FOR LOVE OF US

Meaning in Psalm 103

Alfred D. Byrd

CHILDREN of God, remember how much
Our Maker has done for love of us.
Our God, Who lives in light forever,
Spread out the heavens and set a throne
Above all else to tell the worlds,
"The will of God is life and is law."
The worlds are here because the Maker
Called out a word and made them appear.
From dust, a body; from God, a breath —
We humans depend on God for life!

TOO OFTEN, we fall because we're weak.
Before our God, we're grass that withers,
Shaken by winds and murdered by drought.
We come and go, but our God remains.
Our God remembers how weak we are
And makes provision for life restored.
Recall the past: a people enslaved
Cried out to God, "We're facing our death."
Our God remembered, sending Moses,
Leading them elsewhere to learn the Law.
Each year, they recall the gift of God,
A life of freedom to serve the King.

OUR THOUGHTS, our words, and our acts deserve
A judgment of death, but God is life
For all who turn from darkness to light.
The gift repentance restores our hope
When we've gone astray and lost our path.
Our God is ready, even eager —
Judgment delayed, we find a reprieve —
To hear our plea and grant us pardon.
Mercy, not justice, our King desires.
Our sins have earned us only the pit,
But all who come, repenting of sin,
Will find a welcome before the Throne.

OUR GOD is worthy of love and praise.
Let all draw near to offer worship,
Heartfelt and pure, to the One Who is.
In praise of God, we'll find companions.
Angels who hear and obey the King
Will sing together with dust and breath —
We humans redeemed from death to life —
The praise of the One Whose Name is Love.

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

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MY HEART GROWS FAINT

Meaning in Psalm 102

Alfred D. Byrd

MANY who suffer today might pray
A prayer written in days gone by:

"CREATOR, hear me! I need Your help.
My days are swiftly passing away.
My body trembles from waves of pain.
A fever burns me, my heart grows faint,
And food is only ashes and dust.
My grief has turned me to skin and bones.
I'm like an owl that moans in darkness;
Lonely, it sounds. Does it look for friends?
Without a friend, a life is empty —
Nothing but words unspoken, unheard.
Without my God, what Friend do I have?
While I lie awake, I think of foes
Who laugh at me for all that's gone wrong.
They'll say to me, 'Your God rejects you.
Picking you up, He'll cast you aside.'
The shadows lengthen. The days grow short.
Unless, my God, You come to my aid,
I'll be like grass that withers and fades."

OUR GOD has been the same forever.
Seated upon a throne in the heights,
Our God sees lives and nations go past
Like shadows of clouds on days of wind.
It's easy for us to say in pain,
"Our God is distant, above our griefs."
Our God is distant; our God is near.
Amid the stars, there's also mercy,
Comfort for those who suffer today.
Our God remembers; our God will come
To raise again the walls of Zion.
Nations will turn from darkness to light
When they learn, "Our God has heard our cries."
Our God is with us. Our God sets free
The one in chains to sing in praise,
"Let all come near to worship the King!"

THE ONE who suffers is free to pray:
"My God has touched me with pain and grief
That caused me to think, 'My days are short,'
But life resides in the hand of God,
Who made indeed the heavens and earth,
But, soon, will sweep them away like dust.
The worlds will vanish, but life remains
In the hands of God, the Strong, the True.
I trust my God to bring me to light
Where I'll greet my King with praise and joy.
Before my Maker, I'll change my clothes
From garments of cloth that fades and rots
To garments of light, untouched by time."
The children of God will live secure,
Their grief forgotten, before the Throne.

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Kabbalah for Evangelical Christians

THE FRUIT OF CONCEIT

Meaning in Psalm 101

Alfred D. Byrd

MANY don't reach the city of God.
The One has standards of what is right.
The root of what is right is the truth.
Whoever twists it will be cast out.
Unfaithful persons despise the truth
And fill the world with acts of evil.
Devious thinking results in death.
How wrong it is to slander neighbors!
Arrogance leads us badly astray.
Disgrace has been the fruit of conceit.
Whatever is false consumes itself.

THE ONES who'll reach the Throne have treasured
Honesty over the fruit of lies.
The King, our God, accepts the faithful.
Wholeness of heart and cleanness of hands
Will please the One Who is Love and Light.
The ones who treasure mercy and justice —
Better forgiveness than gall and grief —
Will walk a path that ends in music,
Singing the praise of the God of truth.

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

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TO ENTER THE GATES

Meaning in Psalm 100

Alfred D. Byrd

HAPPINESS prospers, praising our God.
Let all who live in all of the earth
Devote their lives to service of God.
Not sorrow, but joy, awaits the one
Who seeks the Temple with songs of praise
For the One, our God, Who made all things.
Let all who live acknowledge this truth:
The One has made us, and we belong,
Like sheep to shepherd, to God, our King.
The sheep must take the Shepherd as guide
And call the Temple their home in hope
Of seeing the Light upon the Throne.
To enter the gates, to see the Throne,
Should make our hearts break out in praise
In thanks to God, Who made us for love —
The love of Maker for what is made,
The love of made for Maker and King.
The Name of the One, I AM, proclaims
Our God to be good untouched by wrong.
The mercy of God can have no end;
Our God is faithful to be the Light
Both now and through all of time to come.

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ANGELS OF GLORY

Meaning in Psalm 99

Alfred D. Byrd

HOLY and righteous is God our King.
Our God is One; there is no other.
Angels of glory uphold the Throne;
The earth will shake to see its Maker.
Zion, the chosen of God, comes near;
The nations look up, and bow, to God.
When we see our God, our pride is done;
All humans are dust before the Name.
The King has given a law for peace:
Show justice to rich and poor alike;
Do right for the sake of love of God.

OUR GOD has spoken with us before
To show us a way that leads to life.
We see in Scripture chosen leaders:
Moses became a nation's ruler;
Aaron, a priest before the altar;
Samuel, prophet shouting, "Repent!"
From prophet, from priest, from king, we see
How we hear from God within a cloud
And keep the Law despite temptations.
Answers will come to those who pray
With love of God as both ground and goal.

OUR GOD responds to the ones who pray.
Our God will punish what leads to death,
But forgives the one who turns to life.
Return to God and seek the temple!
Nothing endures but what rests in God.
Let God resume the throne of your heart
To be as one with the Throne on high.
Our Maker is Love; Our King is Light.
To choose what's holy results in life.

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As Fragile as Glass

Meaning in Psalm 98

by Alfred D. Byrd

WONDERS attend the presence of God.
Salvation is free to all who come
Because our God remembers our lives.
As small as dust, as fragile as glass,
We seem to the One Who has no end,
But we stand secure because of love—
The love of the One Whose will is Love.
Our God has called a people to be
A witness to all of what is right.
Let's do what's right for love of our God.
Whenever we do the will of God
And sing in praise of love and of faith—
God's acts of love revealed are models
Showing creation the path of hope—
We tell the world, "Our God is gracious.
Welcome are all who come for mercy!"

Jubilant music, trumpet and harp,
Belong to the King, the God of all.
The King is coming. Let none stay home!
Let all assemble to sing with joy
The praise of the One Who acts with faith!
When we see the King, all else will fade.
Our eyes will be on the light of God.

The earth is a stage on which our lives
Can come together to sing of love.
On hills on high, by rivers below,
We can stand for God and do what's right.
The waves that roar — the sea of peoples—
Yield us companions who aid the work.
Our God has ordained a law that's fair.
When we do what's fair, we praise our God
By making the truth alive in fact.
When we fail to do what's right and fair,
We call a judgment upon ourselves.
Today, we're free to do what we wish.
Tomorrow, changes may come at once.
Our God will come — the promise is sure—
To spurn what's evil, to keep what's good.
Let's praise our God, Who judges in truth.

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 Nature of Fire

Meaning in Psalm 97

by Alfred D. Byrd

DARKNESS and clouds surround the Maker.
No one can look at our God and live
Unless repentance gains one mercy—
Righteous and just, the One on the Throne.
Our God displays the nature of fire—
A fire to purge what's good of its dross,
A fire to purge the world of evil.
Lightning flashes! The heart of a storm
Is where our God appears to the world.
The mountains tremble. The world will fall
Before the One, the King on the Throne.

The skies above us are signs to us
Of One Who was and is and will be.
The peoples may shut their eyes awhile,
But someday will come to see the truth.
The glory of God is there for all
Whose eyes are open — whose heart is whole.
All things besides our God are idols,
Empty, worthless — awaiting judgment.
Worship of idols will end in shame.
Let all who think of themselves as gods
Bow down to worship the One alone!

Within this world, our God has chosen
Zion, a people to serve the Name.
The path of Zion hasn't been easy—
Jealousy poisons the world for all—
But daughters and sons have kept alive
The Law, proclaimed in a storm of fire.
The path of Zion, which ends in God,
Is a sign for all who doubt the truth.
No other but God could keep alive
A people through storms from right and left.
Let's say with Zion, "Our God is One'!
No other deserves our praise or trust.

To love what's true is to hate what's false.
Our God alone is the Source of love—
The End at Whom true love will arrive.
Our God preserves the children of love
From hands of evil striking with rage.
At times, the path ahead is darkened—
Hardship and grief abound in this world—
But light and joy await at its end.
Whoever is true, give thanks to God
For what is promised, an age of peace.

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.