Rendition of Psalm 62
It took a long time, But I found my quiet again. I wrap it around me and wait for God alone. He is my fastness, quick keep, faith’s fort, My rest and release. How many of my battered days Slipped soundlessly to nothing? How long was I a man of strings Pushing through a hedge without end? What did I do to deserve the ire Of so many people I hardly know? If I fall, will they rise? Or will they just be rid of me And free to swallow down The loves I ceded and deck Their brows like crowns With the things I lost? They open their mouths to smile But only trouble tumbles out. Stillness isn’t easy, But it is all I have left. So I will wait here In silence For God alone. In the morning I come downstairs While the house sleeps. I make the coffee in the dark. I pray and fret and watch From the bay window as God’s ghost moon tumbles through What’s left of the sky. I ravel myself back. I breathe. I watch the martins circle in the soft dawn. I learn the first lesson again: God is a refuge; rest in him. My fears run in a small circle. I weigh them and watch them rise Like the smoke of my morning’s altar. I have heard you, God, Once or twice, but clear and true And I am still ringing with it. You seek the lost. You guard the weak. You bring everyone the harvest Of their frantic days.
Text Psalms: 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, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 46, 47, 51, 53, 54, 61, 62, 63, 65, 66, 70.
Psalms in audio: 33
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