Rendition of Psalm 17
I have asked before And I will ask again: hear me. This prayer is all I can manage, But it rises from an honest heart. Winnow me and claim what remains. I am a fulgurite among a million sands. Sift me and start again with what is left. Seek me and sound me out. Stand at my side as I groan Through my night thoughts one by one. I have kept my hands from violence. I have watched for signs— A bent branch, a footstep, A thin whisper leading left or right, The next river rock between flashes of light— To trace your path where it bends away. I have raised my voice to call on you And I call again: listen to my prayer. Show me you are better Than my frail hopes guessed. Show me you know how to shelter Those who have wagered with you, For dice rattle, time rattles, And doubts rattle here in my head. If I ever needed refuge, it is now. I am not well-versed in violence, But my enemies are all at hand. They have shut their dull hearts And sharpened their mouths. They do not know your name, But they do know mine. Before me, faces leer and lunge, Pallid as bones, snapping, angry. Behind me, claws skitter, blood bright. Between them, I gasp through ever longer nights. Violence is not what you made the world for; It is just what happens here. Is my God greater Than the threats around me? Rise and confront them. Show them Your love is silver over steel. Teach them the name of the power That guards the weak. No strength stands unbended before you. Bow them. Upend them. They have taken the fattest portion. Their bellies bulge. Their cupped hands hoard spoils They have promised to themselves. As for me, I wake through harrowing nights, But you have heard me. You have never been closer than this. My consolation waits In the lines of your face.
Psalms: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 34, 35, 38, 39, 40, 42, 43, 46, 50, 51, 53, 54, 62, 63, 65, 66, 73, 74, 75, 84, 86, 88, 90, 91, 100, 107, 110, 114, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 137, 139, 140, 142, 147, 148.
Request the Darkling Psalter in Print
If you would like to move this project one step closer to publication, sign up on this form to request the Darkling Psalter in print.
Read More from Andy
Three Things Newsletter—Resources to help you connect with God, culture, and neighbor (with Phillip Johnston).
Pattern Bible—Tracing biblical images from Genesis to Revelation.
Still Point—Reflections on deconstruction and explorations of the truth of Christianity.
The Wager Stone—A very niche serialized litRPG novel about a man stuck in a game world whose only ally is a talkative and incorrigible brain parasite.
These lines hit pretty hard:
"Violence is not what you made the world for;
It is just what happens here."