of the breath of thy nostrils.16 He sent from on high, he took me;He drew me out of many waters.17 He delivered me from my strong enemy,And from them that hated me; for they were too mighty for me.18 They came upon me in the day of my calamity;But God was my stay.19 He brought me forth also into a large place;He delivered me, because he delighted in me.20 God hath rewarded me according to my righteousness;According to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.21 For I have kept the ways of God,And have not wickedly departed from my God.22 For all his ordinances were before me,And I put not away his statutes from me.23 I was also perfect with him,And I kept myself from mine iniquity.24 Therefore hath God recompensed me according to my righteousness,According to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.25 With the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful;With the perfect man thou wilt show thyself perfect;26 With the pure thou wilt show thyself pure;And with the perverse thou wilt show thyself forward.27 For thou wilt save the afflicted people;But the haughty eyes thou wilt bring down.28 For thou wilt light my lamp:God my God will lighten my darkness.29 For by thee I run upon a troop;And by my God do I leap over a wall.30 As for God, his way is perfect:The word of God is tried;He is a shield unto all them that take refuge in him.31 For who is God, save God?And who is a rock, besides our God,32 The God that girdeth me with strength,And maketh my way perfect?33 He maketh my feet like hinds’ feet:And setteth me upon my high places.34 He teacheth my hands to war;So that mine arms do bend a bow of brass.35 Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation;And thy right hand hath holden me up,And thy gentleness hath made me great.36 Thou hast enlarged my steps under me,And my feet have not slipped.37 I will pursue mine enemies, and overtake them;Neither will I turn again till they are consumed.38 I will smite them through, so that they shall not be able to rise:They shall fall under my feet.39 For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle:Thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me.40 Thou hast also made mine enemies turn their backs unto me,That I might cut off them that hate me.41 They cried, but there was none to save;Even unto God, but he answered them not.42 Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind;I did cast them out as the mire of the streets.43 Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people;Thou hast made me the head of the nations:A people whom I have not known shall serve me.44 As soon as they hear of me they shall obey me;The foreigners shall submit themselves unto me.45 The foreigners shall fade away,And shall come trembling out of their close places.46 God liveth; and blessed be my rock;And exalted be the God of my salvation,47 Even the God that executeth vengeance for me,And subdueth peoples under me.48 He rescueth me from mine enemies;Yea, thou liftest me up above them that rise up against me;Thou deliverest me from the violent man.49 Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O God, among the nations,And will sing praises unto thy name.50 Great deliverance giveth he to his king,And showeth loving kindness to his anointed,To David and to his seed, for evermore.
Someday I will know you
You are my strength
My power
My light
I like to think
Or at least to imagine
In the meantime
You are only sensed
As if you hide beyond a row of hills
We call you our Rock
Our Might
Our Deliverer
By the way
Where were you at Gettysburg?
Shiloh
Fort Donelson
Chattanooga
Antietam
Yellow Tavern
Nashville
Mobile Bay
Five Forks
Gettysburg
Always that
Before the beginning
Of who we became
The Battle of Camden
Barefoot soldiers eating grass
In the glaring Carolina sun
The sorrows of death encompassed us
And pressed us down
We called upon your holy name
As boys surrendered to the dirt
Their brains blown to smithereens
Innards splattered
Dreaming dashed
Did you hurl the lightning?
Did you send the storm?
We said you saved us
Even as the majority went down.
Will you show yourself to be merciful?
We are a nation destroyed
A people in anguish
We stand convinced you will rescue us
As we lay slain and torn apart
We still believe in you
We have nothing else
Only ourselves
And we are beaten down
You breathed into us
Weapons of steel
And domination
You offered dreams of victory
Of the world we left behind
Of slaves for the taking
According to your holy laws
To please you we pursued our enemies
To please you we became invincible
Until we were dust under the feet
Of those who destroyed us
We prayed to you
To deliver us
From our enemies
Now the war is lost
The fields are burned and barren
We are reviled
And ridiculed
Still
We persist in giving thanks unto thee
And why is that?
Psalm Nineteen
