​O LORD, in your strength the king's glad and inspired,
and in your salvation he's greatly rejoiced.
You've given whatever his heart has desired,
withheld no request that his lips ever voiced.

You welcomed him back — with good things he's been blest;
you placed on his head a crown wrought of pure gold.
He asked you for life, and you heard his request — 
forever and ever his years are untold.

His glory is great through your vict'ries allowed;
such splendor and majesty you have bestowed!
With blessings forever has he been endowed;
your presence has filled him with joy overflowed.

Because the king trusts in the Almighty LORD,
the LORD's loving-kindness will keep him secure.
Your hand will lay hold of your enemy hoard;
your right hand will seize those who hate you for sure.​​

As if by a furnace, upon your return,
they'll all be destroyed in the blaze of your ire.
They'll all be engulfed in the LORD's wrath and burn,
consumed and devoured by his endless fire.

You'll make sure their children are gone from this world;
the lines from their children's descendants will fail.
Intending you harm with the plots they have hurled,
that cannot nor will not remotely prevail.

Therefore, you will cause them to turn and take flight
once they finally notice your bow has been raised.
Rise up, LORD Jehovah, because of your might;
we'll sing of your power and give you our praise.

​O LORD, in Your strength the king will be glad, And in Your salvation how greatly he will rejoice!
(20:1 - NASB)

You have given him his heart’s desire and have not withheld the request of his lips.
(21:2 - ESV)

You welcomed him back with success and prosperity. You placed a crown of finest gold on his head.
(21:3 - NLT)

He asked you for life, and you gave it to him— length of days, for ever and ever.
(21:4 - NIV)

His glory is great through your salvation; splendor and majesty you bestow on him.
(21:5 - ESV)

You have endowed him with eternal blessings and given him the joy of your presence.
(21:6 - NLT)

The king trusts in the LORD Almighty; and because of the LORD’s constant love he will always be secure.
(21:7 - GNT)

Your hand will lay hold on all your enemies; your right hand will seize your foes.
(21:8 - NIV)

When you appear for battle, you will burn them up as in a blazing furnace.
The LORD will swallow them up in his wrath, and his fire will consume them.
(21:9 - NIV)

You will wipe their children from the face of the earth; they will never have descendants.
(21:10 - NLT)

Although they plot against you, their evil schemes will never succeed.
(21:11 - NLT)

For they will turn and run when they see your arrows aimed at them.
(21:12 - NLT)

Rise up, LORD, because you are strong; we will sing and praise your power.
​(21:13 - ISV)

​NASB: New American Standard Bible   •   ESV: English Standard Version   •   NLT: New Living Translation   •   NIV: New International Version   •   Good News Translation   •   ISV: International Standard Version

​The thing that strikes me about this psalm is the repetitious use of the word, may, used at the beginning of lines in more than half of the verses. Then, depending on your translation, used one last time in the final line of the psalm.

Written three weeks ago, I was happy with it until I reviewed it again for this post where it received a major line change and a few more word tweaks. Now, it might be done.

​May the LORD give you answers when you're in distress;
may the God served by Jacob protect you as well.
May the help from his temple provide you redress,
and come to your rescue from my Holy Hill.

May your gifts be remembered and held in regard;
may he favor the balm from your offerings' fire.
May he grant you the hopes and the dreams of your heart,
may he bring to fruition the plans you desire.

May we sing now with joy for your struggles are done,​
in the name of our God, raise our banner and voice!
May the LORD answer all your requests, one by one!
Now I know that the LORD saves the king of his choice.

He will answer from his holy heaven above,
with the power and strength of his mighty right hand.
Some trust chariots, some — its their horses they love,
but we trust in the LORD, in whose name do we stand. 

​When the nations collapse and they fall to their knees,
we'll be strong and rise up and stand firm through it all.
LORD, deliver the king all his earned victories!
May you hear us and answer that day when we call.

​May the LORD answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.
(20:1 - NIV)

May the LORD send help from his temple and come to your rescue from Mount Zion.
(20:2 - CEV)

May he remember all your gifts and look favorably on your burnt offerings.
(20:3 - NLT)

May he grant your heart’s desires and make all your plans succeed.
(20:4 - NLT)

We will sing for joy over your victory, And in the name of our God we will set up our banners. May the LORD fulfill all your petitions.
(20:5 - NASB)

Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand.
(20:6 - ESV)

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
(20:7 - NIV)

Those nations will fall down and collapse, but we will rise up and stand firm.
(20:8 - NLT)

LORD, give victory to the king! May he answer us on the day that we call.
(20:9 - CSB)

​NIV: New International Version   •   CEV: Contemporary English Version   •   NLT: New Living Translation   •   NASB: New American Standard Bible   •   ESV: English Standard Version   •   CSB: Christian Standard Bible

​Like the familiarity of Psalm 23 or Psalm 100, this psalm was familiar to me as well — at least verses 7 thru 10, as I used to sing them as a kid. So, I was nervous as it crept closer to me having to deal with it.

It start off with typical 4-line stanzas, which went off the rails already after the second stanza. Verse 4 seemed to have an extra line thrown in. David introduces a line about the sun at the very end of verse 4, and continues to talk about it in verses 5 and 6.

​They speak without a sound or word;
their voice is never heard.
Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,
and their words to all the world.
God has made a home in the heavens for the sun.
Psalm 19:4-5

​​Because of this "extra" line, I decided to have extra lines in my poem as well to accommodate them, either to say something new or to emphasize a previous point.

​The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
(19:1 - ESV)

Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.
(19:2 - BSB)

Without speech or language, without a sound to be heard,
(19:3 - BSB)

Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world. God has made a home in the heavens for the sun.
(19:4 - NLT)

It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding. It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race.
(19:5 - NLT)

The sun rises at one end of the heavens and follows its course to the other end. Nothing can hide from its heat.
(19:6 - NLT)

The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
(19:7 - NASB)

The precepts of the LORD are right, bringing joy to the heart; the commandments of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.
(19:8 - BSB)

The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever; the judgments of the LORD are true, being altogether righteous.
(19:9 - BSB)

They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold. They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb.
(18:10 - NLT)

Moreover by them Your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is great reward.
(19:11 - NKJV)

None of us know our faults. Forgive me when I sin without knowing it.
(19:12 - CEV)

Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.
(19:13 - KJB)

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.
(19:14 - NLT)

​ESV: English Standard Version   •   BSB: Berean Study Bible   •   NLT: New Living Translation   •   NASB: New American Standard Bible   •   NKJV: New King James Version   •   CEV: Contemporary English Version   •   KJB: King James Bible

​From the previous poem — Psalm 17 — to this one, about two weeks passed. The first week I did no writing at all. The second week, I wrote this. I was a little reluctant to even start because of its length of 50 verses. And, yes, I know there are two more psalms coming up that are even longer!

Due to its length, a few good lines were bound to be written.  And, I want to highlight a few of them — especially the third of these excerpts.

​From His temple He heard my voice,
and my cry for His help reached His ears.
Then the earth shook and quaked,
and the foundations of the mountains trembled;
they were shaken because He burned with anger.
Psalm 18:6b-7

​He heard my lone voice from his heavenly temple;
he hears with his ears every cry that I make.
The earth moved and shuddered, the mountaintops tremble​​;
God's anger has caused their foundations to shake.

​He shot His arrows and scattered the foes;
He hurled lightning and routed them.
The channels of the sea appeared,
and the foundations of the world were exposed,
at Your rebuke, O LORD,
at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.
Psalm 18:14-15

​He sent forth his arrows, men ran in commotion;
they fled from his lightning bolts hurled through the air.
The blast of your breath, LORD, uncovered the ocean;
rebuked, the foundations of earth were laid bare.​​

​As for God, His way is perfect;
the word of the LORD is flawless.
He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
For who is God besides the LORD?
And who is the Rock except our God?
Psalm 18:30-31

​​For God's way is blameless; the LORD's word, perfection.
He shields and protects those who give him their trust.
Indeed, who is God but the LORD in reflection?
And who is the Rock but our God who is just?

​These are the reasons I write: to be able to transform God's word into poetry. To take some consecutive lines of thought, originally written in Hebrew, translated to Greek, then eventually to the English language — to take those back-to-back verses and find a way to fit them into a fixed pattern of rhythm and rhyme for the glory of God.

​I love you, Jehovah, my strength and my power.
The LORD is my rock and my fortress afield;
my God, I seek refuge within your high tower,
protect me and save me, my buckler and shield.

I call on the LORD, who deserves my devotion;
so I, from my enemies' grip, will be saved.
Engulfed in the billows of death's endless ocean;
​the flood of the godless rolls over in waves.

​Entangled in cords of the grave that have tightened,
as death lays its snares as a trap in my way.
Distressed, I cry out to the LORD — I'm so frightened;
for God's intervention do I hope and pray.

He heard my lone voice from his heavenly temple;
he hears with his ears every cry that I make.
The earth moved and shuddered, the mountaintops tremble​​;
God's anger has caused their foundations to shake.

His nostrils blew smoke; from his mouth, fire consuming,
coals kindled and blazing and spewing their heat.
​He parted the heavens, and there, in the glooming,
descended with thick, dark clouds under his feet.

He mounted the back of a cherub, then riding
he glided and soared on the wings of the wind.
He shrouded himself in the darkness, in hiding;
dark waters and clouds veil his structure therein.

From brightness before him, his thick clouds surrounding,
come hailstones and coals that have been set aflame.
The LORD Most High thundered from heaven, resounding​
as hailstones and fiery coals poured down like rain.

He sent forth his arrows, men ran in commotion;
they fled from his lightning bolts hurled through the air.
The blast of your breath, LORD, uncovered the ocean;
rebuked, the foundations of earth were laid bare.​​

He reached down from heaven and gently withdrew me
from out of the depths of the deep rolling sea.
He saved me from powerful foes who pursue me;
the hateful and those who are stronger than me.

Attacked at a time I had nothing to hope in,
Jehovah protected me from every foe.
He led me to safety, a place in the open,
​he saved me because I delighted him so.

The LORD has rewarded my deeds as he's weighed them;
because of my innocence I am restored.
I've kept all the ways of the LORD and obeyed them;
I've not turned from God nor abandoned my LORD.

​For all of his rules and his judgments before me,
I've never abandoned his stated decrees.
I'm blameless before him of sin, uniformly;
I've guarded my heart with a life on my knees.

So I've been rewarded for godly deeds, solely,
the LORD knows my hands have been clean in his sight.
With those who are holy, you've shown yourself holy;
to people upright, shown yourself as upright.

​With those who are pure, shown yourself to be pure, then;
but those who are crooked you’ve shown yourself wise.
You rescue the humble, afflicted and poor men,
but bring down the haughty with pride in their eyes.

​LORD, you keep my candle lit, burning and dancing;
my God lights the dark so all gloom is unveiled.
In you I can crush any army advancing;
​with God, every wall that I leap can be scaled.

​For God's way is blameless; the LORD's word, perfection.
He shields and protects those who give him their trust.
Indeed, who is God but the LORD in reflection?
And who is the Rock but our God who is just?

The God who equipped me with strength and with power,
removes every hurdle and makes my way plain.
He makes me as swift as the deer in the flower,
sure-footed in mountains and rugged terrain.

For hand-to-hand combat, he's laid the foundation;
the strength of my arms bends the bronze bow I hold.
You've given me, LORD, your great shield of salvation;
your right hand supports me and makes me extolled.

You've broadened the pathway that my feet have stepped on,
I no longer trip on debris to avoid.
Pursuing my enemies, running, I kept on
and did not turn back until they were destroyed.

I crushed them completely, and put down the rabble;
they're fallen, lay desolate under my feet.
For you have equipped me with strength for the battle;
those rising against me you've thoroughly beat.

You've shown me their necks when they turned and retreated,
with those who have hated me sentenced to die.
They cried out for mercy, but none interceded;
they cried to the LORD, but he did not reply.

I've ground them to dust blown in windy conditions;
and into the gutter like dirt they were thrown.
You saved me from strife from the people's seditions;
made ​me lead a nation of people unknown.

As soon as they hear me, they kneel in submission;
the foreigners cower when they venture near.
The strangers lose heart when they see their position,
and leave from their fortifications in fear.

Oh, let the LORD live! To my Rock, I give glory!
​The God of salvation — exalted is he!
The God who avenges, the one fighting for me;
subduing the nations and peoples to me.

You lifted me over my foes' domination;
delivered me from the most violent of men.
For this, O LORD, I will praise you among nations,
and I will sing praises about your name, then.

Salvation he brings to his king and appointed,
great victories given from heaven ascend;
unfailing to show his love to his anointed,
to David and to his descendants no end.

​Normally, my poems contain four lines per verse. That's just the way I work. In this case, however, six lines per verse worked out nicely. Of course, there is the added challenge to come up with the additional rhymes. And, you need to have enough material to cover the additional length. You cannot have finished a six-line stanza only to find there is just one more verse in the chapter to cover. So, you need to pace yourself.

My last two posts were crammed with MANY Psalms and only snippets of most of them.  I was going to do the same with this post, as I have already completed Psalm 25 a couple of days ago, but decided to take a different approach.

For this post, I've accompanied my poem with the actual psalm, with the various verses from different translations from which the poem was written.

The problem I'll face with this posting method, is that not all of these poems have a story behind them.  Psalm 17 was written in 2 days, one day after my last post. And, it was written nearly a month ago. I didn't have any time to get to know it, before moving on to the next one. So, I don't remember too much about it.

Verse 14 was so long and the translations varied so greatly that I ultimately broke it down into the three parts of the three translations I worked with.

​​Oh hear, O LORD, my righteous plea,
and listen to my fervent cry.
Give ear unto my prayer and see,
it comes from lips that do not lie.
Let vindication come to me;
see truth and justice through your eye.

You've tried my heart, and probed each thought,
examined my heart in the night.
You've scrutinized me, finding naught;
I'll only speak what's pure and right.
Regarding men, your words have taught
me to avoid their violent fight.

My footsteps to your paths adhere;
my feet have neither slipped nor strayed.
I call on you, incline your ear;
God, listen to the prayer I've prayed.
Let your unfailing love appear,
and wonders of your hand displayed.

Save those who seek to utilize
the mighty refuge you provide.
Protect me as you would your eyes;
beneath your wings, LORD, let me hide
from all those seeking my demise,
and enemies on every side.

Their calloused hearts are closed with hate;
their arrogance and pride abound.
They track me down, surround and wait,
alert to throw me to the ground.
Like lions' prey, they mutilate;
their young ones stalk without a sound.

Arise, O LORD! Against them, stand,
and save me with your mighty sword
from wicked people by your hand
who view this world as their reward.
You fill their bellies' great demand
with hidden treasure you have stored.

You let their wombs be filled with grace
as many sons and daughters grew;
in death, their young resume the chase
to have their parent's wealth accrue.
For me, one day I'll see your face;
and I'll be satisfied in you.

​17:1 (BSB)
Hear, O LORD, my righteous plea; listen to my cry. Give ear to my prayer--
it comes from lips free of deceit.

17:2 (BSB)
May my vindication come from Your presence; may Your eyes see what is right.

17:3 (NLT)
You have tested my thoughts and examined my heart in the night. You have scrutinized me and found nothing wrong. I am determined not to sin in what I say.

17:4 (ESV)
With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent.

17:5 (ESV)
My steps have held fast to your paths; my feet have not slipped. 

17:6 (ESV)
I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God; incline your ear to me; hear my words.

17:7 (NLT)
Show me your unfailing love in wonderful ways. By your mighty power you rescue those who seek refuge from their enemies.

17:8 (NLT)
Guard me as you would guard your own eyes. Hide me in the shadow of your wings.

17:9 (NIV)
from the wicked who are out to destroy me, from my mortal enemies who surround me.

17:10 (BSB)
They have closed their callous hearts; their mouths speak with arrogance.

17:11 (NIV)
They have tracked me down, they now surround me, with eyes alert, to throw me to the ground.

17:12 (NLT)
They are like hungry lions, eager to tear me apart— like young lions hiding in ambush.

17:13 (NLT)
Arise, O LORD! Stand against them, and bring them to their knees! Rescue me from the wicked with your sword!

17:14a (NIV)
By your hand save me from such people, LORD, from those of this world whose reward is in this life.

17:14b (NKJV)
And whose belly You fill with Your hidden treasure.

17:14c (NLT)
May their children have plenty, leaving an inheritance for their descendants.

17:15 (BSB)
As for me, I will behold Your face in righteousness; when I awake, I will be satisfied in Your presence.

​BSB: Berean Study Bible   •   NLT: New Living Translation   •   ESV: English Standard Version   •   NIV: New International Version   •   NKJV: New King James Version

​I hit a milestone this week, of sorts. I finished my 15th psalm a few days ago, meaning I am a tenth of the way through the 150 psalms in Psalms.

​This is how I spent my last two weeks:

​Psalm 8
​O LORD, Jehovah, how majestic
is your name in all the earth!
Your glory's seen from east to west, it
fills the realms of heaven's girth.
— excerpt of Psalm 8

​I used to say — even as recent as two weeks ago — that I didn't read ahead before I wrote.  No more! If I hadn't read this psalm before I wrote it, I wouldn't have known that the last verse was the exact same as the first verse. So, a little planning needed to be implemented before starting this one.

​Psalm 9
I will thank you, Jehovah, with all of my heart;
I will tell of the wonders you do.
I'll be glad and exclaim and exult in your name;
O Most High, sing my praises to you.
— excerpt of Psalm 9

​This psalm, Psalm 9, was twenty verses long, which doubles the average length of the psalms to this point. The NIV says, To the tune of "The Death of the Son."  I'm not sure how that song goes, but hopefully, this is not too far off.

​As I was writing this one, I was thinking that I had written in this meter before. But it turns out that Psalm 1, Psalm 4 and Psalm 5 were all sort of in this same style, but not this exact meter.

​Psalm 11
In the LORD do I trust.  How can you say to me: 
Fly away like a bird to the mountains and flee!
Look, the wicked bend bows till their bowstrings are taut,
then fit arrows to fly from the shadows when shot,
— excerpt of Psalm 11

​This poem along with the next two were all finished on the same day, during a particularly productive writing day for me. Last Saturday, I finished with Psalm 10. On Sunday, I finished Psalm 11, then wrote Psalm 12 and Psalm 13.

​Psalm 12
Help, O LORD, for the godly are few, just a smatter!
And the faithful have vanished from earth!
Neighbors lie to each other with lips meant to flatter;
double-hearted, their words have no worth.
— excerpt of Psalm 12

I am writing these poems in Psalms much more quickly than I wrote the poems for Job, or so it seems. The reason for that, I think, are that there are generally so fewer verses in these early psalms. It was only in April of this year that I started recording the dates when poems were finished — wish I would have started that practice years ago!

​When I was writing from Job last year, I only had to rotate between six different metered lines, one for each of the six characters in the story. For this project, this is the 13th poem and the 13th different meter used.

​Make that the 14th different meter used.

​Psalm 15
A psalm of David.

LORD, who may come into your tent and abide?
And who dwells and worships on your mountainside?

The one who walks blameless, who's righteous and kind,
the one who speaks truth from his heart and his mind,
the one who refuses to gossip on end,
harms neither his neighbor nor censures his friend,
despises the wicked and those cavalier,
but honors the faithful who show the LORD fear,
remembers his promise though all has been lost,
loans money to others with no further cost,
refuses the bribes to lay waste to the poor.

​Whoever does these will be ever secure.​

​A few months ago, I was writing fairly furiously. I was cranking out a new poem every few days to a few weeks. Then I got bogged down on a poem I was writing and just stopped.

I joined an online community to share some of my poetry. First, I dug out and submitted some older secular poetry I'd written YEARS ago. And they loved those. Some of my poems got thousands of views, dozens of "likes" and many nice comments.

Then, I started weaving in the poetry I am writing now, i.e. the Job poems. The thousands of views dropped to barely a hundred, the "likes" dwindled as did the comments. I was even kicked out of one the forums because the moderator didn't like me "proselytizing" my "Abraham" poems.

OK.

So, I abruptly stopped that. I'd been spinning my wheels for about a month and a half now with nothing to show for it.

After a few days of soul-searching (read: sulking), I got the urge to write again. Ever since I wrote the 40 poems from Job last year, I've been thinking ahead to the Psalms.

As a teenager, I wrote a handful of poetry from Psalms, but gave it up. Partly, because they were so bad, but mostly because it was so daunting. Everyone knows there are 150 Psalms. 150! Plus, its already been done before. Several poets through the years have set the Psalms to rhyme.

​I wrote Psalm 1 a couple of weeks ago. It was like nothing I'd ever written before. The first lines of every verse contain 11 syllables, followed by 10, 12 and 8 syllables, respectively.

​Psalm 2
Why do nations rebel and conspire,
why do people have futile things planned?
Earthly kings, in their battle attire,
have united and taken their stand.

​Psalm 3
How many are my foes, LORD!
How great that number grows, LORD!
So many, with my back against the wall.
They say, with jubilation,
There will be no salvation,
there is no help from God for him at all.

​I really like the way Psalm 6 turned out as well as the next one.

But, I'm not sure why upender is NOT a word! There are large pieces of equipment that have upender in their name, but yet it isn't in the dictionary?

As I mentioned concerning my Job poetry, I usually don't look ahead or read the entire chapter before I start.  I concentrate on the first verse or two to determine the rhyming scheme, then am always happily blown away when the rest of the chapter conforms to that pattern.

In this instance, however, when I was checking to see how long the chapter was, my eyes fell on the word "hollow" in verse 15, and glancing at the previous verse I saw a series of events and thought of the word "follow". So, I had that in mind when I started writing the poem. And, what do you know? The Lord worked it all out for me!

A shiggaion of David, which he sang to the LORD concerning Cush, a Benjamite.​

​​​O LORD, and my God, it is you I rely on;
oh, save me from those who pursue me with hate.
They'll rip out my soul with the strength of a lion;
they'll tear me apart — there's no help for my fate.

O LORD, and my God, if I'm truly that sordid,
if my hands are guilty of breaking the laws,
if peace had been given yet evil rewarded,
if I robbed my foe without reason or cause,

let me, by my foes, be pursued and then taken,
my life and my honor both trampled to dust.
In anger, stand up to my foes, LORD, awaken!
For you have decreed what is truthful and just.

Let people surround you from every known nation,
as you take your seat on your throne in the sky.
The LORD judges nations; give me vindication,
for I am an innocent man, O Most High.

I pray that the reign of the wicked be ended,
establish the righteous and make them secure.
O God, you are righteous and know what all men did,
by testing which hearts and whose minds remain pure.

​Protector, my God, you're my shield and defender,
the one who delivers the upright of heart.
My judge and my jury, judicious upender;
your wrath for the wicked you daily impart.

If man won't repent, then God's sword will be sharpened,
he bends down and readies his bow in his grip.
Prepares for himself the most deadly of weapons,
ordains for each arrow a fiery tip.

When evil conceives, only trouble will follow
for lies and deceit will result from that birth.
By digging a pit and by making it hollow,
he falls in his hole that he's dug in the earth.

​The troubles he causes return on him solely,
the violence he's planned, on his head, will be poured.
I'll give the LORD thanks for he's righteous and holy,
and sing out my praise to the name of the LORD.

​United in purpose, in thoughts and decisions,
I beg you to be of one mind.
Let harmony flow so there are no divisions;
the church should be ever aligned.

Why criticize your brother's motive or action?
Why try to make him appear small?
His life does not need to meet your satisfaction
or precepts you've nailed to the wall.

Why, who made you judge and a jury demanding
your brother meets laws of your own?
One day we will all face true judgement when standing
before mighty God at his throne.

Agree to pursue what makes peace with your brother,
encouraging words are a start!
The worldly ones with no thought for another
are those who split churches apart.​

A gossip shares secrets with those undiscerning;
avoid such a blowhard as friend.
Without any fuel raging fires stop burning;
no gossip brings tensions an end.

If any believer or brother has wronged you,
confront him to work issues out.
If he will not listen take others along to
be witnesses, ending all doubt.

Submit to your leaders whose only ambition
is keeping their eye on your soul.
With joy let them lead you with not one condition;
it profits you not, on the whole.

I urge you to honor the leaders who guide you,
their work is exceedingly hard.
Advising, instructing, for walking beside you — 
esteem them with highest regard.

​​NLT: New Living Translation   •   Ph: New Testament in Modern English by JB Phillips   •   Msg: The Message   •   NRSV: New Revised Standard Version   •   LB: Living Bible

​After I had finished reading through Leviticus and having written only one poem from that book — well, I was okay with that. But, when I started reading Numbers and found the story of Nadab and Abihu reviewed once more, I thought I should take another look at that story back in Leviticus. If it was important enough to bring up again, then it must be important.

​This is the family line of Aaron and Moses as it was recorded when the LORD spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai: The names of Aaron’s sons were Nadab (the oldest), Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. These sons of Aaron were anointed and ordained to minister as priests. But Nadab and Abihu died in the LORD’s presence in the wilderness of Sinai when they burned before the LORD the wrong kind of fire, different than he had commanded. Since they had no sons, this left only Eleazar and Ithamar to serve as priests with their father, Aaron.
Numbers 3:1-4

​You can read the story found in Leviticus on your own. But, the thing that stood out to me was how Aaron and his two remaining sons were not allowed to grieve their obvious loss. I've heard this story before and moved on without giving it much thought. But, when I stop to put myself in Aaron's sandals and replace his two sons with my two sons, it makes it real and suddenly I see it in a new light.

Leviticus 10:1-7

​O, Nadab, my firstborn!  O, what have you done?
What caused you to burn this strange fire?
Did you think that I could protect you, my son,
if you went against God's desire?
Did you not believe when, before everyone,
​God stated the rules he'd require?

Abihu, I loved you, and will till I die;
you've followed the path of your brother.
You've always contested each other to vie
to see who could better the other.
Now, memories of you are too few to supply
true solace for me and your mother.

My children, my sons, and the first of my joys,
I longed to embrace you, bereaving.
But, Moses convinced me to maintain my poise,
stand firm when I saw you not breathing.
In public, though I could not mourn for you boys,
my heart will forever be grieving.

​So, armed with a title, a bunch of scripture, and the grace of God I was off on another journey. And, in the process, learned the meaning of atone.

​​As you've been atoned to myself through my son,
I've asked you to minister grace:
make peace between me and the world​ that you face — 
atone means quite simply, at one.
Restore, or atone, your relationships now!
Disputes between Christians must end!
Agree with and love — be a like-minded friend;
splash love ​as my oceans allow.

Those working for peace are called children of God;
those causing the quarrels are not.
​There must be a wise one among you that's got
the tools to keep Christians declawed.
​What causes your quarrels? How do they begin?
You want what you cannot obtain.
You ask not so have not and flounder in vain,
and sink in your quagmire of sin.

If you enter worship, an offering to lift,
recall, then, a grudge by a friend,
just leave it — make peace with that brother again.
'Tis then you may offer your gift.
Resentment and worry bring death to the fool,
a senseless, absurd thing to do.
The person hurt most is none other than you — 
exploding with anger as fuel.

The wisdom of man keeps his anger in check;
his glory lets wrongs pass him by.
If you could remove that great log from your eye,
you might see your friend's tiny speck.
A gentle response will make angry words cease,
a sharp tongue will kindle a fire.
In all that you do, may this be your desire:
be one with the world in peace.