Soul Stirrings

Over the last month, God has begun in me an amazing journey through Psalm 119. The book of Psalms is a book of poetry and song. It was the hymnbook of God’s people for centuries before Christ came and continued to be the music of the church for centuries after Jesus assumed his rightful place as Head of the Church. Psalm 119 is the longest Psalm and, until now, I had avoided it for just that reason. However, God drew me to it for study.

Psalm 119 is an alphabet poem. It’s divided up into 22 stanzas of eight verses each. In each stanza, each of the eight verses begins with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet. (The first eight verses begin with the first letter of the alphabet; the next eight begin with the second letter and so on.) Each of the 176 verses speaks of God’s law – his commands, his precepts, his word, his promise. And each verse is a complete thought which can stand alone, apart from the rest of the Psalm. As a writer, I can tell you that any one of those attributes is difficult enough to accomplish – having all of them together in such an elegantly melodic form is just further proof to me that the Word of God is just that – the Word of God!

God has drawn me to this Psalm not just for reflection, but as a conversation between him and I. I am taking it a stanza at a time and as I meditate on His Word, the Spirit is inspiring me to respond in verse. Though I am a writer – I have no words to express how God has touched my spirit in this process so far, however I can share some of the experience with you by sharing a few of the poetic responses that has come from my study time. Over the next few weeks, I will be posting what the Spirit has led me to write.

SOUL STIRRINGS

With all of my heart

Lord, I will seek You
and humbly submit
my will to Yours.
When I search Your Word
to find my path,
Your Spirit satisfies
my thirsty soul
and You reveal the road
mapped out for me.
Oh that Your ways were
within my power,
that Your holiness was
my overriding desire.
Never would I foolishly stray,
nor hang my head
in the light
of Your glorious perfection.
And in that pure light
of Your holiness
Your love showers me
with forgiveness
washing away
the stain of my sin.
Peace and joy are mine
in the arms of my Savior.
Blessed to walk
in the company of my God
to listen and learn
along life’s journey.

Response to Psalm 119:1-8

About the pictures:
Parkwood Presbyterian Church (July 2011)