This poem is a tall 'order'/prayer
but with God, nothing is impossible!
By His 'grace upon grace' I/we go,
pray, for His glory alone!
Earth and sky shout His evidence!
Oh, what a crying shame
If I should place faith's confidence
In any other Name
From His fullness we have all received grace upon grace.
This poem is written in first person
because it immediately became more convicting
than the less direct 'we' and 'our' approach!
No side-stepping the 'issue' today! 😅🙏
Some goals to strive toward...
To find fullness of life/love that only self-forgetting yields
To bear the yoke of prayerful hope in harvest-heavy fields
To be humbly encouraged by faith’s cloud of witnesses
To not lose heart; enough to be heirs of God’s promises
To take my cross and follow Him with heart, soul, strength and mind
To fix my eyes on Jesus who is trustworthy and kind
To make my great ambition more than this world can afford
To hold no longing dearer than to gain Heaven’s reward
To recognize ‘the whole duty of man’ and to reply
With unwavering confidence and courage, ‘Here am I’
To value, more than anything the wisdom from God’s Word
To teach, rebuke, correct and train, equip and undergird
To transform heart’s desires as the Lord is my delight
To commit to nothing but what is worthy and upright
To find in every common place, rare jewels for joy’s crown
To fret not, though the wicked prosper, God will cut them down
To stay my mind on He who will keep it in perfect peace
To be still and know He is God who giveth the increase
And though I do not understand His higher thoughts and ways
To be forever thankful He is worthy of all praise
And if I stumble, if I fall, where sight and faith compete
To take the Hand grace offers and to get back on my feet
To count for joy, the trial whereby faith must be refined
To make the love I boast more patient, pure, gentle and kind
To be an honored vessel wherein God has placed His light
To endure hardness as a soldier fitted for the fight
To find fullness of life/love by pouring out my love/life for He
Who poured Love's lifeblood on the cross to save a wretch like me
© Janet Martin
Ps.37
Do not fret because of those who are evil
or be envious of those who do wrong;
2 for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.
3 Trust in the Lord and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
your vindication like the noonday sun.
7 Be still before the Lord
and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.
8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret—it leads only to evil.
9 For those who are evil will be destroyed,
but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.
10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look for them, they will not be found.
11 But the meek will inherit the land
and enjoy peace and prosperity.
12 The wicked plot against the righteous
and gnash their teeth at them;
13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
for he knows their day is coming.
14 The wicked draw the sword
and bend the bow
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose ways are upright.
15 But their swords will pierce their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.
16 Better the little that the righteous have
than the wealth of many wicked;
17 for the power of the wicked will be broken,
but the Lord upholds the righteous.
18 The blameless spend their days under the Lord’s care,
and their inheritance will endure forever.
19 In times of disaster they will not wither;
in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.
20 But the wicked will perish:
Though the Lord’s enemies are like the flowers of the field,
they will be consumed, they will go up in smoke.
21 The wicked borrow and do not repay,
but the righteous give generously;
22 those the Lord blesses will inherit the land,
but those he curses will be destroyed.
23 The Lord makes firm the steps
of the one who delights in him;
24 though he may stumble, he will not fall,
for the Lord upholds him with his hand.
25 I was young and now I am old,
yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
or their children begging bread.
26 They are always generous and lend freely;
their children will be a blessing.[b]
27 Turn from evil and do good;
then you will dwell in the land forever.
28 For the Lord loves the just
and will not forsake his faithful ones.
Wrongdoers will be completely destroyed[c];
the offspring of the wicked will perish.
29 The righteous will inherit the land
and dwell in it forever.
30 The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,
and their tongues speak what is just.
31 The law of their God is in their hearts;
their feet do not slip.
32 The wicked lie in wait for the righteous,
intent on putting them to death;
33 but the Lord will not leave them in the power of the wicked
or let them be condemned when brought to trial.
34 Hope in the Lord
and keep his way.
He will exalt you to inherit the land;
when the wicked are destroyed, you will see it.
35 I have seen a wicked and ruthless man
flourishing like a luxuriant native tree,
36 but he soon passed away and was no more;
though I looked for him, he could not be found.
37 Consider the blameless, observe the upright;
a future awaits those who seek peace.[d]
38 But all sinners will be destroyed;
there will be no future[e] for the wicked.
39 The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord;
he is their stronghold in time of trouble.
40 The Lord helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him
