LIGHT IN DARKNESS

Meaning in Psalm 112

Alfred D. Byrd

HAPPY is one who's in awe of God
And does what's righteous from love with joy.
The world may hate the one who does good,
But God remembers, and God rewards,
Whoever receives and keeps the truth.
Compassion on those who live in pain
Proclaims the one received in heaven.
Mercy on neighbors who've gone astray
And fairness to all, both friends and foes,
Are traits of those who honor their God.
Observing widows — orphans — in need,
They open their heart and their purse to them
To show in action the love of God.
An act of love is light in darkness.
Blessings will come on lovers of God.
Although a storm may rage around them —
Nature and neighbors are far from tame —
They have assurance within their hearts
Of God's approving faithful actions.
Family, labor — our God will bless
The works of hands that feeds the truth.
To turn aside will bring one sorrow;
Happy are those who cling to our God.

The story of Divine Light as revealed by Hebrew and Christian Scripture.

The Light

KNOWLEDGE OF TRUTH

Meaning in Psalm 111

Alfred D. Byrd

KNEELING to God from awe in our heart
Gives rise to wisdom — knowledge of truth
And clearness of mind to choose what's right.
Let's study the will and works of God.
Our heart will find joy in what we learn.
God's works are splendid, kingly, and pure;
No foulness will stain or cloud eclipse
The light that shines on us from the Throne.
In ears of sinners and saints alike,
Let's praise our God, deserving of thanks
For blessings too great to be described.
The works of God show grace and mercy —
Kindness unearned, forgiveness unsought —
On those who've wandered, leaving the light.
Our God has made a contract with us —
A contract bearing the Name of God
And needing none else to be complete —
To redeem the lost who seeks reprieve.
Our food exists because the Maker
Shouted in darkness, "Let there be light!"
Whatever other blessing there is
Has come first hand or sideways from God.
The works of God will last forever.
Nothing can change what's willed in heaven,
Throne room of God, the goal of our faith.
The things of this world will fall apart,
But blessings of God will have no end.

An age-old story retold in verse for a new millennium.

A Song of the One

THE PLAGUE OF WAR

Meaning in Psalm 110

Alfred D. Byrd

OUR GOD has told the Savior, our King,
"Be seated beside the Throne on high
Until I've ended the plague of war —
Until the ones who hated Your Name
Bow down to worship the King of Peace."

FROM HEIGHTS on which a temple has stood —
The temple in which our God resides,
Communing with all who seek the light —
Our God extends the Ruler's scepter.
Conflict will end when we see the foe,
Which comes in arms from right and from left,
Cast down all weapons and sue for peace
From the One Who does the Will of God.

THE KING has called the people to serve.
The people responds at once with joy
To do whatever the King requires.
Although the dew at daybreak is thick,
The youths wake up and come together,
Eager to fill their eyes with splendor —
Holy, their King eclipses the dawn!

A PRIEST is one who stands before God
To win for humans pardon and peace.
The priests of this world receive their place
From lines of parents who bear a name,
Or from rites that say, "The work is yours."
Our God, however, has made a priest
Who has no start and will have no end,
But serves forever, righteous at heart —
The Ruler of peace that comes from God.
Our God has said — the Name guarantees —
"The One Whom I send is priest and king
Who saves you from law to live in peace."

OUR GOD supports the Priest and Ruler.
No one who fights the One Who is sent
Can hope to withstand the light from God.
All things of darkness, bringer of war,
Will be swept away to make a space
In which the seed of peace can burgeon,
Forming a world unspotted and bright
In which our will and our God's are one
Beneath our Savior, the King of Peace.

One misunderstood system of faith and practice explained to another in its own terms.

Kabbalah for Evangelical Christians

CRICKETS WHO CHIRP A SONG

Meaning in Psalm 109

Alfred D. Byrd

SOMETIMES, our lives are filled with sorrow.
Enemies curse us on left and right.
Their words are hateful, riddled with lies;
Their words accuse us of crimes and sins
Of which we're guiltless. No one will hear
Our plea to judge us by law and fact.
The ones who hate us welcome our fall.
They see us go down, made weak and poor.
We turn to tatters of what we were;
We shrink to crickets who chirp a song
Of being shadows swallowed in dusk.
The ones who watch are shaking their heads
At lives disturbed by the touch of death.

IT'S EASY for us, in times of pain,
To pray to God for vengeance on foes.
It's human to shout, "Give back to them
The pain and shame they they gave to us!
The one who made a widow from wife,
Let his wife become bereaved in turn!
The one who caused our children to cry,
Let him see children of his beg bread!
May he come before a court in chains
And hear a sentence paying his crimes
With life in prison — with death, with death!
Let none recall his name on the earth;
Let God recall his sins at the Throne
And make his name a stain and a stench!"

THE CHILDREN of God should pray for more
Than bad for bad. The world can do that.
Let's seek a revenge of good for bad.
The height of vengeance is love that wins
A heart from darkness to share the light.
If we pray for foes, let's pray in love
That sends a blessing to slay a curse.
May God deliver our foes from hate
To walk in the light and grow in love.
When we see a life redeemed from sin,
The life that hated the light is dead;
New life from God has replaced that life.
Where we saw a foe, there stands a friend
Who shares the work of praising our God.

If you're confused or overwhelmed with debates on the early Church, here are some clear, basic facts about it.

Trinity, Canon, and Constantine: Clear Light on the Early Church