Your Word Unlocks

Several years ago, as I was preaching through Psalm 119, I wrote a series of poems inspired by their verses. This sonnet derives its inspiration from Psalm 119:129-144 and especially verse 130 which reads, “The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.”

When I was posting these poems, my father-in-law recorded himself reading one and texted it to me. He was a bit unsure if it was presumptuous, but it wasn’t. Rather it was a completion or fulfillment of the poem. Words that find their expression in others voices is one of the ways a poem becomes a poem. So, thank you Ed for sharing this with me and for all the gifts you given. Happy Birthday!

Your word unlocks, runs straight, is just and right;
It cuts to the heart and pierces the night.
Strong and stable, firmness to rest upon
Is your word, the promise I depend on.

I am small and despised; my enemy knows
I am but a breath, can be felled with blows:
A roll of the eye, a sigh, fuels the shame
Of my thirst for the draughts of praise and fame.

But you redeem this fear-of-failure's slave,
Steal sin’s sting and the victory of the grave;
Your light beckons, draws me into the day
Sets me to walk in the steps of your way.

I wonder, Is that word too good? Can it be?
The Word cries, “It is finished!” Bids, “Follow me.”

© Randall Edwards 2018
Read by Edward Pilkington

Artwork: James Tissot (French, 1836-1902). The Woman with an Issue of Blood (L'hémoroïsse), 1886-1896. Opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper, Image: 11 x 7 1/16 in. (27.9 x 17.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased by public subscription, 00.159.111 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 00.159.111_PS2.jpg). No copyright restrictions.