
For the One Who gave us our life, our land,
The law of truth that guides us to peace,
And love that binds together as one
The hearts of all who belong 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.