Study Desk

Sing your songs to Zion-dwelling God , tell his stories to everyone you meet: How he tracks down killers yet keeps his eye on us, registers every whimper and moan.

Be kind to me, God ; I've been kicked around long enough. Once you've pulled me back from the gates of death, I'll write the book on Hallelujahs; on the corner of Main and First I'll hold a street meeting; I'll be the song leader; we'll fill the air with salvation songs.

They're trapped, those godless countries, in the very snares they set, Their feet all tangled in the net they spread. They have no excuse; the way God works is well-known. The cunning machinery made by the wicked has maimed their own hands.

The wicked bought a one-way ticket to hell. No longer will the poor be nameless— no more humiliation for the humble. Up, God ! Aren't you fed up with their empty strutting? Expose these grand pretensions! Shake them up, God ! Show them how silly they look.

God , are you avoiding me? Where are you when I need you? Full of hot air, the wicked are hot on the trail of the poor. Trip them up, tangle them up in their fine-tuned plots.

The wicked are windbags, the swindlers have foul breath. The wicked snub God , their noses stuck high in the air. Their graffiti are scrawled on the walls: "Catch us if you can!" "God is dead."

The hapless fool is kicked to the ground, the unlucky victim is brutally axed. He thinks God has dumped him, he's sure that God is indifferent to his plight.

Time to get up, God —get moving. The luckless think they're Godforsaken. They wonder why the wicked scorn God and get away with it, Why the wicked are so cocksure they'll never come up for audit.

Break the wicked right arms, break all the evil left arms. Search and destroy every sign of crime. God 's grace and order wins; godlessness loses.

A David Psalm I've already run for dear life straight to the arms of God . So why would I run away now when you say, "Run to the mountains; the evil bows are bent, the wicked arrows Aimed to shoot under cover of darkness at every heart open to God. The bottom's dropped out of the country; good people don't have a chance"?

But God hasn't moved to the mountains; his holy address hasn't changed. He's in charge, as always, his eyes taking everything in, his eyelids Unblinking, examining Adam's unruly brood inside and out, not missing a thing. He tests the good and the bad alike; if anyone cheats, God's outraged. Fail the test and you're out, out in a hail of firestones, Drinking from a canteen filled with hot desert wind.

God 's business is putting things right; he loves getting the lines straight, Setting us straight. Once we're standing tall, we can look him straight in the eye.

A David Psalm Quick, God , I need your helping hand! The last decent person just went down, All the friends I depended on gone. Everyone talks in lie language; Lies slide off their oily lips. They doubletalk with forked tongues.

Into the hovels of the poor, Into the dark streets where the homeless groan, God speaks: "I've had enough; I'm on my way To heal the ache in the heart of the wretched."

God's words are pure words, Pure silver words refined seven times In the fires of his word-kiln, Pure on earth as well as in heaven. God , keep us safe from their lies, From the wicked who stalk us with lies, From the wicked who collect honors For their wonderful lies.

A David Psalm Long enough, God — you've ignored me long enough. I've looked at the back of your head long enough. Long enough I've carried this ton of trouble, lived with a stomach full of pain. Long enough my arrogant enemies have looked down their noses at me.

Take a good look at me, God , my God; I want to look life in the eye, So no enemy can get the best of me or laugh when I fall on my face.

A David Psalm Bilious and bloated, they gas, "God is gone." Their words are poison gas, fouling the air; they poison Rivers and skies; thistles are their cash crop.

God sticks his head out of heaven. He looks around. He's looking for someone not stupid— one man, even, God-expectant, just one God-ready woman.

Night is coming for them, and nightmares, for God takes the side of victims. Do you think you can mess with the dreams of the poor? You can't, for God makes their dreams come true.