selah.

In a world where there are people
who assume you no longer exist,
I am compelled to proclaim Your praises, O God.
I cannot define or describe You,
But I know by personal experience
Your power and presence in my life.
There was a time when I screamed,
"Good Lord, where are You?"
Then you touched my despairing soul with healing,
and delivered me from my private little hell.
Thus I shout God's praises
and exhort all who know Him to do the same.
There are times when I feel God's anger,
but even then I know
His concern and love for me remain eternal.
And my nights of despair
resolve into the dawn of new joy.

There was a time when I thought I was secure
amidst my material accumulations.
However, they gathered like a cloud
to blot out the face of God,
and I was left empty and unfulfilled.

I finally came to my senses
and returned to You, O God.
"Lord," I said, "my well-deserved damnation
would also be a loss to You.

I cannot praise You from the pits of hell
or proclaim Your loving-kindness
out of the grave of eternal death.
So have mercy, Lord,
and help me out of this tangled web."

And You turned my griping into gratitude,
my screams of despair into proclamations of joy.
Now I can explode with praises,
and I will spend eternity in thanksgiving to You.


- the 30th Psalm, the Bible -
[translation: Psalms/Now by Leslie Brandt]