A Love Once Held

 

A Love once held
    not lost but silent
A whisper of joyous echoes
    not lost but silent
Still remembered, still felt
    not lost but silent
Expressions written and shouted
    not lost but silent
Once refreshing and healing
    not lost but silent
With this pen I start to awaken
    not lost or silent
In renewed Love and worship
    not lost or silent

True Trust

Barak lost glory with faith place in human instrument
Victory secured not by mighty men of old
No, honor shifted from the sword to spike
Welded not by warrior but by house wife in tent alone

To place faith in human is to build next to dew
The refreshment is short when judged by the sun
True trust shall rest in You alone
Secure in the raiment of your Son

Without you I am left to drift
In you I am secure in knowing that I am Your own
Oh to bask in your Presence oh Lord
How it refreshes my soul

Growth

A babe, yet advanced in age
Wise in the world, a fool of Heaven
A flock gathered round in protective ring
As nourishment and knowledge fed by gentle hands
More growth requires a place made for new
A babe no more, knowledge sharing now my task too
Away from the center I hear the prowling lions roar
Courage wains as doubt begins once more
Resolved in faith by all that been taught
Always close to the Slain Lamb for provision
When fear overpowers I seek His sweet voice
Outward I grow now closer to ring’s edge
Task has grown to aid Him, called as shepherd 
Now to see the lions pace as vessels of hatreds flame
My feet firmly planted, clothed in Savior’s peace
Battered and oppressed, still I persevere to trials end
Again pulled into ring for Christ’s nourishment
Refreshed, Restored and Reaffirmed in kingdom position
Back to edge I go with shepherd staff in hand

IshmaeI's Call

Oh son of Ishmael to whom do you call
Your voice is mute, I hear not your bawl
After a thief you chosen to fall on knees
Rather yield to Truth and follow Me

Before Abraham, I AM He
Through one Son, one hope can there be
In Recitation and Tradition you vainly clasp
But in Issac to Me is the promised path

See to the cross stained red for you
The empty tomb proclaims all is made new
Be free from wicked Submission and turn to Me
For in love and peace the King came to set free

Received by Teeth

Wounded and festering, in a corner.

Hiding pain from all, licking wounds.

Pushed back into dark so that none can see.

Snapping teeth at any that passes by.

The infection continues as the body wastes.

A man walks up and kneels nearby;

with a hand out reached, received by teeth.

Undeterred he speaks to try and calm;

with a hand out reached, received by teeth.

Pleading is the man, his help the only healing;

with a hand out reached, received by teeth.

Still the man beseeches, calling by name;

with a hand out reached...?

All content copyrighted ©; 2017 William McDonald

Death

Loneliness and grief and pain and strife,
brought about at end of life.
Light goes dim in once bright eyes,
when the world is pained as one dies.
No more pain is felt by he
but left are loved ones in pain to be.
Yet deaths defeat is guaranteed,
by the King who does redeem.
His death was thought to bring reigns end,
but it turned to be upon what all depends.
In the midst of three mourning days,
Light re-lit as life regained.
With this hope King's loved one hold,
that death's touch not a permanent hold.
Soon we will enter our eternal rest,
Who is our King, us clothed in his best.

All content copyrighted ©; 2017 William McDonald

Yield

Change me
Humble me
Make me new

Help me
Equip me
Empower to do

Refresh me
Sustain me
As grass is by dew

Shape me
Transfix me
Yielded to You

All content copyrighted ©; 2017 William McDonald

To Synagogue I Go

Weighed down, bent over, demonic oppressed,
ridiculed, in pain, and much embarrassed. 
To synagogue, to Synagogue did I still press;
but much was done to slow my progress.

18 years my oppressor has tried to bar my way;
but faithful to synagogue I endeavored to stay.
Much wickedness and deceit were leveled at me;
in worship I pressed hopeful for the healing to be.

Young men once were sent with evil mirth.
In violence, I was thrown down to lay on earth.
I struggled to rise as the laughter's distance grew.
On I pressed with desire to worship anew.

Then there were dogs with teeth all gnashing;
crippled and bent with no hope of dashing.
With stick for walking I managed one cudgel.
One blow enough, hearing God's word thus enabled.

Then there were women that sneered and jeered;
"who would ever hold someone so ugly as deared?"
Embarrassed and broken I traveled and cried;
still resolved to seek God even if never a bride.

The children would run near hoping I would fall;
singing songs of how glad I was not mother of them all.
Shamed, weighed down with destined vacancy of womb; 
I beseeched the God of Sara and Hanna for life to enter this tomb.

Seeking comfort and hope from those who rule synagogue;
rather got conviction and disgust, them wishing I was gone.
Rejected by the culture of man and beast alike;
to synagogue I go, God's law my only hope of light.

To synagogue I go again like any day;
cursed with all hope beginning to wane.
However, this Sabbath day there was new energy in air;
a new teacher has come, and its Jesus that's here. 

Standing in back and I thought out of sight; 
but saw me He did and called me through crowd of spite.
Never more scared and embarrassed was I as then;
but move forward I did with faith stretched thin.

Nervous and shamed I stood before Him; 
back bowed down in perpetual bend.
Never has shame and guilt attacked so fierce;
wanting to flee: I stood, held in place.

Never for me had a face such compassion amass;
as if He known all the pain of my past.
Then His sweet voice sounded, redefining identity
"Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity."

And then something happened I could not explain.
King, Savior, Messiah touched me extinguishing all pain.
My soul exploded in praise and exhalation;
with back straight and arms raised for first time to heaven.

Awe filled the atmosphere, but soon turned to hate.
Due to Sabbath day, they said my healing should wait.
Messiah intervened and set religious leaders straight;
He would not allow wickedness to use me as its bait.

All content copyrighted ©; 2017 William McDonald

Equipped

Child, where be the helmet made by me?
Forged with blood upon wooden beam.
Wear always for salvation's assurance be.

Is that your shield on yonder tree?
Now how you fall back when you are meleed;
in hand is its place, only then fiery darts flee

Is breastplate and belt under rags and fleas?
Never such a gift before given for free;
uncovered and exposed all darkness will flee.

What's this, no shoes and all bloody toes?
When you were given shoes no year knows;
yet unshod you roam on spikes laid by foes.

This equipment was given so you persist;
yet rather you toil to enter my rest.
Now study for use the sword, I do insist. 

Into Mountainous Ring

Newly clothed in raiment by the King,
I descend into the mountainous ring.
With shield in front and back exposed,
sword in hand with readied pose.

The wyvern of old destined to face,
it lures man with tail's hypnotic trace.

Venom of desire its most deadly vice.
All that embrace do so at heavy price.

When lust fails to lure resolve away,
to rage does allure give way.
It shoots the darts of its fiery might,
to which shield impedes deadly flight.

Folly it is to stand and not fight,
to engage with sword reveals King's might.
The dragon lashes out to slash with claws,
hate in eyes and gnashing of jaw.

The fight is long as the battle wains on,
destined to lose, still hate fuels Apollyon.
Whenever knocked down by might crushing down,
the King sends men and the beast is bound.

When refreshed from above the battle resumes; 
with resolve I press and deliver a great wound.
The fiend seeing my victory is nigh;
to flee, away he does fly.

All content copyrighted ©; 2017 William McDonald

Doubt

Fog rolls in and hides the path;
once so sure was I of footing's hold.
Now each step is a feat of math;
no longer taken in confidence bold.

Assurance wained in mind's wandering;
lies and noise from deceivers of old.
Moving towards hopes sure beakoning;
confused, I transverse narrow road.

Sounds of circling wolves in pack,
I cry out I am all alone.
At last remembrance of light in pack;
feet need no longer to roam.

Whisper

There is a whisper not by ear I hear,
ignites old coals and burns away despair.
I strain to see the speaker so near;
But with eyes too dim, I rejoice to hear.

It brings new life and breaks deaths hold,
a voice that transcends all that is old.
He brings the proud to broken knees;
and stands the meek, from which evil flees.

Upon his fiery tongues the foundation laid,
messengers sent proclaiming price paid.
His words bring refresh to those hopeless,
clothing the broken in Christ's righteousness.

Submission

Submission has become a dirty word,
antiquated like the sword.
We have liberated society of its bond,
a submissive heart we no longer find fond.

But has this word been fairly judged,
or unjustly submitted to the cudgel?
The Bible says wives submit,
is this one verse our weighing limit?

Any verse in isolation
has the power to bring condemnation.
We must read verse holistically,
if we are to avoid being spiritually sickly.

We look to Christ who first submits;
first to Father, then to sin’s punishment.
Rather than a response to oppression above,
in true form it’s an expression of love.

Before even wives are mentioned, 
the church is given its petition.
All are to submit to one another,
one having no higher place than other.

Likewise this is ideal in marriage,
as two horses draw a carriage.
Follow not the model of king in castle,
rather helping each other in life’s tussle

A wife shows love by her act of submission,
as Christ yielded all to Father’s mission.
Love in submission Christ molded for us
As His body was laid in a tomb at dusk

In this way a husband is to love his wife
willing and ready to give all, even life.
Rather than seeking selfish ambition,
he is to cherish her as his act of capitulation.

By Christ we are adored and held in tenderness,
should we treat our spouse no less.
We all must let the Spirit stay our pride
and love each other as Christ’s bride.

Why Hell?

Your prophets and teachers preach that You are love
If that is true how can You judge so harsh from above
Why does so much hinge on but one choice
Why must I yield you Lord and proclaim it with voice
 
How is it that we who see vaguely through a veil
Receive the penalty for one wrong choice of hell
It is not fair that we should be in such peril
You could have at least sent us a herald

Then you said to me, “What about My church,
Her apostles and preacher’s speak from their perch
They warn of  mankind's sin and its state
And how I became man and died to clear the slate”

I ask, “But why is this price so great
A price in which man could never get through Your gate
What hope did man have once accursed fruit that we ate
We even failed to repent after the flood and Noah’s reboot"

You ask, “What price would be suitable for rejecting your God,
Who created you, knowing you would succumb to the odds
Yet I loved you and withheld My judgement until such a day
When you would hear my call and allow Me to pay

You see the price is so great because Great was rejected
When you reject Me, by whom else can you be accepted
Evil and true good are impossible to be co-located
Because you see evil is only good vacated

I being Good, you choose to engage in self-worshipping evil
How is there any fate for you to share but that of the devil
One sin marks from the start that you are void of good
But out of love I sent My Son, who in your place stood
 
Blood untainted was what is prescribed for sin
A sacrifice unblemished would the atonement be in
Hell is not My desire for the devil or you
He made his final choice now you must too

There are only two places you can be
One is with he who turned you from Me
The other is with Me throughout eternity
Choose against me and you must share his destiny

Mirror

Look at this mirror and what do you see
Is everything as it should be
Built for a purpose by the Great King

To bear His image, to reflect His glory
But poor is my reflection, failed is my story
I am a mirror now shattered and deformed

A new image I did try to show
One that I chose, a reflection of my own
Created for the Holy, I chose my own glory

Broken and cracked from the weight of my sin
Doomed for destruction, no more hope therein
But rather than demolish, He chose to refurbish

My frame was once splintered and dented
Now it is sanded and carefully mended
Coated in a stain that was red of His making

The glass that fractured and poorly reflecting
Now replaced by a new understanding
His intended image now my countenance

On The Trail

Out the door with my feet on trail head
Surrounded by crisp, cold mountain air
Shaking off the stiffness set on by bed
With danger hidden up ahead, still I dare

I trek along the long mountain trail
With tall dark trees on both sides
As darkness subsided, dawn is lights veil
Lurking is a purring huntress near by

Ahead the trail becomes two
Drawn by the transcendent Guide
Who shows what I must do
Ignore the trail that's wide

Trek ends at the destination
Embraced by warmth of the Son
In exuberant worship and exaltation
His love absolute, never to be undone

Four Shades

(Based on Charles Spurgeon's "Under His Shade" link to sermon at bottom)

There is a place that is secret still
Protected by His shadow's shade
In abide by submission to His will
Covered and sealed by the price paid

He is the Rock, Tree, Wing and Hand
When we are placed under His four shades
We are complete and ready to stand
For us there is no fear at hates raid

The Rock stands firmly in place
The only place to quench thirst
Fleeing from the beast Christ faced
Protected from evil, loved by First

Righteousness so great our sins did affront
Justice absolute demands recompense
With penalty decreed God stepped down in front
His love thus shields from the price of offense

A rock so great, a mighty country contained
Great in number her citizens
With sweet rivers, refreshed and sustained
Secure are those named in Heaven

In the Tree's shade we find our rest
With grace and peace we are assured
Its fruit above all else is best
In it we are found fully nurtured

To dance and celebrate with merriment
Full of joy and mirth in His presence
God showers His children in excitement
With His rapturous eminence

Rest in God is not licensed laziness
But work conducted through His sustenance
The sloth that sits in shade shall be less
Because to serve the Lord is our existence

When torrent storms outside do rage
I seek the shadows of His wing
His warmth and comfort become a cage
Protecting me when fear begins to ring

When lonely, depressed and tormented
To Him I seek His loving embrace
Defined by Him for I He created
No other opinion shall take its place

If we but put our trust in Him
Our self-image shall be secure
But tainted it is apart from Him
In isolation no hope to endure

Secured such we seek His Hand
Pierced through that which man hath wrought
By His act of sacrifice we stand
Priest and heirs of His kingdom bought

A kingdom at hand and supremely grand
Her King leads the army from the front
His emissaries the Church now stands
Which will not break to evil's affront

Out to the lost we now do go
Proclaiming the gospel to the enslaved
Salvation to those who wish to be known
For the narrow road by Christ been paved

In Christ's shadow we do stand
Free from the penalty He had paid
Secure in Rock, Tree, Wing and Hand
Rest assured in the decision we have made

http://www.spurgeongems.org/vols55-57/chs3267.pdf

Forgiven

Despised, rejected and casted aside
Trying so hard just to hide
A life I live in masquerade
Afraid and sinking without aid

A hope is cast upon my path
No longer doomed to my aftermath
A tab paid long ago
All it cost me is ego

A hand with hole reaches down
A Name that exceeds all renown
To His account I plead entrance
With that I enter a new existence

Lighthouse

Waves crash against its walls
Stains and weathers as they fall
Still upright it stands tall
To serve as warning to all

Its light shoots across the sky
Searching with its watchful eye
For those that would travel by
All that seek warned death is nigh

Man made towers warn doom is near
Showing all that rocks are near
God made creatures, His image we bear
Showing all that He is always near

My Healer

I do not under stand why here I am
But I do know my Healer the Great I Am
My trust is in Him through my struggle 
Even as in pain, clouded by trouble
I know Christ is sufficient 
And I will praise Jesus, reliant