Monday, February 18, 2008

Psalm 42 Re-Hashed

As the heat of the coarse desert sand
Burns the soles of my feet
I cannot stand still for long.
As the burning arid desert air
Cracks my parched lips,
the throbbing of my head
and the stinging in my eyes
drives me forward.
I will not stop until I am
renewed by moisture.
Until clean, fresh, beautiful water
Fills my mouth, splashes on my chin
And runs between my fingers again.

And Lord, I long to long for you
with the longing that strives,
and aches and perseveres.
With the longing that cannot
be satisfied in desert wastes,
but searches night and day
for the breath of life.
That longs for the intrusion
Of the divine
Into the mundane.

So let me long for you O God,
And let my longing not be
Shallow, or passing,
But a longing that is genuine
-and long.....

Overcome my reluctant feet who
seek comfort and not you.
Soften my unresponsive heart
enable it to delight in greater things.

I cannot long - so to be filled
until I taste your presence.
Yet I cannot taste,
Until I have learned to long for you
before, above and beyond all things.

In your mercy, grant to this dry soul,
just one drop of the moisture
of your nearness.
Enough to make me long
for nothing else but this;
Communion with the
Three-in-One and One-in-Three

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The Three in One and The One died for me.

Well done THM. You have clearly written of the One you know personally.

ps Eugene Peterson, step aside! :-)