The Complete Old English Poems

by Craig Williamson

  We become fearful, diminished by dread.

  Who can say how long that terror endures, 35

  How long your mighty wrath holds sway?

  No one can know or number your judgments.

  Make known to us, Lord, your right hand,

  The hand of power, the hand of judgment,

  For we are the ones pure of heart 40

  And keen of mind, wise with learning.

  Turn back to us just a little, holy Lord.

  Be openly entreated by your own servants.

  In the morning we are graciously filled with your mercy,

  So our minds rejoice, delighting in our days. 45

  We rejoice in the days when you humbled our hearts,

  For the years we witnessed all of those evils.

  Look upon your servants with loving eyes

  And upon your handiwork, the whole of creation.

  Lead their children with a gracious spirit. 50

  Let the brightness of the benevolent Lord be upon us,

  The radiance of our great God shine over us,

  Directing the work of our hands from above.

  90

  The glorious help of the highest one,

  The guardian of heaven, abides with me

  Always and forever. I said to the Lord:

  “You are precious to me, my steadfast support,

  My sure refuge, a good and fair God, 5

  A trusted friend. I think often of you.”

  The Lord has released me from evil snares,

  From hostile hunters with their sharp tongues

  And malicious words. Beneath his shoulders,

  He shelters me and bears me up— 10

  I trust in his wings. Let my truth protect me

  Against my enemies. Fear not the night-terror!

  There is no need to dread the arrow in flight

  By the light of day, the spear-rush in darkness,

  Or the noon-day devil, a notorious demon. 15

  Though a thousand sinners fall down on your left,

  And also ten thousand more on your right,

  Not one will harm you. You will see with your eyes

  And witness before you the reward of the wicked,

  The punishment of sinners. Because you have made 20

  Holy God your refuge, your highest hope,

  No hideous evil can ever harass you,

  No fierce affliction approach your house.

  For God himself has ordered his angels

  To keep you safe in their sheltering arms, 25

  So that you might go in the chosen way.

  They will bear you up with their bright hands

  To keep you from striking a dangerous stone.

  You shall step on the asp, tread on the basilisk,

  Subdue the lion, and defeat the dragon. 30

  Listen to the voice of the Lord, saying:

  “For his trust in me, I will deliver him

  And fiercely protect him, for he knew my name.

  He called out to me, his kind Creator,

  And I heard him at once. In my loving kindness, 35

  I freed him from his torment and tribulation.

  So I will save him and deliver him,

  Glorify his name among the races of mankind,

  And give him the gift of a long lifetime,

  Revealing to him my grace and salvation.” 40

  91

  It is good to acknowledge and praise God,

  To sing out his name in devoted song,

  For he is the noblest of the race of heroes,

  To fervently proclaim his mercy in the morning,

  For he has acted so graciously toward mankind, 5

  And to declare his righteous truth at night.

  Lord, I have plucked this ten-stringed instrument,

  To sing with the psaltery or the sounds of the harp,

  To give you pleasure, the gladness of song,

  For you have loved me in all your wise works. 10

  I rejoice in the holy deeds of your hands.

  How great are your mighty works, O Lord.

  Your thoughts are fathomless, vast and deep.

  The careless man knows nothing of this,

  And the foolish man has no understanding of it. 15

  Sinners will spring up like blades of hay,

  Bands of criminals sprouting evil

  Everywhere on earth, only to wither

  And perish forever, destined for doom.

  You are the highest, the guardian of heaven, 20

  Almighty God, always to eternity.

  Your evil enemies shall be endlessly scattered.

  They will all perish on the pathway of life.

  Then my horn that looks like that of a unicorn

  Will be raised up, and I will endure, 25

  Entirely contented in my old age.

  Your eyes have seen my malicious enemies,

  Your ears have heard my slandering foes.

  The righteous shall flourish and bloom like a palm,

  Bright and beautiful in its flowers and foliage; 30

  The just will rise up like the mountain of Lebanon

  Springing from the earth, a glorious growth.

  Plant yourself truly in the house of the Lord,

  So you may flower and flourish in his holy dwelling.

  There are still many people approaching old age 35

  Who expect prosperity and speak patiently,

  Saying the Lord has been righteous and true,

  Holding within him not a hint of evil.

  92

  The Lord is clothed in strength and splendor.

  He girds himself with power and glory.

  The Lord reigns, our ruling Judge,

  Robed in grandeur, wrapped in renown.

  He has set forth and strengthened the circuit of earth, 5

  So the ground holds firm, steady and secure.

  Your throne is ready, O eternal God.

  You live before the beginning of the world,

  Without end, boundless and abiding.

  The floods lift up their praise-songs to you— 10

  The rolling rivers, the roaring seas.

  The din of the wide waters will not be stilled.

  The surging sea-waves thrust and roll,

  As the ocean waters storm and shout.

  Like the sea, our Lord is an awesome power 15

  In the high heavens. Our Lord and Ruler,

  Your testimony is true, your witness affirmed

  By the wonder of your works. Everything holy

  Befits your house, becomes your dwelling,

  And abides forever through the length of days. 20

  93

  You are the God of vengeance, Lord.

  You can deliver revenge or offer rescue,

  Just as you choose, to any man.

  Raise yourself up, O Judge of the earth,

  Repay the proud with what they deserve 5

  For acting cruelly in their arrogant lives.

  How long shall sinners rule the world,

  Or criminals boast of their brutal murders?

  They tell brash stories of evil deeds,

  Exult in iniquity, perpetuate injustice. 10

  They have maliciously abused your people, Lord,

  Afflicted and oppressed your earthly inheritance.

  They have slain strangers and helpless widows,

  Poor orphans and unprotected children,

  Crowing that the Lord never sees their crimes, 15

  That the God of Jacob pays them no mind,

  As he goes where he pleases without concern,

  Without comprehension. You senseless people,

  Recognize this, understand it all.

  Let silly fools know this serious truth: 20

  Who shaped the ear, can he not hear?

  Who formed the eye, can he not see?

  Who teaches wisdom, does he not know?

&nb
sp; Who elicits awe, can he not threaten?

  And does his threat not serve some purpose? 25

  God alone knows the thoughts of man,

  The vain ideas and idle dreams

  Of all earth-dwellers. Blessed is the one

  You teach, O Lord, your truthful law,

  Your ruled discipline, your lore and learning. 30

  You will protect him, deliver him from darkness,

  From the days of evil, till the perilous pit

  Of unlit doom is dug for the wicked,

  An endless abyss of pitch-black pain.

  Our Lord will never cast off his people, 35

  For he would never forsake his inheritance.

  Who then remains to be converted,

  So he will not turn back to embrace injustice?

  Who will help me flee from this wicked world,

  So I can contemplate wisdom among the just? 40

  Who will rise up with me to do what is right,

  Stand up for truth against iniquity,

  Fight against those who do evil deeds?

  If the Lord, our Judge, had not kindly helped me

  In my times of need on life’s long road, 45

  My soul might have found a home in hell.

  If I had said, “My foot has slipped,”

  Then the Lord’s mercy would have helped me,

  Picked me up and saved my life.

  When I wandered lost in sin and sorrow, 50

  My mind weighed down with heavy grief,

  Your consolations, Lord, eased my soul.

  Evil and injustice cannot cleave to you.

  You fix the bane of suffering, Lord.

  The wicked would bind fast the righteous, 55

  Plotting together to destroy their souls,

  To spill the innocent blood of the just.

  But the Lord is my ruler, my only refuge,

  Secure and steadfast, firm and fixed.

  My hope resides in the help of the Lord. 60

  Almighty God will reward the wicked,

  Repay them for all the evil they have done,

  Scatter them abroad for all their iniquities,

  Grant them what they dearly deserve,

  The Lord almighty, our righteous judge. 65

  94

  Come, let us praise God together,

  Please our Lord and Ruler, proclaiming

  Allegiance to our Savior, seeking his presence,

  So that we may humbly confess our sins

  And sing psalms to him in great joy. 5

  For the Lord is a mighty and magnificent God,

  The exalted king over all other gods

  Worshipped by mankind. He will never drive away

  His own people in their time of need.

  In his power are all the ends of the earth; 10

  Likewise he holds up the lofty mountains.

  He rules the seas and wields the waves

  That he first created and set in place.

  He formed the dry land with his own hands.

  Come, let’s bow down before our Maker, 15

  Bend our knees in the sight of our Lord.

  Let’s weep before the one who made us,

  For he is our Lord, our judge and leader,

  And we are the loyal sheep of his pasture.

  He shelters and sustains us and gives us food. 20

  If you hear the gracious voice of the Lord,

  You should never hide the thoughts of your mind

  Or darkly harden the intent of your heart

  Against God’s will, as your ancestors did

  On the day of provocation, of fierce unfaith 25

  And bitter rebellion, that day in the desert:

  “When the fathers of this nation tested me

  So severely with their treachery and deceit,

  They tried to prove me, though they knew the truth

  And could see with their eyes my wondrous works. 30

  Now I lived with these people for forty years,

  Seeing that they erred in their rash hearts

  And offended me, as I told them repeatedly.

  They did not know my ways or understand

  That I had made an oath in my righteous anger 35

  As I wondered whether in their offending ways

  They would ever enter into my rest.”

  95

  Sing now new songs to the Lord—

  Let all the earth sing to the eternal Lord.

  Sing now to the Lord and bless his true name.

  Proclaim his salvation from day to day

  To people everywhere. Proclaim his glory 5

  To victorious nations, make known to peoples

  The wonder of his works, for he is the great God,

  And everyone on earth should praise him.

  He is the God above all other gods—

  All earth-dwellers should dread him. 10

  The heathen gods are fierce demons

  Who deal out death, but our God alone,

  Our holy Lord, has shaped the heavens.

  True praise, like true confession, Lord,

  Only takes place in your gracious presence, 15

  Where your holiness is both exalted and acknowledged.

  Bring now to the Lord honor and splendor,

  The two together with glory as the third.

  Let people praise the Lord on high

  From all their homelands. Let everyone on earth 20

  Praise God’s name in their deep need

  And bring him offerings. Enter his courts

  And worship him earnestly in his holy hall.

  Before God’s face, the earth shall tremble.

  Declare now before all the present tribes 25

  And also before the generations to come,

  That from a tree issued a glorious ruler,

  Our Lord himself. His law established

  The earth’s orbit, the world’s turning.

  He will render judgment, an honest justice. 30

  And a righteous wrath to all the Gentiles.

  Let the heavens rejoice and the earth be glad.

  Let the rolling rivers and salty sea-streams

  Sing out their joy. Let the fields and woods

  And all the life inside them sing. 35

  The forests have existed in days of gladness

  In the presence of the one eternal Lord,

  Who came in glory to judge the earth.

  Know now he is coming with his endless reach

  To judge earth’s people in truth and justice. 40

  96

  The mighty Lord reigns in righteousness,

  So the earth rejoices in great gladness

  And the sea-islands share in the exquisite joy.

  * * *

  97

  * * *

  [Let the rivers rejoice,] clapping their hands,

  Let the mountains be glad for they know the signs

  Of all that stands in the presence of God.

  For the blessed one came to judge the world,

  The expanse of earth with truth and justice, 5

  Leading his chosen ones in the way of righteousness.

  98

  The Lord reigns over fierce peoples,

  Controls their anger, rules their rage.

  He sits above the cherubim, and he alone

  Is able to unsettle the inhabitants of earth.

  The Lord is in Zion, the greatest of judges, 5

  Glorious and exalted over all of mankind.

  Lord, we acknowledge your eternal name—

  It is great and awesome among mankind,

  Holy and helpful to the children of men.

  The honor of the king embraces justice. 10

  You first set the standard for fair judgment

  In the world’s beginning, and you established

  The great and guiding laws for Jacob.

  Lift up your praise with courage and strength

/>   For the holy Lord of the high heavens 15

  And honor his footstool now and forever,

  For it is sacred to the children of men.

  Moses and Aaron, excellent brothers

  And true priests, and also Samuel

  Called out his name in their earnest need. 20

  They fairly and fittingly invoked the Lord,

  And he listened to them, heeding their pleas

  According to his kindness, his gracious nature,

  And answered them with words in a pillar of cloud.

  They kept his covenant and carried out his commands, 25

  Holding true to the testimony he entrusted to them.

  Holy Lord, you heard their prayers

  In the spirit of mercy and were gentle with them,

  But you justly punished them, almighty God

  For all their offenses, their willful iniquities. 30

  Exalt our God, our Lord and Savior,

  And worship him here on his holy mountain,

  For all powers are his, all praise is due him.

  Holy is the guardian of the heavenly kingdom.

  99

  Let all this earth, obey mighty God,

  Praise the Lord with bold rejoicing,

  And serve God with great gladness.

  Enter fully into his presence with joy.

  Know wisely that he is our God and Ruler, 5

  Our Shaper who sustains us, and we are his.

  We are his people and the sheep of his pasture.

  He watches over us and keeps us fed.

  Go through his gates and give thanks to God.

  Acknowledge him, praise him, and worship him 10

  Within his courtyards with hymns of joy.

  Praise the name of the Lord for he is beloved,

  Gentle and benevolent in times of torment.

  Lord, your mercy abides, your gracious nature

  Forever embraces the children of men. 15

  100

  I will sing out the mercy and judgment

  Of the mighty Lord. I will understand the truth

  Of the blameless way when you visit me.

  I passed through the center of your holy house

  With an innocent heart, setting no evil 5

  Before my eyes. I abhorred the wicked,

  The workers of iniquity who embraced sin.

  The hostile heart is no pleasant companion,

  The perverse spirit no fair friend.

  I have turned away sinister, malicious men, 10

  Not wanting to know their devious schemes

  Or understand how they invite evil

  Against their neighbors with slanderous tongues.

  I have hounded them all with hostile strife.

  Those who see the world with arrogant eyes 15

  And insatiable hearts are hateful to me.

  I would not share a meal with such men.

  My eyes are firmly fixed on the faithful

  Who sit by my side or walk along with me.