Waiting for Help

Meaning in Psalm 86

by Alfred D. Byrd

TROUBLES are rising, surrounding our lives.
The poor and needy are waiting for help;
Oppressors are seeking to learn who's weak.
Respect for the truth of God is rare
In the world around us — a world in pain.

Above this world is the Throne of God,
Where we see the glory that comes from the Light.
The One is greater than all that is made;
The nations may rage, but are dust in the scales
Beside the worlds controlled by the King.
You need but lift your eyes to the sky
To look at wonders, Creator's delights.
The One Who set the stars in motion
Ordered the times to start and to end.
On a day unknown to all but God,
The nations will come before the Throne
And kneel to honor the Highest and Best.

The One Who is far is also nearby.
Embracing our lives, our God resides
Within our houses — within our hearts.
Our God is Love, forgiving and kind
To those who turn from despair to hope.
In seasons gone wrong, we can say to God,
"You're slow to anger and faithful to give
A hand of mercy to those who hurt.
We can call on You because You answer."

Help us, our God, with strength to go on.
Please save us from all that threatens our lives.
Please teach us the way to live in the truth;
Please show us the path that leads us to You.
A love for a world that cheats and robs us
Leads us astray until we recall
The blessings that come from You alone.
Please heal divisions within our hearts
And make us wholly united in 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.

We Got Forgiveness

Meaning in Psalm 85

by Alfred D. Byrd

LOOKING behind us, we see the blessings
Showered by God on paths of the past.
Although we'd fallen, our God revived us.
Finding us dirty, our God made us clean.
When we turned from our sins, we got forgiveness,
Sending our guilt away from our hearts.
With mercy and grace from God in our lives,
We knew good fortune, the joy of peace.

When we live on hilltops, it's easy for us
To fall from the heights we knew at first.
We've gone astray and earned rejection.
Anger is what we perceive from our God
When we turn from the light to go our own way.
A time of judgment appears unending.
Misery lengthens the hours of a day.
We shout to our God, "Please help us again!
Don't beat us until we turn to powder!
Show us Your love, which saves us from fear!"

Let's listen to what our God has told us:
"Faithful servants will savor My peace—
Not merely an absence of war, but joy
That comes from neighbors who trust each other
(Speaking the truth will bind us as one)
And trust in Me as the Source of justice.
Living a lie is the path of a fool;
Seeking the truth is the path of the wise.
Whoever respects the will of the One
And works for glory for God, the King,
Will live in the peace that flows from the truth."

A love that bears fruit can transform the world.
Good works will build a household of peace.
The hand that points from the earth to God
Will find a hand from heaven to clasp it.
Harvest is coming — rewards from our God.
In a land of peace that comes from justice,
Righteousness covers the path to the Throne.

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.

Outside the Refuge

Meaning in Psalm 84

by Alfred D. Byrd

FACING the world as it is today,
We need a refuge, a place of hope.
Outside the refuge, wickedness prospers,
Grinding our lives as meal for its bread.
Outside the refuge, we find no safety.
Evil will meet us wherever we go.
While we keep our hearts in the world, we'll find
No peace — no trust in neighbor or self.

The sparrows have found a place of rest—
A nest in the eaves of the House of God.
The birds can breed and nurture their young
Beneath the wings of the One Who made them.
Altar of fire in temple of light—
A place made holy by God in its midst
Is a place where we find the hope of peace.
The light reveals the way to the truth,
The fire makes pure all things that draw near—
No shadow remains in the heart of the light.

Let's go from darkness to seek the light.
The path of those who return to God
Is a path well watered, abounding in fruit.
In the hope of peace, in the taste of fruit —
We'll find the strength to finish our journey.
Nothing can keep from reaching the goal
The one who answers the call of God.

It's better to spend a day with God
Than lifetimes in quest of things of the world.
It's better to stand by the doors of God's House
Than to sit on a throne amid deceit.
The king on the throne may reign awhile,
But leaves the throne to others — his foes?—
Who may waste the work of the king before them.
Dawning in hope, it sets in despair,
The end of all things apart from God.

On what foundation can you rely?
Whatever one brings to the House of God
Remains with the King Whose reign will not end.
The one who opens the door to hope
Will make a way for joy to come through.
The source of joy is the spring of the light.
A sun is rising — the sun is our God!
In the light of that sun, we'll find delights,
The blessings of peace, which comes from our King.
How happy are those who trust in God,
The One Who hears and answers our pleas.

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.

No Sign of Action

Meaning in Psalm 83

by Alfred D. Byrd

SLEEPING? Sometimes, we fear that God is.
No sign of hearing, no sign of action—
Troubled, we struggle with faith and with doubt.
We yearn for a sign, but must live on hope—
A hope that's mocked by those of the world.
When we look around, we stare at strangers
Posing a threat to the ways we've held.
We hear a babble, we face rejection—
Nothing seems certain to us any more.
The rumors of war that come fast and thick
Invade our homes and batter our ears.
A fist has been raised; a voice cries out,
"Bring death to those who say, 'We're chosen'!
Felons like them deserve no mercy.
Conquer their land and make it your own!"

It's easy for us to shout at God,
"Destroy the ones who'd kill Your people!"
Justice has said, "An eye for an eye."
The ones who draw a sword should perish,
Gutted by what they'd meant for gutting.
"Set them afire, our God!" we might cry.
"Let them burn to a crisp and be forgotten!
Make them like leaves that fall in autumn!
Riding the wind, they'll fly from our sight."
Our God understands the heart within us.
Anger and wrath are parts of us all.
To pray for payback is what we do.

What's harder, but best, in the sight of God
Is a way that tells us, "Do good to your foes!"
The ones who hate us — the ones we fear—
Are just like us in the eyes of the One.
Before we heard the voice of our Friend,
We wandered in darkness and hated the light.
Let one who's been saved not turn up one's nose
At ones who still live in the jaws of death.
Let us pray for God to send our foes
The light that opens one's eyes to the truth.
Let's speak of the light in the midst of darkness.
Setting aside our doubt and our fear,
Let us greet our foes with acts of love.
The One Who saved us from darkness and death
Can turn a will of war into peace.
The peace that lasts — the peace that is real—
Arises from hearts that have learned to see
All persons as kin united by God
And God alone as the source of life.

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.