Psalm 47
I asked the Lord to relieve this pressure and pain in my heart,
He led me to His own suffering on the cross......
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts
"My God, My God why have you forsaken Me?"1
Jesus calls out from the cross
as a voice for all sinners.
Isaiah quotes God,
"The Sovereign, Lord of hosts
will send a wasting sickness
among his stout warriors...
The Light of Israel will become a fire,
and his Holy One a flame to
devour thorns and briers
in one day and to destroy his
fruitful land
body and soul
leaving a remnant of the trees
in the forest so small
a child could write it down."2
Circumcise my heart oh Lord,3
by burning the brambles
holding it hostage!
Make room for new growth!
For You promise to give us a new
heart and a new spirit
removing the stone
and replacing it with flesh.4
Though you approved Your Son
heir over all things
You allowed him to suffer
straight through to resurrection.
He, being a reflection of Your Glory
being superior to angels
became the bearer of the thorns
wearing it
as a crown of triumph over sin.5
For now that the rubble
of destruction is cleared,
the rain will come and
seeds will sprout.
The words that have gone out
of Your mouth oh Lord,
will not return void,
but accomplish all that you purpose.6
Instead of thorns
will come resurrected life
and shall be a memorial
to God the Father.
Oh my God,
make the pain of pruning
down to stubble
be quick!
Help me to focus on the Light
of Your Glory
not the fire of cleansing.
Let me endure with bravery
knowing only good
will come.
Better than before, will I be,
and shall receive
God's reflected glory.
1 Mark 15:33 When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 34 At three o'clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" 35 When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, "Listen, he is calling for Elijah." 36 And someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, "Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down." 37 Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.
2 Isaiah 10:16 Therefore the Sovereign, the Lord of hosts, will send wasting sickness among his stout warriors, and under his glory a burning will be kindled, like the burning of fire. 17 The light of Israel will become a fire, and his Holy One a flame; and it will burn and devour his thorns and briers in one day. 18 The glory of his forest and his fruitful land the Lord will destroy, both soul and body, and it will be as when an invalid wastes away. 19 The remnant of the trees of his forest will be so few that a child can write them down.
3 Deuteronomy 10:14 Although heaven and the heaven of heavens belong to the Lord your God, the earth with all that is in it, 15 yet the Lord set his heart in love on your ancestors alone and chose you, their descendants after them, out of all the peoples, as it is today. 16 Circumcise, then, the foreskin of your heart, and do not be stubborn any longer. 17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, 18 who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them food and clothing.
4 Ezekiel 11:18 When they come there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations. 19 I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them; I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, 20 so that they may follow my statutes and keep my ordinances and obey them. Then they shall be my people, and I will be their God.
5 Hebrews 1:1 Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. 3 He is the reflection of God's glory and the exact imprint of God's very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. 5 For to which of the angels did God ever say, "You are my Son; today I have begotten you"? Or again, "I will be his Father, and he will be my Son"? 6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, "Let all God's angels worship him." 7 Of the angels he says, "He makes his angels winds, and his servants flames of fire." 8 But of the Son he says, "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of your kingdom. 9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions." 10 And, "In the beginning, Lord, you founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands; 11 they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like clothing; 12 like a cloak you will roll them up, and like clothing they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will never end." 13 But to which of the angels has he ever said, "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet"? 14 Are not all angels spirits in the divine service, sent to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?
6 Isaiah 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10 For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it. 12 For you shall go out in joy, and be led back in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. 13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall be to the Lord for a memorial, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
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Comments
a human heart as in analogy - the garden.
show me your heart garden - the `Soul.
The idea is the human heart - Divinity.
Human. Divine.
The two are one.
`
Oops. I thought of you ref `Parabola.
{Where Spiritual Traditions Meet}
Spring 2010 issue. `Love. (paintings)
`
A Monotheistic Model Of Love. (paintings)
Gilla Nissan. Paintings by Judith Margolis.
I feel like say:`Holy gold marigolds today.
"Holy Gold Marigolds" I love that image and will hold that in my heart.
It's funny how I will write something knowing full well it is the process I am going through only the words they don't always help coming from my own mouth being in the midst of it. I know a garden is coming I'm still in the rubble right now though.
I see fire and pain and suffering being celebrated here. I am left a little repulsed, as I always am nowadays, by the sanctification of self-mortification.
Life is very difficult. No one gets out alive. Compassion for each other seems the more appropriate topic of concern. Refining our compassion. Being patient and forebearing with each other.
I know: you see profound connects between compassion and this festival of blood and pruning. You are moved, as am I by the beautiful language of the 16th century translators of the King James bible.
But perhaps you could take a half-step back and scan his as if you were new to it all? Dark and masochistic it is, objectively.
Compassion for human suffering means, in part, not contributing to it. Abstruse theological reasoning notwithstanding.
I apologize in advance for my bluntness, and any irritation it might cause. OS is a marketplace of ideas, and I respond to yours as such.
For me great works of art speak of all emotions good and bad. Here I'm speaking of change when one doesn't want to change and looking toward the light at the end of the tunnel. Compassion I did have for my boss who lovingly asked me to leave my job early. I was devastated. However I was able to gain my composure and congratulate her on her new change (self chosen) new house, new lease on life, even though it seemed to impact mine in a different way. Also the man that I have been at his side compassionately for 2 plus years 15 of which was dealing with cancer--After 2 clear PET scans and cause (I would think) for celebration, he decides to cut off from me. Confused? You bet I am. The fact that it happened within days of each other--suffering, yes I am. But I have to look to new horizons, because I have a child to raise and a mortgage to pay.
I really get what you say about finding a path thru difficult times, and the powerful, eloquent imagery of the Psalms that applies. My feeling is: almost any metaphysical, philosophical, faith-based or poetic materials that inspire us or help us diminish suffering, our own or others, is all to the good. And i do not question personal faith.
I am sad to hear of this pain in your life, and hope you erase any additional discomfort my words might have caused, with my response here, now. I am grappling with how to engage, as a non-believer, with faith materials that surface here on OS. Yours is a post about certain aspects of Christian theology, and to this I responded. It is almost impossible to do so without compromise or being overly-delicate or else causing offense.
We share this, perhaps: a feeling of the sacred and profound and infinite, and the ecstatic joy life offers. I see no supernatural dimension to it, as odd as that might seem to you. We also share this: we both seek inspiration and guidance and comfort from the written word.
I wish good outcomes and a belly laugh or two and good friends to you, as you set yourself aright.
Thank you so much for speaking your truth in a respectful and dignified way. I welcome that always, and we can always grow from it.
(I left a note to you on breathing, if it's helpful in any way, on my page after I read your comment!)
Love to you, a womanly example of Living Love, Julie
You honor me with this re-re-comment. I am flawed and struggling in my irritation/compassion/joy/rationality balancing. And greatly appreciate that we have found common ground.
Now do NOT re-re-re-re-comment! I have to get some work done in the final 5 hours left this week!
;)
I think this is what love really looks like. Thanks Anne and company!