72
(A som that is David’s prayer for Solomon.)
Give good judgment and righteousness to my son, the new president.
Let him judge the wayfarers righteously, and the poor with good judgment.
All the mountains and little hills shall be at peace.
He shall strengthen the poor, and save the children of the needy, and break in pieces the oppressor.
His term shall last as long as the sun and the moon.
He shall come down out of the sky like rain, and like showers upon the mown grass.
His dominion shall be from sea to shining sea, and from the river to the place where it cascades off the earth.
Even the dwellers of the wilderness shall bow before him. And his enemies lick the dust.
The Archon of Hawaii-Alaska shall bring presents. And the prime minister of Oceania shall offer gifts. The king of Sheba shall put forth many bribes, even the queen his wife.
All nations shall serve him. He shall make Eldorado an Empire.
He shall help the poor and needy, and deliver their soul from deceit and violence. He shall not force them to labor. If he turns toward the ways of Ancient Egypt, let his country be riven, as the coat of Joseph.
He shall be given much gold from Sheba. He shall have corn in abundance, up to the top of the mountains.
Blessed be Yahweh God, the protector of the caravan, who only does wondrous things. Amen, and amen.
The prayers of David the son of Michaelangelo are ended.
73
It is a fact that God is good to the caravansary, even to those who have a pure heart.
But as for me, I was slippery footed; I slid toward foolishness, and I envied the prosperity of the wicked: For they seemed to have defeated death, their stance on earth was so sure. They were not in trouble like other men; they were not plagued as other men. Pride was a strong chain supporting them; violence covered them as a garment.
Their eyes stand out with fatness, they have more than a heart could wish. They are corrupt; they work oppression; they speak loftily. They set their mouth against the sky, and their tongue walks through the earth. About their misdeeds, they say: “How would God know? The Most High will never see.”
These are the uncompassionate ones; they prosper in the world; they increase in riches. I was swept up by their way; I contracted their addiction. My desire was to ignore harmony: it was too painful for me.
Until I stood in the furnace of potential, and meditated on the Volcano: then I understood their end.
Surely, they are sliding; you have cast them off; they are funneling into destruction. They are spiraling ever downward: Now they arrive at desolation, in an instant! They are utterly consumed with terrors.
As when one awakes from a dream, O Yahweh, so they awake to despise their image.
This happened to me. In my heart I was grieved. I was pricked in my reins. So foolish was I, and ignorant. I was like a beast.
Nevertheless, you are continually with me; you hold my hand. You guide me with your counsel. Then, afterward, you receive me into glory.
Who is my advocate among the sky-beings but you? And I would not want the help of any earthling. The god Yahweh is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever. Together, we will figure out all things, and go a whoring after righteousness.
74
O God, why have you cast us away for eternity? Why does your anger smoke against the goats of your pasture?
Remember the price that you paid for your congregation. You spent your inheritance on the caravan.
Your enemies have ruined your places of worship. Where you desire mixing and mingling, they want war.
A man was famous for lifting up axes against thick trees. You told that man: “Break down the carved work of all my places of worship. Those who claim me, I am against them.”
You set fire to the place they called your sanctuary. You set fire to the place they called your dwelling.
They said: “We see neither signs nor wonders; there is no more any prophet.” They have strayed from the volcano of potential.
O God, you are the Mad King of Old, working weirdness upon the earth. You divided the seas with bounds of crooked genius; you broke the heads of the dragons in the waters. Leviathan of Chaos got divvied in pieces: you gave him as meat to the people in the wilderness.
You split the fountain and cleaved the flood: you dried up the mighty rivers.
The day is yours; the night is yours. You invented the light and the sun.
You made the Emptiness for the Fulness. You dashed borderlines all over the earth. You fashioned summer and winter. You fixed an ongoing blast at the center of everything.
People blaspheme your name, and it does not faze you. You are truly superhuman.
But listen, O Yahweh: deliver not the soul of your turtledove unto the multitude of the wicked. Do not ignore the poor forever. Have respect for your covenant. You signed a contract; desist from emulating our statesmen, who make a habit of breaking treaties. Look: the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty. This is your doing.
Let not the oppressed remain ashamed. Let the poor and needy praise your name.
Arise, O God: stand up for your own cause!
75
We thank you for all that you have done, dear God. If you leave us to tend your herd, we will do so with care. But lo, the earth and all her inhabitants are dissolved: I bear up the pillars of it. Just look!
I said to the fools: “Deal not foolishly;” and to the wicked: “Speak not with a stiff neck.” I explained to them that promotion comes not from upper management but from the Volcano.
For in the hand of Yahweh there is a cup, and the wine is red; and every soul is invited to sip; but the dregs he shall dump out onto the wicked, and make them gag.
76
God is known in the caravan. He has his Tabernacle of Potential. And there is the Temple of the Hairy One.
He breaks all the arrows, bows, shields, and swords, when he battles. Think about that.
You are more glorious and excellent than whole mountains of prey piled up.
You spoil the stouthearted; slay them, and toss them on the heaps.
At one word from you, O God, both the chariot and horse are cast into a deep sleep.
You are to be feared. Who can stand in your sight, once you are angry?
Your judgment thundered from heaven. The earth trembled in terror. Then all was still.
Now God arises towering over the landscape, to do what great deed? To save the meek. Think about that.
Make vows to Yahweh God. Bring him presents and gifts, so that he may not unnerve you.
He shall strip the spirit from princes. He is terrible to all the leaders of the earth.
77
I was troubled all night with running sores; my soul could not find comfort. I remembered God, and I complained: my spirit was overwhelmed.
My eyes are wide open when I should be sleeping. I am so upset that I cannot speak.
I began thinking about the old days, the ancient times, when God led the workers out of the Empire. The waters saw you, O God, they saw you, and they were afraid; the depths also were troubled. The clouds poured out water: the skies sent out a sound: your flashing arrows went abroad: the voice of your thunder was in the heaven: your lightnings lit up the world: the earth trembled and shook. You chose a path straight through the ocean; the way of your footsteps is unknown.
Thus were my thoughts about the old days, the ancient times. And I began to wonder: Has Yahweh abandoned us for good and all? Will he never again be favorable? Is his mercy clean gone forever? Did his promise fail?
No comments:
Post a Comment