The Complete Old English Poems
Page 94
Carefully drawn to the hands of her mistress.
So our eyes are always drawn to you,
Our eternal Lord, our excellent Maker.
We gaze on our God with reverent eyes 10
Until the Lord of angelic Powers
Takes pity on us in his kind compassion.
Have mercy on us now, O mighty Lord,
Have mercy on us, for we are filled with contempt,
Stuffed with the many rude words of men, 15
Sated with scorn. Our souls are bloated
With reproach and shame, and the arrogant ones
Despise and denounce us all too often.
123
Unless the eternal Lord is with us—
So say all the Israelites now—
Unless the Lord abides with us forever,
Then evil men will begin to assail us.
Perhaps they want to swallow us alive, 5
Devour us, destroy us, if only they can.
They are always angry and hostile toward us—
Their minds are mad, their hearts hot.
Perhaps they want to drink us down
In a voracious gulp, if only they can. 10
Often our soul has passed through the flood,
The shrieking tumult of savage waves.
Perhaps the soul may at last escape
That fist of water, the right hand of rage.
Blessed is the Lord who has never left us 15
In cruel captivity, never given us over
To those who would tear us apart with their teeth
And wolf us down in their ravenous desire.
Our souls have been saved from danger and death,
Just like the sparrow who escapes from the snare 20
Of the fierce hunter. The noose is snapped,
The snare sprung, and we are freed,
Released at last, redeemed from death,
Deserving life. In our moment of need,
We esteem the Lord and call on his name 25
For his sure strength and steadfast support.
For the Lord has created both heaven and earth.
124
Those who trust in the Lord with their acts
Will be as immovable as Mount Zion.
No one can disturb a man who is settled
Firmly in the heart of Jerusalem forever.
The sheltering hills offer their protection; 5
The eternal Lord guards that perimeter,
Now and forever. The Lord of life
Will never allow the lot of the wicked
To extend beyond his boundaries for the just
Or allow the just to reach out 10
Their righteous hands anywhere to iniquity.
He will suddenly, surely punish them.
Do good, O Lord, to those who are good,
Who keep their hearts upright here on earth
With wise words and virtuous deeds. 15
The Lord will lead those receptive to the bonds
Of evil deceit and cruel oppression
Into the snares of their own wickedness.
Peace be to Israel always and everywhere.
125
When the Lord at last decides to reverse
The harsh and oppressive captivity of Zion,
We will be quickly consoled and deeply comforted.
Our mouths will be filled with gladness again,
And our tongues will rejoice, our words unwind, 5
Our songs soar. People will boldly say
Among foreign peoples that they always glorified
The mighty Lord when he worked his wonders,
His marvels among them. Magnify yourself,
O mighty Lord, for the wondrous works 10
You offer us on earth that make us bold
And bring us joy. Turn around our captivity,
Like a rolling river surging south.
Those who sow tears of deep sorrow
Shall reap sheaves of genuine joy. 15
Those who have walked out bitterly weeping
Shall harvest the fruit of their own seeds
And return home, rejoicing in their homecoming,
Bearing the sheaves they have gathered on the way.
126
Unless the holy Lord builds a house,
Those who raise its roof labor in vain.
Their building is flimsy as an idle boast.
Unless the holy Lord holds and protects
The town with its tribes, no watchful guard 5
Can properly protect it and keep it safe.
Why rise in vain before the light
With the children of men? Rise up readily,
Sit down surely, all those of you
Who have eaten the bitter bread of sorrow. 10
The Lord will bring sleep to his beloved ones—
Those who are the inheritance of the eternal Lord,
His familial children, his cherished ones,
Those first brought forth from the womb
As mortals on earth. Surely as the arrow 15
Is sharpened into a hard point in the hand
Of the strong and supple, mighty and menacing,
So the children of the wicked will soon disappear.
Blessed is the man who has fulfilled his desires
And sees his dreams growing up beside him. 20
He will never be confounded or put to shame
When he deals with his fierce foes at his gates.
127
Blessed are those who fear the Lord,
Our eternal God, and who walk willingly
In his righteous way on life’s long road.
Then you shall taste the fruits of your labor,
The gift of your hands working the land, 5
And live blessed lives in the joyful towns
Where you will thrive, and all will be well.
Your wife’s abundance will be like fruitful vines,
Full and flourishing in the corners of your house.
Your children will be like olive trees, 10
Grown up around your outdoor table,
Strong and firm, glorious and formidable.
Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
Revering the Creator in each of his actions.
May the Lord boldly bless you from Mount Zion, 15
And may you also enjoy every good thing
In Jerusalem all the long days of your life.
May you live to see your children’s children
Walking together and witnessing peace
Striding with them, advancing across Israel. 20
128
Often my enemies fought against me in my youth—
Let the Israelites now say this same thing—
Often my enemies fought against me in my youth,
But the fierce foes could not prevail over me.
The wicked began to construct their crimes, 5
Loading their evil upon my back,
Extending their iniquity, prolonging their cruelty.
But the Lord is righteous and judges wisely,
Acting immediately to confront and overturn
The treacherous plots hatched by the wicked. 10
Those who harbored great hatred toward Zion
Will be confounded and struck with shame.
Let the wicked be like the grasses of earth
Which flourish for a time in the thatch of a house,
Then dry and decay, uprooted from the earth, 15
Weathered on the roof, withering away,
Never to be harvested by the mower’s hand,
Never bound in a bundle in the gatherer’s lap,
Never reseeding itself, lost to the land.
Let all those who dream desperately of consigning 20
The Lord’s sayings to oblivion never say:
“Let the Lord boldly bless us and bless you also;
We bless you as well with the spirit o
f gladness
And great rejoicing in the name of the Lord.”
129
Out of the depths I have called to you, Lord,
Out of my misery, my terrible longing.
Lord, Lord, please hear my prayer.
Let your listening ears be alert and attentive
To the plight and prayers of your beloved servant. 5
If you witness and weigh all of our iniquities,
Lord, Lord, who among us could endure
Your righteous judgment? Who could ever act
Always in accordance with your just laws?
O mighty Lord, there is mercy in you, 10
And because of your law, I am able to endure
The things of this world. Listen, O Lord!
My soul has always suffered and endured,
For I have deeply trusted in your words—
So my soul maintains its trust in you. 15
From the glorious morning till evening arrives
For the children of men, may all the Israelites
Trust in the Lord now and forever,
For the power of mercy rests with the Lord—
He will absolve all those whose hopes are in him, 20
Redeeming the Israelites everywhere from iniquity.
130
Lord, my heart is not raised up against you,
Nor my eyes raised up in defiant pride.
I have never walked in my own majesty;
Wonders do not hover over my head.
I endure all things humbly on earth, 5
And my soul rejoices especially in that.
You nurture my heart and sustain my soul
As a mother nurses a baby at her breast,
Offering an abundance in her sweet gift.
Let all the Israelites look to the Lord 10
And trust in his bounty now and forever.
131
Remember, Lord, the glorious David,
His meekness and mercy, his goodness and grace.
He held himself rightly before the Lord,
The great God of Jacob, pledging his word:
“At the beginning I swore in my soul, 5
Making a vow to the almighty Lord,
That I would not enter the shelter of my house,
Or make my way into my tent,
Or climb into bed whenever I please,
Or lay down my tired head on my temple, 10
Or close my eyelids and my eyes in sleep,
Till I find a precious place for my Lord,
An acceptable tent for the God of Jacob.”
We heard all these things said in Ephrathah
And found them true in Fields-of-the-Wood. 15
We will enter his temple and honor that place
Where his feet have firmly stood before.
Rise up, O Lord, to your resting place,
For you are the ark of all holiness.
Your priests are girded in righteous truth, 20
And your holy ones wisely rejoice on earth.
For the sake of your own dear servant David,
Do not turn away the face of your anointed one.
Then the Lord swore a solemn oath to David,
Affirming again his previous promise, 25
A vow that he afterwards came to fulfill,
Telling David that he would place on his throne
Worthy offspring that came from his loins,
Saying, “If your children will keep the covenant,
The true testimony that I will teach to them, 30
Then their sons will often occupy your throne
Where they will thrive and partake of the pleasures
Of this earthly world.” For the Lord has chosen
Zion for himself where he would abide
From the beginning, making this promise: 35
“This is my resting place where I will dwell forever,
A place to cherish because I have chosen it.
I will bless its widows with sacred words,
I will feed its famished with loaves of bread.
I will clothe its priests with security and salvation, 40
And its holy ones on earth will abide in bliss.
I will bring forth the precious horn of David
And prepare a torch for my anointed one—
A flaming light I will always carry
For my chosen one who will be celebrated. 45
His enemies I will clothe in humiliation and shame,
But upon him shall shine the purest light,
The bright crown of my righteous blessings.
132
How pleasing it is and also how good
That two brothers should plan in harmony
To share their lives in a home together.
So too the precious ointment, the excellent herb,
That Aaron used to anoint his beard 5
Could bless his head and hold a memory
With a strong scent. That powerful ointment
Spread down onto the hem of his garment
Just like the delightful dew of Hermon
That quickly descends on Mount Zion. 10
For the Lord has entrusted life’s blessings to us
From this moment onward—a world without end.
133
Let the Lord’s own servants bless him now,
Rejoicing in him. Let those who are ready
Stand up in God’s house, keeping watch
In the courtyards of the house of Christ,
For he is the Lord, our holy God. 5
Lift up your hands earnestly each night
In holy praise, in heartfelt prayer,
And bless the Lord. May the good Lord
Gladly bless you from Mount Zion
In your day of difficulty, your hour of need, 10
For he has created both heaven and earth.
134
Praise now the name of the Lord.
Let his servants also earnestly praise him.
You who stand heedful in the house of God,
Wholly vigilent there in the courtyards
Of the house of Christ, that glorious God— 5
Praise the Lord, for he is steadfast and strong,
Kind and compassionate to every person.
Honor his name, for he is wise and worthy.
For God has chosen the virtuous Jacob
And the people of Israel as his own possession. 10
I have always understood that the Lord our God
Is great and good. His power prevails
Over all the gods of the earth’s inhabitants.
Our Lord and Creator has shaped and sustained
Everything that is, all that he willed, 15
In heaven and earth, in the stretch of sea
Where he knows the dark, secret depths.
He leads the clouds in their strange wonder
From the ends of the earth and in his power
With wind and lightning produces rain. 20
He draws pleasant breezes from his natural treasury,
His secret store of all good things.
He slew the noble firstborn of Egypt,
Each one, even as far as the animals.
He sent the surest signs of victory, 25
Portents and promises to the people of Egypt,
Making known to the followers of Pharaoh,
Both nobles and servants, his terrible truth.
He smote many nations, killing mighty kings—
Sihon was one ruler and Og was another, 30
The great and illustrious king of Bashan.
He gave their native land to the Israelites
As a great inheritance, a gift to his people.
Your name, Lord, is called eternal,
And your memorial will abide in bliss forever. 35
The Lord will judge his people fairly,
And he will be a comfort to his faithful servants.
The
heathen idols of the foolish Gentiles
Are silver and gold shaped by craftsmen
With their skilled hands here on earth. 40
They have mouths that speak no words
And beautiful eyes that cannot see far.
They have ears that cannot hear
Anything that might be pleasing to them,
Even if someone should call out earnestly. 45
They have noses that cannot smell,
Hands that cannot grasp anything good.
They have feet that cannot walk
Even one step. Nor can they call out
From their silent throats or catch a breath 50
In their clenched jaws and rigid mouths.
These lifeless, unholy images resemble
The people who made them and trust in them.
May the house of Israel boldly bless
Our gracious God, our steadfast Lord. 55
May the house of Aaron boldly bless
The eternal Lord. May all those who live
In the great house of Levi gladly bless the Lord.
Let all those who stand in awe of the Lord,
Who revere his judgment and fear his wrath, 60
Bless the Lord—for that is the Lord
Who lived as a just God in Jerusalem,
The Lord who is lovingly blessed from Zion.
135
I acknowledge and praise the eternal Lord
For he is good, and I know in my heart
He is wise and merciful now and forever.
I acknowledge and honor the eternal Lord,
The God of all gods, for I know he is good. 5
I acknowledge the one who is Lord of all lords,
Mighty in deeds, because he is good,
And I know that his mercy endures forever.
He alone made the world’s glorious wonders.
He created heaven for the understanding of man. 10
He first set the earth upon the waters.
He made the great lights for the children of men.
He made the bright sun to rule the day
And the moon and stars to rule the night.
He slew the Egyptians and their firstborn children 15
And led the Israelites unharmed out of Egypt
With a mighty hand and powerful arm.
He parted the great Red Sea in an instant
And led the Israelites right through the middle.
There Pharaoh fell, and his doomed troops 20
Suddenly perished in the Red Sea.
Then he led his beloved people through the desert
With a masterful purpose and a firm promise.
He lifted from the hard, unyielding stone
Streams for the people to ease their thirst 25
And satisfy their need. They offered him thanks.
He killed great kings who ruled the world—
Savage death carried off King Sihon,
The famous ruler of all the Amorites,