Psalm 119 (Part Six)—Now I only endure by enduring.

"Lord, I have tried to please you. I don’t deserve this."

Psalm 119 is the longest chapter of the Bible, so we’ll break it into seven parts. It is an acrostic poem, with one stanza for each of the 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet. Here are the stanzas for ayin, pe, and tsadhe.

Rendition of Psalm 119 (Part Six)

Ayin

Lord, I have tried to please you.
I don’t deserve this. Don’t leave me
To the hounds hunting my backtrail.
You have made a pledge and seal:
Your plans for me are good.
Yet I am still in flight.
I am still in the fight
For my life. I can’t look
At the salvation you promised.
That longing is so much mine
I keep it hidden. Now I only endure
By enduring. Be gracious.
I am still yours. Teach me.
Form fully my imperfect, stumbling loves.
The hope of your kindness is all I have.
You have the power to act, so act.
Why wait for my enemies to break your law
And me with it? I have loved
Your commandments above gold.
Though the things I fear most
Hide themselves ahead of me
And those fears I faced
Still bay behind me,
I will walk the path you set
And I will not run.

Pe

You scattered yourself like seed.
You chased so much into the world
That is worth loving.
So I seek you.
Your word is light. It awakens me.
It is simple enough for the simple
And wide enough to hold your wisdom.
I opened my mouth and panted
For the fruit of the seeds you planted.
Walk my footsteps before me
And follow fast behind.
Lord, do not let evil master me
But buy me back from what I’ve been taken in by.
Make your face to shine on me
And teach me your ways.

Tsadhe

Evil has no place with you, Lord
And your judgments are always true.
Justice goes out from you
And vast and unshaken faithfulness.
My banked zeal blazes when
Enemies deride your words.
Your words are rich and pure. 
They are gentle and patient,
And quick as a striking snake.
I love them because they cut and console me.
They are right even when every
Other spoken word is a lie.
I am only small and slight,
But your billowing word remains 
Small enough for me to hold.
Though long anguish visits,
Your word remains with me.
Though time takes and takes,
Your word has made its home in me.

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Catching up with the Darking Psalter

If you are new to the Darkling Psalter, it is a project to create renditions of the Psalms (artistic rewordings based on the original Hebrew) and original poems to pair with each one.

Psalms with poems: 1, 2, 6, 8, 13, 14, 16, 19, 22, 29, 31, 32, 34, 38, 39, 40, 42, 46, 51, 53, 65, 73, 74, 84, 86, 88, 90, 107, 121, 123, 130, 131, 137, 142, 147.

Psalms only: 3, 23, 62, 117, 119 (part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5),139, 148