Psalm 119 (Part Three)—Lord, you have made me well. Now teach me what is good.

"Again and again your word has revived me."

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 Zayin, Heth, and Teth.

Rendition of Psalm 119 (Part Three)

Zayin

Remember what you said to me, Lord,
When I put my hope in you. 
This is my comfort in my affliction:
Again and again your word has revived me.
My enemies have only derision for me,
But I will not turn aside from your law.
I draw my consolation from your word
Though I burn with anger when I look
From left to right and see the ravages of evil.
Yet your laws remain the songs of my pilgrimage.
Yet I remember your name in the night.
Yet I will always keep your commandments.
This will always be my path:
That your laws watch over all my ways.

Heth

Lord, you are my portion.
I have sworn myself to your word.
I begged to see your face with my whole heart.
Now turn to me and open the leaguer of your love
So that grace would rush toward me.
I stilled myself and watched the way I’d come
I hunted back through the path
That brought me here and set my feet again
To walk in your ways.
I will hasten and not delay
In keeping your commandments.
Even when my way is pocked with snares
And pitfalls, I will remember your law.
In the watches of the night, I rise 
To give you thanks for your unhasting
And unresting, relentless justice.
Those others who want to keep your ways,
I grapple to myself with enduring bonds.
Show us the truth you have scattered 
With such a broad hand.
The whole world is full of your glory, Lord.

Teth

Lord, you have made me well.
Now teach me what is good,
So that I can see and taste and know
The sweet fruit of your law.
Before I suffered, I was proud
And wandered from the way.
But now I am lowly and quiet
And I wait for your word.
You are goodness itself.
I wait for you. Teach me.
I still have enemies
Who would cook up lies 
And feed them to me,
But - with all my heart -
I will delight myself in your ways.
They have grown fat on their deceptions,
But I have a different food
They know nothing about.
It is good that I have known the pain of hunger
So that your ways could be founded inside me.
Your word is better
Than the richest lies.

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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),139, 148

Photo by Lucio Patone on Unsplash