Psalm 75—The stacked pillars of the earth stand steady because you hold them even when the plain world slides all askew.

Rendition of Psalm 75

Let the last word be thanks.
Walk us in wonder to the brink 
Of your unfurling works—
The long, last, true 
Tallest tale of your wisdom.

The stacked pillars of the earth 
Stand steady because you hold them
Even when the plain world slides all askew.
Why do the wicked lift themselves up
To stand stride and swagger? 
What came of the vaulted towers
They spent themselves to climb?
Their heaped works all spin selfward
And dwindle to a speck.

Power doesn’t come from the clamor 
of acclaim, nor glory from any conniving crown,
Or achievement from the carefully 
Mustered machinery of power, 
but the whole earth runs 
On the Lord’s long tether.
He will snap it back. He is a thresher.
He stands over the sift, raising one
Overthrowing another,
And sending a third to the wind
To be chaffed away.

There is a poison cup in his hand
And the wicked take it in their angry hands,
And drink it to the dregs. 
He upends it and the earth sways.

But I won’t hurtle any longer
Down the path that led us here.
God, end this momentum.
Still the forwarding world.
Tip us over and lay us down.
Lift us up.

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Psalms: 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 38, 39, 40, 43, 47, 54, 61, 63, 66, 70.

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Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash