Broken World

Riffing on Psalm 46:

The waters rage and riot;
their rampage fills the sky,
and all we know of quiet
is but the cyclone's eye.
The mountains quake in terror—
then how shall we not fear?
Our broken world's repairer,
why do you not draw near?

And if we have offended,
done evil in your sight,
oh, can it not be mended?
Can nothing be put right?
Remember, Lord, the deluge,
your promise to all things:
Come make for us a refuge
beneath your outspread wings.

Come fill our thirst and hunger;
lift up the lost and poor,
then work a greater wonder
and still the rage of war.
Our strength and our salvation,
our rescue in distress,
though mountain fall and nation,
draw near, draw near to us.

Thunderstorm near Pritzerbe (Germany) By Mathias Krumbholz – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26118676SONY DSC

Cries

When justice streams from heaven, will it burn
or drown the world as in a second flood?
Will we have time to run for cover first?
The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,

whose truth shall spring up from the tired ground,
obliterating what we thought was safe.
Was it on rock or sand we built the house?
He comes, he comes, the reckoner of days.

For he has heard the wailing of the poor—
Weep then, you rich, at your impending doom.
He comes to give us each our sure reward,
and how can earth not quake when heaven stoops?

Yet all these things will pass and silence fall,
and every knee shall bend before his might,
but ere he judges, God will stoop still more
to mourn the passing of each blameless light.

Unshroud the dead; let him see every face,
and tremble, heaven, as he sees who died.
Roll back the stones, disturbing every grave,
and let him see their hands, their feet, their sides.

O angels, turn your faces; do not look.
O six-winged seraphs, hide your flaming eyes.
Earth would dissolve in fire if it could,
not to be there when its creator cries.

By Józef Chełmoński – http://www.pinakoteka.zascianek.pl, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=292402

All Is Not Lost

The waters are rising,
the ship battered and tossed,
but a light is still shining,
and all is not lost.
The thunder that deafens
is the crack of our hearts
that cries out to heaven,
yet all is not lost.

Down on the horizon,
comes a glimmer of sparks:
The gleam of the lighthouse
says all is not lost.
There's light still to guide us,
steer us off of the rocks.
Even here, hope can find us,
and all is not lost.

You walked on the waters
while the little boat rocked.
If you don't calm the surges,
still all is not lost.
The sea is all yours, Lord,
like the rocks and our hearts.
Keep sailing us homeward,
so all is not lost.

Christ walking on the sea, by Amédée Varint – http://www.culture.gouv.fr/GOUPIL/IMAGES/101_Christ_sur_eau.jpg (Gravures et eaux fortes), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4780982

The Storm

A mash-up of Psalm 29 and Texas weather:

The cedars of Lebanon splinter;
they crack at the sound of your voice.
The mountains bow down and the shiver;
the depths rise up high and rejoice.

The crowds in your temple cry, “Glory!”
Ecstatic, the wilderness shakes.
You come, and earth dances before you
and revels 'til everything breaks.

Your voice in the flashes of lightning;
your thunder that groans in the ground:
All praise to our God, who is mighty,
our terrified hearts wail aloud.

The trees cast their leaves down before you,
then lift their bare branches and sing.
We fall to our knees and adore you:
Praise God at the end of all things!

Project Vortex – on the fringe of a downburst. Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=408693

Psalm 57: The Thunder’s Rage Is Roaring (With Greg Scheer)

First-ever collaboration with composer Greg Scheer (listen here): What a great experience!

The thunder's rage is roaring,
and lightning flames on high.
I lift my voice, imploring,
but who will hear my cry?
My God, come down; restore me!
From heaven now draw nigh!
Your guarding wings spread o'er me
'til storms have passed me by.

My foes, they hunt and hound me;
my grave they have prepared.
Like lions they surround me,
their words as sharp as spears.
My God, come down; confound them
and catch them in their snares,
Your saving love has found me
and held me in your care.

O God, my heart is ready
to sing and wake the dawn,
for thunder fades already,
the storm will soon be gone
No night outlasts your heaven,
where terrors all are done.
Your mercy lasts forever,
your love goes on and on!

Lightning storm, Port-la-Nouvelle. By Maxime Raynal from France – Orage PLN, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42048641

Storm: Psalm 29

Based on psalm 29, in the middle of a record-setting hurricane season. To the tune EVENTIDE (“Abide With Me”):

Raging, the thunder cracks across the sky;
crouched in your temple, “Glory, Lord!” we cry.
Drowning our voices, stormwinds howl your praise;
forests bow down to you, and lightnings blaze.

Lord of the waters, winds and waves obey;
power and might attend you on your way.
We are the leaves torn from the tossing trees,
flying in fear and driven to our knees.

None, Lord, but you hold power in this night;
you, you alone can help us in our plight.
Hold us in safety while the storms proclaim
all of the strength and splendor of your name.

Then, when your sunrise brings our peace in sight,
when all the ruin greets us in its light,
rain down again your might; oh God, rebuild
home, heart, and hope where rage and fear are stilled.