The Complete Old English Poems

by Craig Williamson

  And likewise Og, the king of Bashan. 30

  And he gave their land as a great inheritance,

  A lasting legacy, to the people of Israel,

  Who were his chosen ones, his very own servants.

  For the eternal Lord was ever mindful

  Of our abject state and gave us great gifts. 35

  He removed us from the hands of our evil enemies,

  And he feeds all his creatures great and small.

  Let all now acknowledge and praise the Lord,

  The eternal God who abides in the heavens.

  Acknowledge and praise the God of all good, 40

  For his mercy is great now and forever.

  136

  Above the broad river of Babylon,

  We sit and weep in heartfelt sorrow

  As we remember Zion. Often grieving,

  We hung up our instruments on a willow tree,

  Because our fierce captors who carried us off 5

  Taunted us with their twisted words, saying,

  “Sing us a hymn of the ancient songs

  You often sang on Zion.” But how can we sing

  Songs to the Lord in this alien land?

  If I’ve forgotten you, O my Jerusalem, 10

  Let my right hand forever forget me

  In my time of need. Let my tongue cling

  To my clenched jaws, my muted mouth,

  If I ever forget you, if I fail to place you

  Right at the beginning. Let me eagerly rejoice 15

  In Jerusalem, Lord. Remember the children

  Who are living in Edom when you improve the lot

  Of all of Jerusalem. Now they often say,

  “Let’s render them useless, unable to thrive,

  Until they accept their dwelling place.” 20

  Behold you are bound unfortunately to Babylon

  In bitter sorrow, her wretched daughter.

  Blessed are those who will repay you in kind,

  Reward you with what you have given to them

  And also to us. Blessed is the one 25

  Who picks up his children and places them down

  On that glorious rock, that impregnable stone.

  137

  I acknowledge and praise you, eternal Lord,

  With my knowing mind and my whole heart,

  For you have heard my words with your ears,

  The prayers I have offered with mouth and mind,

  Passion and purpose. I will sing to you 5

  Fervent praise-songs in the sight of your angels.

  I will offer reverence to your sacred temple,

  Your holy house, with earnest intent,

  And in duty and devotion sing out your name.

  Beyond your mercy, beyond your truth— 10

  Aspects entwined together as one—

  You have glorified your name over us all

  Everywhere on earth. At any time,

  On any day, I know I can call you,

  My beloved Lord, and you will hear me 15

  And suddenly, surely strengthen my soul,

  Enlarging my spirit with your abiding power.

  Let all earthly kings acknowledge you, Lord,

  For they have all heard in their own realms

  The words of your mouth, the music of your voice, 20

  Mighty and majestic. Let them all sing

  Hymns and canticles to the almighty Lord,

  For your glory gathers and extends over middle-earth,

  Where you are greatly praised and highly exalted.

  From your home in heaven, you look down on us, 25

  The lowly of earth, our eternal Lord.

  Though I should walk on the road of wickedness,

  Surrounded by sin, severely oppressed

  By trials and tribulations, you will always protect me

  From my malicious enemies, my fierce foes, 30

  Whose deep desire is to open up

  Their hateful minds and hostile hearts

  Mercilessly to me. You reach out

  With your right hand and swiftly save me.

  May the Lord reward me with a righteous judgment, 35

  For his loving mercy endures forever.

  Lord, never despise, forsake, or forswear,

  The work of your hands, the endless wonders

  You have created for us here on earth.

  138

  Lord, you have properly proved me,

  Searching my soul, seeing into my heart

  With your probing mind, your penetrating insight.

  You have seen my sitting down and made known

  My rising up. You have searched my thoughts 5

  And watched my ways coming and going.

  You have foreseen my life’s road from afar,

  Knowing there was never any treachery on my tongue.

  You see all things from first to last,

  Beyond beginnings, after endings. 10

  You created me here with your own hand,

  Placing your palm gently on my head.

  Your wisdom has been a true wonder to me.

  It circles and strengthens all around me,

  Though I cannot always reach it with reason 15

  Or fathom it fully with my imagination.

  How could I ever escape your spirit?

  Where would I go in any direction?

  How could I flee from your endless presence,

  For your countenance is everywhere on this earth. 20

  If I soar up to heaven, I will find you there,

  Sitting at my side. If I turn toward hell,

  There you are again, standing beside me.

  If I unfurl my wings and fly before dawn,

  Until I am soaring high beyond the seas, 25

  I feel your loving hand leading me

  Over the sea-road, the surge of waves,

  Your strong right hand holding me aloft.

  I have said to myself, “Perhaps the darkness

  Will some day surround and overwhelm me, 30

  But your darkness will prove an ethereal light,

  Offering me the pleasure of a pale illumination,

  Enabling me to see what I had never seen,

  And in that seeing, be suddenly transformed.”

  For there is no darkness except by your power, 35

  There is no light except by your design.

  You offer the dark to illuminate the night,

  Just as you provide the brilliant light of day.

  Sometimes darkness goes with the light

  Like sun and shadow, dawn and dusk. 40

  You are the shaper that makes this so.

  You know me, Lord, heart and soul,

  Blood and bone. You cradled me gently,

  Even as I came forth from my mother’s womb.

  I acknowledge and praise you, eternal Lord, 45

  For the wonder of your works, for you are everywhere

  Worshipped in awe for the marvels you have made,

  The miracles that my soul naturally knew.

  My bones that you created in a secret space

  Will never be wholly hidden from you, 50

  Even though my body will shortly dwell

  Down in the dark lower regions of earth.

  Your eyes have seen that my spirit was weak,

  And that shall be written in your books of wisdom.

  Our days are determined as the Lord has made them— 55

  No one can live beyond his days.

  Your steadfast friends are dear to me, Lord,

  Honorable and worthy. Their power has been increased,

  Their rule strengthened over many generations.

  If I try to count them, they will be more numerous 60

  Than grains of sand, beyond my reckoning.

  Afterwards I will rise up and remain with you,

  O Lord, if you want to slay the sinful,

  Lay waste to the wicked with the stroke of death.
/>   Move away from me now, you bloodthirsty men 65

  Who say to yourselves in your secret hearts,

  “Let us scheme and plot in our idle dreams,

  Our dark desires, to destroy their cities.”

  I have hated those with a bitter venom

  Who have plotted treachery against my God. 70

  I will always be enraged against your enemies.

  I hate them justly because they have become

  My own fierce foes. Try me, God,

  Prove me again as is only proper.

  Examine carefully the thoughts of my mind, 75

  The words of my mouth, the inclinations of my heart.

  Question my motives, my loyalty and love,

  My way of walking on the righteous road.

  See for yourself if I have wandered

  On a false path or an unjust road. 80

  Lead me then, O Lord of life,

  That I may walk on the everlasting way.

  139

  Rescue me in your name, eternal Lord,

  From enmity and affliction, from the evil one,

  And from malicious men who hatch schemes,

  Plotting terror, dreaming up depravity.

  All day long they brood on deceit 5

  In their sinful hearts, their malevolent minds,

  Insinuating schemes, picking fights.

  Their tongues are twisted with infectious words,

  They speak like serpents with venomous lips,

  And the poison of asps lurks in their mouths. 10

  Protect me, Lord, from the hostile hands

  Of the wicked ones, from cruel criminals.

  Deliver me quickly, O Lord of life,

  For they plot and scheme to trip me up,

  Dogging my steps with a dangerous passion. 15

  The proud ones have laid a snare for me

  Hiding a trap of twisted ropes,

  A netted noose to bind my feet.

  But I said to the Lord in my dire straits:

  “You are a beloved God to me. 20

  Hear my prayer, holy Lord—

  My voice cries out passionately to you.”

  Lord, Lord, you are the gentle strength

  Of my salvation, the steadfast power

  Of my deliverance. On the day of battle, 25

  You will shield my head against my enemies.

  Do not deliver me into the designs of the wicked

  Against my desires. Do not abandon me

  In my lifetime lest they become exalted over me.

  Let the rancor of their minds, the malice of their mouths, 30

  Hang heavy upon them, forever haunting them.

  Let them sleep soundly beneath a blanket

  Of burning coals. Let them feel the fire

  Of their own evil, unable to withstand

  The malice and misery of their own making. 35

  Let the eloquent man with a hostile tongue

  And harmful words never be led

  Anywhere on earth. Let evil overwhelm

  The unjust man until he perishes,

  Unseen on earth. I know that the Lord 40

  Will reward the needy, avenge the poor,

  And render a fair judgment to the wretched.

  For truly the just desire in their distress

  To praise your name. The righteous who live

  Wisely in this world will always be blessed, 45

  Destined to inherit the earth in your sight.

  140

  I cry out to you, my beloved Lord—

  Hear my voice, hearken to my prayer,

  When full of sorrow, I ask for your aid.

  Let my prayer rise up quickly in your sight

  As incense burning, wisps in the air, 5

  Curling from its coals, those devouring embers.

  Let my lifted hands likewise be an offering

  When I devoutly recite my evening prayer.

  Set a benevolent guardian over my mouth

  So I speak no evil; set a worthy watch 10

  Upon my lips to preserve only wisdom.

  Do not turn my heart on the twisted ways

  Of hatred and harm so that I let loose

  Any warped words or wicked thoughts

  And become an apologist for loathsome sins. 15

  Let me never be friends with cruel criminals

  Or join the fellowship of the greatest thieves.

  May the righteous rebuke me when I am wrong

  And reprove me with a kind and gentle disposition.

  May the oil of sinners never anoint my head, 20

  For my prayer shall be secret, a sign against the evil

  That is always perversely pleasing to them.

  Lord, let the sinners be swallowed up

  Beside the stone of power, the righteous rock.

  Their judges are deaf to the truth of my words— 25

  They listen without learning, hear without heeding.

  Just as the earth is unevenly formed

  With moors and meadows, hollows and hills,

  So our bones are buried, thrust cruelly down

  Near the dark pit where sinners dwell 30

  In the bondage of hell. I believe in you, Lord,

  In all of my actions, in all of my perceptions,

  All I see with my eyes and understand with my mind,

  So do not take my soul from me.

  Save me from the devious snares of sin 35

  Which are set for me in hatred and hostility.

  Let no sinner deceive or seduce me.

  Save me from those who plot evil against me.

  Let the wicked fall into their own traps,

  Twisting in the nets of their grasping schemes. 40

  Let me walk alone, untouched by their evil,

  Until I am free at last to pass on.

  141

  My stormy voice cries out, O Lord,

  My vehement prayer, a powerful plea

  Beseeching the Lord with a fervent voice.

  I pour out my petition in the presence of the Lord,

  Passionately recounting my cruel tribulations. 5

  For my enemies scheme to exhaust my soul—

  You know my way and lead me forward.

  On the grassy path I now must travel,

  Proud enemies have prepared traps for me.

  Readily I look on the right-hand side— 10

  No one knows me or greets me with kindness.

  They steal my flight and seal off my escape.

  No one wants to look out for my soul.

  So I secretly call to you, Lord, saying,

  “You are my truth, my trusted hope. 15

  You are my refuge, my safe shelter,

  My only share in the land of the living.”

  Attend to my soul, Lord of mankind,

  For I am sorely shamed, endlessly humiliated.

  Deliver me from the hateful and hostile ones 20

  Who suddenly assail me with a savage strength.

  Release me now, release my soul

  From its prison cell, its hard confinement,

  So I am free at last to utter your name

  In a fervent prayer. The righteous and wise 25

  Will wait for me here till you arrive again

  To greet me gladly with a just reward.

  142

  Lord, please lovingly hear my prayer,

  Accept with your ears my supplication.

  Hear me in truth and hold me in righteousness.

  Do not enter into judgment with your servant,

  For in your eyes no one on earth is just. 5

  My enemies have attacked me, assailing my soul,

  Dragging me down, diminishing my life.

  They have spitefully put me in a secret place

  To dwell in darkness, a grim hideout,

  Like dead bodies you cover with earth. 10

  My heart is troubled, my spirit stunned.

  At last
I remembered my earlier days,

  Meditating here on your glorious handiwork.

  I devoutly stretched out my arms to you,

  When my soul was thirsty as parched earth 15

  In a wasteland without water. Hear my prayer,

  Hearken to my plea. Come quickly to save me.

  Now my soul is grieved, engulfed in sorrow,

  My beloved Lord. Do not turn away

  Your face from me, your kind countenance, 20

  My Lord of glory, or I will be wretched

  As one who plunges into the pit of darkness,

  The depths of hell. O mighty Lord,

  Make me hear your mercy in the morning,

  For I trust in you and hope for your help. 25

  Make me wise, O Lord, so that I may know

  The right way to proceed with a clear purpose.

  Now I long to surrender my soul to God

  For a fair judgment. Deliver me, Lord,

  From all of my enemies, my fierce foes, 30

  For I turn to you and trust in your help.

  Teach me how to act and work your will,

  For you are my God who has always accomplished

  Good things for me. Your generous spirit

  Has led me along so that I justly journeyed 35

  On the right road. Let me honor your name

  With passionate praise. Save me, O Lord,

  For your name’s sake so that I may be saved

  And live my life resolutely in your justice.

  You have led my soul from trouble and torment, 40

  Trials and temptations, to dwell in your mercy.

  May you drive away all of my enemies

  And destroy my foes with their hostile hearts

  Who attack me, afflicting my soul with sin,

  Because I am always your own faithful servant. 45

  143

  Blessed is the Lord, my beloved God,

  Who first molded my hands to battle,

  My fingers to fight. He is my source of mercy,

  My help and refuge in my hour of need.

  He is my loyal defender, the savior of my life. 5

  Glorious one, you are my powerful protector.

  My faith is steadfast, my trust holds true

  That you will save me and justly subjugate

  Many peoples to me. What is man, mighty Lord,

  That you would make yourself known to him, 10

  So clearly revealed? Or the son of man,

  That you would take any account of him?

  Man is a frail creature, wanting strength.

  His days are brief, as one might see

  A passing shadow shimmering for a moment. 15

  Bend down your heavens, holy Lord.

  Touch your mountains and make them smoke.

  Let your lightning flash, your thunder roll,

  So they light up the world—then make them vanish.

  Scatter your enemies with fiery arrows, 20