Persist, endure, follow, watch
To be recognized and accepted by a peregrine you must wear the same clothes, travel by the same way, perform actions in the same order. Like all birds, it fears the unpredictable. Enter and leave the same fields at the same time each day, soothe the hawk from its wildness by a ritual of behavior as invariable as its own. Hood the glare of the eyes, hide the white tremor of the hands, shade the stark reflecting face, assume the stillness of a tree.
A peregrine fears nothing he can see clearly and far off. Approach him across open ground with a steady unfaltering movement. Let your shape grow in size but do not alter its outline. Never hide yourself unless concealment is complete. Be alone. Shun the furtive oddity of man, cringe from the hostile eyes of farms. Learn to fear. To share fear is the greatest bond of all. The hunter must become the thing he hunts. What is, is now, and must have the quivering intensity of an arrow thudding into a tree. Yesterday is dim and monochrome. A week ago you were not born. Persist, endure, follow, watch.
J.A. Baker, The Peregrine
Showing posts with label wisdom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wisdom. Show all posts
Saturday, May 02, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
God helps those who...
Thursday, November 13, 2008
A word for the day: Chased by blessings
These blessings shall overtake you
Deuteronomy 28:1-14
If you will only obey the Lord your God, by diligently observing all his commandments that I am commanding you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth; all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the Lord your God:
The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you; they shall come out against you one way, and flee before you seven ways. The Lord will command the blessing upon you in your barns, and in all that you undertake; he will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in his ways. All the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you. The Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in the fruit of your womb, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your ground in the land that the Lord swore to your ancestors to give you. The Lord will open for you his rich storehouse, the heavens, to give the rain of your land in its season and to bless all your undertakings. You will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow. The Lord will make you the head, and not the tail; you shall be only at the top, and not at the bottom if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I am commanding you today, by diligently observing them, and if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I am commanding you today, either to the right or to the left, following other gods to serve them.
Selah.
An image of divine dance
Here the language of blessing is rare and fascinating: "These blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the Lord your God." The imagery is of blessings as a pursuing host, a great company of goodness that flows around us like the wind and falls upon us, overtaking us like the dawn overtakes the night, and suddenly, there is light!
The imagery is almost as if the default state of humans is to flee divine blessing: it is as if in our own selves we run away from the place of divine blessing; and yet, as we turn to obey our God, suddenly, and overwhelmingly, the blessings overtake us and fall upon us, and we are whole.
There is a divine principle here: obedience, fear of the Lord, refusal of idols... this is the path where blessings overtake us and fall like rain upon parched soil, bringing forth the harvest of righteousness!
Alleluia!
Selah.
Deuteronomy 28:1-14
If you will only obey the Lord your God, by diligently observing all his commandments that I am commanding you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth; all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the Lord your God:
- Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field.
- Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb, the fruit of your ground, and the fruit of your livestock, both the increase of your cattle and the issue of your flock.
- Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading-bowl.
- Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you; they shall come out against you one way, and flee before you seven ways. The Lord will command the blessing upon you in your barns, and in all that you undertake; he will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in his ways. All the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you. The Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in the fruit of your womb, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your ground in the land that the Lord swore to your ancestors to give you. The Lord will open for you his rich storehouse, the heavens, to give the rain of your land in its season and to bless all your undertakings. You will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow. The Lord will make you the head, and not the tail; you shall be only at the top, and not at the bottom if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I am commanding you today, by diligently observing them, and if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I am commanding you today, either to the right or to the left, following other gods to serve them.
Selah.
An image of divine dance
Here the language of blessing is rare and fascinating: "These blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the Lord your God." The imagery is of blessings as a pursuing host, a great company of goodness that flows around us like the wind and falls upon us, overtaking us like the dawn overtakes the night, and suddenly, there is light!
The imagery is almost as if the default state of humans is to flee divine blessing: it is as if in our own selves we run away from the place of divine blessing; and yet, as we turn to obey our God, suddenly, and overwhelmingly, the blessings overtake us and fall upon us, and we are whole.
There is a divine principle here: obedience, fear of the Lord, refusal of idols... this is the path where blessings overtake us and fall like rain upon parched soil, bringing forth the harvest of righteousness!
Alleluia!
Selah.
Monday, October 20, 2008
We have not known thee as we ought
We have not known thee as we ought
Words: Thomas Benson Pollock, 1875
Music: St. Chrysostom
We have not known thee as we ought,
nor learned thy wisdom, grace and power;
the things of earth have filled our thought,
and trifles of the passing hour.
Lord, give us light thy truth to see,
and make us wise in knowing thee.
We have not feared thee as we ought,
nor bowed beneath thine awful eye,
nor guarded deed and word and thought,
remembering that God was nigh.
Lord, give us faith to know thee near,
and grant the grace of holy fear.
We have not loved thee as we ought,
nor cared that we are loved by thee;
thy presence we have coldly sought,
and feebly longed thy face to see.
Lord, give a pure and loving heart
to feel and know the love thou art.
We have not served thee as we ought,
alas, the duties left undone,
the work with little fervor wrought,
the battles lost or scarcely won!
Lord, give the zeal, and give the might,
for thee to toil, for thee to fight.
When shall we know thee as we ought,
and fear and love and serve aright?
when shall we, out of trial brought,
be perfect in the land of light?
Lord, may we day by day prepare
to see thy face and serve thee there.
Selah.
Monday, September 15, 2008
A word for the day: Ask of me, says the Lord!
Bow to the Lord in perfect fear: Live anew, ask!
Psalm 2
Why are the nations in an uproar?
Why do the peoples mutter empty threats?
Why do the kings of the earth rise up in revolt
and the princes plot together,
against the Lord and against his anointed?
'Let us break their yoke', they say;
'let us cast off their bonds from us.'
He whose throne is in heaven is laughing;
the Lord has them in derision.
Then he speaks to them in his wrath
and his rage fills them with terror.
'I myself have set my king
upon my holy hill of Zion.'
Let me announce the decree of the Lord:
he said to me, 'You are my Son;
this day have I begotten you.
'Ask of me and I will give you the nations for
your inheritance
and the ends of the earth for your possession.
'You shall crush them with an iron rod
and shatter them like a piece of pottery.'
And now, you kings, be wise;
be warned, you rulers of the earth.
Submit to the Lord with fear,
and with trembling bow before him;
Lest he be angry and you perish;
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Happy are they all
who take refuge in him!
Selah.
Psalm 2
Why are the nations in an uproar?
Why do the peoples mutter empty threats?
Why do the kings of the earth rise up in revolt
and the princes plot together,
against the Lord and against his anointed?
'Let us break their yoke', they say;
'let us cast off their bonds from us.'
He whose throne is in heaven is laughing;
the Lord has them in derision.
Then he speaks to them in his wrath
and his rage fills them with terror.
'I myself have set my king
upon my holy hill of Zion.'
Let me announce the decree of the Lord:
he said to me, 'You are my Son;
this day have I begotten you.
'Ask of me and I will give you the nations for
your inheritance
and the ends of the earth for your possession.
'You shall crush them with an iron rod
and shatter them like a piece of pottery.'
And now, you kings, be wise;
be warned, you rulers of the earth.
Submit to the Lord with fear,
and with trembling bow before him;
Lest he be angry and you perish;
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Happy are they all
who take refuge in him!
Selah.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
That my whole being may proclaim
Fill thou my life, O Lord my God
Words: Horatius Bonar, 1866
Tune: Richmond
Fill thou my life, O Lord my God,
in every part with praise,
that my whole being may proclaim
thy being and thy ways.
Not for the lip of praise alone,
nor e'en the praising heart
I ask, but for a life made up
of praise in every part!
Praise in the common things of life,
its goings out and in;
praise in each duty and deed,
however small and mean.
Fill every part of me with praise;
let all my being speak
of thee and of thy love, O Lord,
poor though I be, and weak.
So shalt thou, Lord, from me, e'en me,
receive the glory due;
and so shall I begin on earth
the song forever new.
So shall each fear, each fret, each care
be turned into a song,
and every winding of the way
the echo shall prolong;
So shall no part of day or night
from sacredness be free;
but all my life, in every step
be fellowship with thee!
Selah.
Words: Horatius Bonar, 1866
Tune: Richmond
Fill thou my life, O Lord my God,
in every part with praise,
that my whole being may proclaim
thy being and thy ways.
Not for the lip of praise alone,
nor e'en the praising heart
I ask, but for a life made up
of praise in every part!
Praise in the common things of life,
its goings out and in;
praise in each duty and deed,
however small and mean.
Fill every part of me with praise;
let all my being speak
of thee and of thy love, O Lord,
poor though I be, and weak.
So shalt thou, Lord, from me, e'en me,
receive the glory due;
and so shall I begin on earth
the song forever new.
So shall each fear, each fret, each care
be turned into a song,
and every winding of the way
the echo shall prolong;
So shall no part of day or night
from sacredness be free;
but all my life, in every step
be fellowship with thee!
Selah.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
A timely reminder...
Take time
Take time to think...
It is the source of power.
Take time to play...
It is the source of eternal youth.
Take time to read...
It is the fountain of wisdom.
Take time to pray...
It is the greatest power on earth.
Take time to love and be loved...
It is a God-given privilege.
Take time to be friendly...
It is the road to happiness.
Take time to give...
It is too short a day to be selfish.
Take time to work...
It is the price of success.
Take time to re-create...
It builds a scrapbook of memories.
Take time for God...
It turns time into eternity!
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