[Technically, the poet doesn't write this one in a Christian vein. He even borrows pagan mythology. But Wordsworth was Christian, and this is a great commentary on modern materialism.]
The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers:
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
The sea that bares her bosom to the moon,
The winds that will be howling at all hours,
And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;
For this, for everything, we are out of tune,
It moves us not. ---Great God! I'd rather be
A pagan suckled in a creed outworn.
So might I , standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn."
William Wordsworth
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Clouds & Scripture
"See, [Jesus] comes with the clouds,
And every eye shall see Him,
even as many as pierced Him;
And all the tribes of the earth shall mourn." (Revelation 1:7)
"See, He will advance like the clouds,
And His chariots like a whirlwind,
His horses are swifter than eagles.
Woe to us, for we are plundered!" (Jeremiah 4:13)
"You have clothed Yourself with a cloud
So that prayer cannot get through." (Lamentations 3:44)
"'I [God] have swept away as a cumulus cloud your offenses
And as a cloud your sins.
Return to Me,
For I have redeemed you.'" (Isaiah 44:22)
---original translations
And every eye shall see Him,
even as many as pierced Him;
And all the tribes of the earth shall mourn." (Revelation 1:7)
"See, He will advance like the clouds,
And His chariots like a whirlwind,
His horses are swifter than eagles.
Woe to us, for we are plundered!" (Jeremiah 4:13)
"You have clothed Yourself with a cloud
So that prayer cannot get through." (Lamentations 3:44)
"'I [God] have swept away as a cumulus cloud your offenses
And as a cloud your sins.
Return to Me,
For I have redeemed you.'" (Isaiah 44:22)
---original translations
The Spirit & Nature in Scripture
"By the word of Yahweh were the heavens made,
And all their hosts by the Spirit of His mouth." (Psalm 33:6)
"You send forth Your Spirit, they are created;
And You renew the face of the earth." (Ps. 104:30)
-----original translations
And all their hosts by the Spirit of His mouth." (Psalm 33:6)
"You send forth Your Spirit, they are created;
And You renew the face of the earth." (Ps. 104:30)
-----original translations
Fairest Lord Jesus
Fair are the meadows,
Fair are the woodlands,
Robed in flow'rs of blooming spring;
Jesus is fairer;
Jesus is purer;
He makes our sorr'wing spirits sing.
---ancient hymn text
Fair are the woodlands,
Robed in flow'rs of blooming spring;
Jesus is fairer;
Jesus is purer;
He makes our sorr'wing spirits sing.
---ancient hymn text
Mountains in Scripture
"I will lift up my eyes unto the hills
From whence comes my help." (Psalm 121:1)
"Great is Yahweh
And greatly to be praised
In the city of our God,
The mountain of His holiness." (Ps. 48:1)
"In [His] hands are the depths of the earth;
And the height of the hills are His." (Ps. 95:4)
---original translations
From whence comes my help." (Psalm 121:1)
"Great is Yahweh
And greatly to be praised
In the city of our God,
The mountain of His holiness." (Ps. 48:1)
"In [His] hands are the depths of the earth;
And the height of the hills are His." (Ps. 95:4)
---original translations
From Sea to Dark Dead Sea
[This poem is about the modern American mindset and its influence upon the Church. It does not reflect a crushing depression on the part of the poetess.]
The Jordan in but never out,
So knowledge takes in me such route
In brackish waters to brood about
The suppression of true freedom's shout---
The Dead Sea.
At lowest point, then, here I sit.
The deepest depression of deep'ning rift.
The deep'ning gloom---and shall it lift?
Integrity's shroud, hides Holy Writ. . .
Apathy.
As just-hatched bird by Nature bred
Lives just to squawk and so be fed
I now by histr'y do so defend
By justified means I reach this end:
The Bland Me.
I lived through day, I lived through night;
I lived through love, I lived through fright;
I turned inside to put to flight
The hopeless failures from crueller sight:
The Dead Me.
Whether by mindless shallowness
Or endless, stale analysis,
In Sophist and in Hedonist
The fear of Feeling here exists:
The fear "to be."
On me they float but can't dive in:
Cannot drown but cannot swim.
Advance in skills. . .Retreat within. . .
A merry-go-round with fatal spin. . .
Technology?!?!
Oh, to be that other sea,
Parted to let young Israel free,
Closed to drown out cruelty,
Fluid with fresh-faced vitality:
The Red Sea!!!
-----C. Marie Byars, 1987
Technorati Labels existentialism philosophy theology ethics culture religion technology
The Jordan in but never out,
So knowledge takes in me such route
In brackish waters to brood about
The suppression of true freedom's shout---
The Dead Sea.
At lowest point, then, here I sit.
The deepest depression of deep'ning rift.
The deep'ning gloom---and shall it lift?
Integrity's shroud, hides Holy Writ. . .
Apathy.
As just-hatched bird by Nature bred
Lives just to squawk and so be fed
I now by histr'y do so defend
By justified means I reach this end:
The Bland Me.
I lived through day, I lived through night;
I lived through love, I lived through fright;
I turned inside to put to flight
The hopeless failures from crueller sight:
The Dead Me.
Whether by mindless shallowness
Or endless, stale analysis,
In Sophist and in Hedonist
The fear of Feeling here exists:
The fear "to be."
On me they float but can't dive in:
Cannot drown but cannot swim.
Advance in skills. . .Retreat within. . .
A merry-go-round with fatal spin. . .
Technology?!?!
Oh, to be that other sea,
Parted to let young Israel free,
Closed to drown out cruelty,
Fluid with fresh-faced vitality:
The Red Sea!!!
-----C. Marie Byars, 1987
Technorati Labels existentialism philosophy theology ethics culture religion technology
Te Deum Laudamus
("We Praise You, O God", an ancient liturgical text)
We praise You, O God; We acknowledge You to be the Lord.
All the earth worships You, O Father Everlasting.
To You all angels cry aloud, the heavens and all the powers therein;
To the the cherubim and seraphim continually call out.
The noble army of the martyrs praises You:
The Holy Church throughout all the world acknowledges You,
O Father of infinite majesty, along with Your true and venerable only Son,
And, also, the Holy Spirit, the Comforter.
When You took it upon Yourself to deliver humanity,
You humbled Yourself to be born of a virgin.
When You had overcome the darkness of death,
You opened the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers.
We pray You, therefore, to help Your servants,
Those whom You have redeemed by Your precious blood.
Make us to be counted as Your saints
In glory everlasting.
O Lord, save Your people and bless Your inheritance.
Govern them and lift them up forever.
Day by day we glorify You,
And we worship Your name forever in unending ages.
We praise You, O God; We acknowledge You to be the Lord.
All the earth worships You, O Father Everlasting.
To You all angels cry aloud, the heavens and all the powers therein;
To the the cherubim and seraphim continually call out.
The noble army of the martyrs praises You:
The Holy Church throughout all the world acknowledges You,
O Father of infinite majesty, along with Your true and venerable only Son,
And, also, the Holy Spirit, the Comforter.
When You took it upon Yourself to deliver humanity,
You humbled Yourself to be born of a virgin.
When You had overcome the darkness of death,
You opened the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers.
We pray You, therefore, to help Your servants,
Those whom You have redeemed by Your precious blood.
Make us to be counted as Your saints
In glory everlasting.
O Lord, save Your people and bless Your inheritance.
Govern them and lift them up forever.
Day by day we glorify You,
And we worship Your name forever in unending ages.
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