Psalm 18

"[[To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who spake unto the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul: And he said,]] I will love thee, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies. The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me. In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears. Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth. There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet. And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.

He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies. At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire. The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire. Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them. Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.

He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me. They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay. He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me.

The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God. For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me. I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity. Therefore hath the LORD recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight. With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward. For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks. For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness. For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall.

As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him. For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God? It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect. He maketh my feet like hinds' feet, and setteth me upon my high places. He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms. 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. Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip.

I have pursued mine enemies, and overtaken them: neither did I turn again till they were consumed. I have wounded them that they were not able to rise: they are fallen under my feet. For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle: thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me. Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies; that I might destroy them that hate me. They cried, but there was none to save them: even unto the LORD, but he answered them not. Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind: I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets. Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; and thou hast made me the head of the heathen: a people whom I have not known shall serve me. As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto me. The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of their close places. The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted.

It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me. He delivereth me from mine enemies: yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man. Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name. Great deliverance giveth he to his king; and sheweth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore."

The Blooming Blossom and the Pitiful Pepper

I went to edit beside a swamp yesterday. And then I found a bridge, a lovely little thing of weathered planks. The water that crossed under it was so still it made the Georgian clouds reflect out of it with such brilliancy, for a moment I doubted whether I was looking up or down. The greens are so intense here it makes this New Mexican blink and wonder if I have stumbled into Narnia when  it was first created; it feels as if I could drop a piece of metal and a lamppost would grow. Everything grows!

But while I wandered this morning, as that sun began its climb, I ran across something that gave me a different sense of wonder at that beauty of this creation. There was an unplowed field fringed by pine trees (absolutely towering pine trees, of a very vibrant green) and the sun was making them look a sort of hazy gold this morning as he rose behind them. It was beautiful so I stepped in to see it better. And nearly crushed a flower beneath my boot before I even saw it there. But once I spotted the yellow and purple blooms scattered around the small patch of sand at the top of the field, I noticed little else. They were delicate and almost shining in the early morning sunlight, but their simple beauty wasn’t what really gripped my attention.

Every blossom in that field was turned towards the sun. The stalks were bent seeking it, the flower’s heads turned and tipped, all admiring the yellow orb that brings us light and heat, eager to gather the food they needed for the day. It was as if every fiber of the plant was waiting on the sun, focused on it completely, drawing all their joy, and health, and the strength to do their duty from that single bright thing.

Have I ever turned to the Son that completely? That eagerly? The whole of me focused on Jesus as those flowers were so joyfully turned towards their sun? They drew their beauty from it. The petals shone in the bright light, perked high, drinking in the sun, and without knowing it emitting their own little bit of joyous sunshine straight into my soul. Our Son is ready to give us the same sort of reflection. We draw all our health, our joy, our strength, our spiritual food… all of it comes from Jesus Christ the Son. And if we are turned to Him, utilizing the power He offers through His light, the reflection comes off of us. Joy shines off a devoted Christian with all the brightness of the Son it comes from.

I weeded a garden today. Did I mention everything here grows? That includes the weeds, of course. The crabgrass was surrounding the pepper plants, overshadowing them, keeping them from gaining the strength they needed. Oh the pepper plants were still there. They were still pepper plants, they didn’t get plucked up with the weeds and thrown into the rubbish. But they were meager things of a sort of sickly yellowish green, and there was no fruit, or even a promise of anything coming from them.

There are the shining saints, turned towards the Son; and then there are the choked, overshadowed pepper plants. Both are Christians, both will be in heaven, both are loved by our Lord. But which one shows His beauty? Which one makes fruit? Which one creates more plants to praise our Lord?

I want to be a shining flower. I want to turn towards the Son. And follow that Son as it moves through my life, like the sun moves through the sky, and during the dark nights I want to be waiting for that Strength Bringer to reappear. I want to weed my garden and drink in the sunlight and gain the strength to shine and produce fruit.

Everything grows here. I think I am too.