My Psalm 148

Hallelujah,

Let them praises give Jehovah!

And can it be

that I am able to speak into

heavenly heights I can only imagine?

Since when can I speak to the moon and stars,

the chaos of the deep and the waters above the firmament?

How do I

exhort the temple mount

with all it’s fruit trees and evergreens?

I’ve known people who are convinced they can talk to their birds.

But I’ve seldom talked to trees.  I’ve rarely attempted to commune with crickets. 

I’m not sure this

White House listens to anybody.

The races won’t listen to each other let alone me.

Men and women are so seldom on the same wavelength.

I’m pretty sure young people don’t always want to hear from old farts.

*****

Let them praises give Jehovah!

For his name alone makes cohorts fall down

His glory is above everything—it connects with everything.

It will not be ignored.  He has raised his people with this horn of authority:

All creation will join together in the praise of his holy ones, even the children of Israel.

Such

convening power 

this song of delight sung by all of God’s singers!

Everything—everyone, now, in the tightest of tight harmony!

For his name alone pitches the heights and the deep so that every deaf thing hears.

Let them praises give Jehovah!

Hallelujah!

My Psalm 149

Ps 149:5-6

 Let the faithful shout in glory while on their private couch

May the praise of God be in their mouths as a double-edged sword in their hands

Hallelujah.

I heard in heaven a new song,

and not the modern kind of new.

It wasn’t a bigger, better, and a patented original.

It was a melody intensely familiar--

evoking the scent of Easter in my childhood--

before religion was deafened

by sophisticated disappointments.

And the unfamiliar, distinct measures

re-energized my old age.

May the whole gathered church

vibrate the world to its core

with ever-new waves of heaven--

Sanctuary sounds emanating from on high

through every private prayer-room--

when we shout and sing.

There’s no more powerful weapon.

The song is a double edged sword--

The one that comes from Jesus’ mouth into ours.

Our song is the instrument he uses

to shackle the thugs of all nations

and to advance justice.

Never underestimate the social power

Of a new song from the Source.

For it is written:

Such redemptive singing is our great honor.

Hallelujah.