THE BRICKS AND CLAY OF EGYPT

Meaning in Psalm 114

Alfred D. Byrd

OFTEN, we lose our vision of God.
For much of life, each day is the same,
A chain of duties — a time of grief.
We awake, we work, we eat, we sleep —
What place has God in a world like this
Where we see the rich make fun of faith
And paupers, trusting, get by at best?

THE CHOSEN of God lived once as slaves
Who hauled the bricks and clay of Egypt.
Nothing had changed for decades on end
Until our God remodeled the world.
The day of God is a day of change.
A sea went dry, a mountain thundered —
Obstacles vanished before the One
Who spoke a law to form a nation.
Children of slaves would give birth to kings.
The children of God had left their chains
To find a future of hope with God.

THE WORKS of God are both great and small.
The One Who split the seas and the sky
Would also open a rock to give
A gift of water to ease the thirst
Of those who followed their God in faith.
The God Who sits on a throne on high
Can also come down to heal our wounds.
The One Who waits to redeem our lives
Will act at once when waiting is done.

An Epic of the Exile Who Rose to Rule an Empire to Save God's Children

The Stars Bow Down