Poem

The following poem is from Jeremiah 20 in the Hebrew Scriptures. I invite you to spend some time in it today. It is, for me at least, powerful and compelling. You might want to read it several times, picturing the prophet/poet in his room or in the streets, wrestling with the words and with God.

If it helps you, you might want to imagine Danny Belrose reciting this lament in his dramatic style, capturing the rhythm and drama of the piece. Allow the words and images to caress and massage your heart and mind.

May you know yourself blessed today.

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O LORD, you have enticed me,
and I was enticed;
you have overpowered me,
and you have prevailed.
I have become a laughing-stock all day long;
everyone mocks me.
For whenever I speak, I must cry out,
I must shout, ‘Violence and destruction!’
For the word of the LORD has become for me
a reproach and derision all day long.
If I say, ‘I will not mention him,
or speak any more in his name’,
then within me there is something like a burning fire
shut up in my bones;
I am weary with holding it in,
and I cannot.
For I hear many whispering:
‘Terror is all around!
Denounce him! Let us denounce him!’
All my close friends
are watching for me to stumble.
‘Perhaps he can be enticed,
and we can prevail against him,
and take our revenge on him.’
But the LORD is with me like a dread warrior;
therefore my persecutors will stumble,
and they will not prevail.
They will be greatly shamed,
for they will not succeed.
Their eternal dishonour
will never be forgotten.
O LORD of hosts, you test the righteous,
you see the heart and the mind;
let me see your retribution upon them,
for to you I have committed my cause.
- Jeremiah 20:7-12

Posted by Carman