3/20/06 The String of Pearls, Part II
Copyright © 1989-2006 Mel West. All rights reserved.

The String of Pearls
(continued)

By Mel West

page 80

The Advocate was complaining one day that I am perhaps too much of a bleeding heart. I suppose there is some truth to this. Sometimes I wonder whether my cares, or heart bleeding, are worthwhile at all. Hopefully you and your generation will not look at my works in this vein.

Let me explain why I have allowed myself to be characterized as a bleeding heart. It began with a rather lengthy poem I wrote early in my youth. I called the poem Prometheus Bound (See Maravot's Poetry for People.html), after the classical poem. In the poem is a young man named Eli who is compelled to leave his farm in search of truth. On the way to truth he comes by a city controlled by an heinous people called the Locust Eaters. The Locust Eaters also were drawn out of antiquity. They had voracious appetites and extorted everyone. Like horsed barbarians from the steppes, raping and pillaging cities in their way, the Locust Eaters raged from city to city pillaging their citizens by subtlety.

As I recall, Eli first saw them as he was approaching a freeway. There they were above the freeway standing in front of their campers casting fish lines onto the freeway. Curious about this, Eli came closer to find to his surprise that the Locust Eaters were fishing for dead dogs on the freeway. The generation of the Locust Eaters had adopted a practice of getting rid of unwanted dogs by throwing the dogs out of their racing cars as they careened down the freeway. The other cars were not only dodging the dead dogs but other garbage as well. In an oblique way the Locust Eaters were doing a public service by removing the dead from the freeway; and thus they were tolerated.

Later in the evening Eli saw a huge bonfire atop the mountain nearby. Fascinated, he went up to the mountain and saw a man tied to a post, suspended, as it were, by his two hands tied together above his head. The man was in terrible agony. His chest had been ripped open to expose his beating heart. Hawks and other carrion, even a stream of rats, were fighting over the right to nibble at his exposed flesh. Whenever they would rip out a piece of flesh, the torn flesh would grow anew. Near the man were the Locust Eaters grouped around their fire; and in the fire was one of the dead dogs. Hiding behind a rock, Eli continued observing these things until darkness had folded her cape over the scene. Then, under the cover of night he slipped up to the man on the post and cut his bindings, letting him free. The man told him that his name was Prometheus and the reason he had been captured and punished this way was because he thought too much. The gods had been envious of his wisdom and decided to have him punished. They sent for the Locust Eaters who were most happy to do the dirty trick for them. The moral to the story is that one ought not to try to compete with the gods. Anyone showing more wisdom than they would do it to his own destruction.

page 81

In Prometheus Bound the gods are really men. We do not recognize the existence of gods; only one God exists. But in the parable men like to think they are gods and do, in fact, show considerable jealousy over those who attempt to challenge their wisdom. In Hidden Pavilions we put this theory to the test and challenged the many gods of the Ministry. At the time I did not realize that I was really challenging Paul who appears to be their god.

So I thought to put myself in jeopardy just to prove a point: that men try to claim they are working on behalf of God but are in reality setting themselves above God. They change His Plan as they see fit and claim His Endorsement of it. Challenges to their Claim they either ignore or condemn. At the least they say, Well this is your interpretation, we have ours. Most men in my day didn't see anything wrong with this attitude. If I were to have asked them why they interpreted God out of existence and raised themselves in His Place, no one would think it a question of any importance. If I were to ask them how they are justified in using Jesus for endorsement of their conventions, I would receive at most a blank stare. Such is the Confusion over the God of Abraham in my day!

Now, my son, you have seen how I have recorded my generation. The Advocate said that I have not entirely been fair with them. But I ask them, have they been fair with God? If they desire to be treated fairly, they ought to reciprocate a bit. If they were fair I would have recorded it. I have yet to find one who has treated the matter fairly.

Have they been fair with the earth, its trees, and its animals? Are their Abominations the doings of the Locust Eaters and not man? Is it some other creation, not man, which has been doing these things against which I complained?

Have they been fair with their own children? On the way out of the market this morning I was asked by a young woman to march with the Free Choice movement. Free Choice, my son, means to this generation the right to kill the unborn child in the womb! This is my lamentation, my son, because there is little conscience for life; and those who are pro-lifers seem to have an extremely weak voice. The noise one hears in my world is not for life but, on the contrary, the thundering of death. The pattern of death pervades my world almost in every facet of life. Even their movies and books are saturated with the violence of death. Perhaps subliminally there is the thought that there are too many people on earth anyway; killing babies, trees, and animals happens to be a normal course of Natural Selection. Only the strongest will survive, they believe. Somehow the respect for the meek seems to have been forgotten long ago. If someone were to quote God on this issue of abortion, His Condemnation of Aborters would fall on deaf ears. But those same godless ears like to hear, on the other hand, how God rewards those who seek riches and glory. Now this is not accounted for by the acts of the Locust Eaters, my son, but by the acts of common men and women in my day.

As concerning the Bleeding Heart, we can recall many in times past who were like Prometheus. We can mention Socrates who was forced to take hemlock because of his teachings. Or take Jesus, for example. He spoke out, letting His Heart bleed, to His own destruction. He challenged the gods. Martyrs, behind him, like Paul, followed in his path, just to prove His Point. But men, who create gods to serve them, who conquer city after city in the name of their god, do not like anyone to come along and challenge their activity. Any challenge is viewed as an attempt to uncover them. And no one likes to be exposed. Take Liars, for instance. The worst man in the world to accuse of being a liar is a Liar! If you wish to witness a well of hatred, call a Liar a liar. An honest man, on the other hand, when accused of lying ought to be willing to hear the charge and have the opportunity to defend himself. An honest man who is convicted he lied ought to be a man who tries to correct the wrong which may have occurred as a result of the lie. By the same token we can witness my concern in Hidden Pavilions  that Jesus ought to be given a right to defend Himself, for He has been accused of being a liar, i.e., representing Himself as The Messiah. An Advocate can take His Testimony to any court today and prove that He could not have lied. But this again becomes my Lament because there does not seem to be any man in His Ministry willing to take his case to court. There is simply no Bleeding Heart alive today, whom I have seen, who can sympathize with the needs of the Bleeding Heart of Jesus. We return to the observation of the gods. The Ministry today don't give Jesus the same rights they would honor in a man of their own kind. They made a god out of Him out of their own fashion for their own service. Am I unfair? I ask, have they been fair with Him?

page 82

Beware of the Locust Eaters, my son, and learn how to recognize them. Test their Humility; it is completely lacking in them. They fashion gods as snares to entrap men; test their gods and you will see their own feet caught in their own snares. Beware of them, my son, for they are a very jealous kind.

Let me tell you a poem...

Praise the Lord God who comforteth man,
who knoweth all things
and all things are ordained by Him;
who sendeth His Blessing
through the raging waters of time;
who createth shepherds;
thou shalt not want;
and who before time began
saith, there shall be time no longer;
Blessed is he who likeneth to the Lord,
and blessed is he who sleepeth on His Wings.
Praise the Lord, my son, when thou weepest;
Praise the Lord when thou hurt,
and continually give thanksgiving
when the world turns against thee.

page 83

Praise the Lord, my son, when neighbors beguile thee,
that He leadeth thee to righteousness
and away from evil;
that He giveth thee understanding
all the days from youth;
and raiseth thee up in morning
to see the splendid light.
Praise Him all day long,
because His riches are upon thee;
and praise Him for patience
in knowing thou eatest but little
and thou learnest a little at a time.
How great thou art, My God,
who raisith me out of the pit
and selleth me unto the world
that thy Glory be known,
who raisith me continually
to recount His Everlasting Truth.

page 84

For He hideth His Secrets upon me,
to release me season to season;
He holdeth mine hand securely
and openeth doors before me.
He covers mine nakedness
so that no one can see me;
He hideth me in peaceful pastures
where only the sorrowful go.
Bless the Lord, my son,
who taketh me from the lion's mouth;
who maketh me a small sparrow
chasing away the great from our nest.
Bless the Truth of the Lord, God, my son,
for He never lies,
Bless Him who keepeth His Word
and Blessing for ever and ever.

page 85

Praise the Lord, my son,
who thought to maketh Peace;
who maketh green pastures
and a Tree for all to dwell.
For all the birds of the field
give praise unto the Lord
and sing this song of Glory.
The Thrush singeth and maketh glad,
and the hearts of those around glisten;
There is no one who hath not heard
the Glory of My God.
I give thanksgiving, my son,
to all the Lord hath done;
even in the pit I was cold;
I was hungry,
and mine mouth watereth
in the dust.
I waited for the deed
of those who attend to destroy mine soul;
I was alone in the pit
but not without my God.

page 86

And He wipeth mine tears with His finger,
He taketh away the cold
with His Wings;
He fed me with His Spirit
and watered mine soul with His strength;
and in the dryness of the pit He maketh clay
and shaped me a cup.
He saith unto me,
my son, drinketh of thine Spirit
and I dranketh His Spirit;
He offereth the cup unto man
and the Glory of the Lord was in him.
But those who plotted mine demise
hated me for mine inheritance;
Mine own brothers were against me,
and I was sold from the pit unto perdition.
But always I honored the Lord My God,
and I was a slave to His Wisdom;
for I was a youth without learning,
an easy tablet to imprint;
I hearkened to His Spirit,
printed with everlasting waters;
and He reserved me forever
as a rock of learning,
a rock of offence;
He smote me with His Rod
and dug me with His Staves;

page 87

He maketh me a Glad Heart
though perversion halteth around me;
He tempteth me with Glory;
I dared not raise mine eyes;
He tempted me with riches,
but I remembered mine robe of a slave;
He tempted me with women,
but ordained for me a wife;
I held steadfast unto His Promise
and became a Father to the Fatherless.
Praise the Lord God always, mine son,
who taketh His Shepherds from angry waters;
who writeth His Members for all to see,
though He Hideth them in clay;
He breaketh them in season;
Mine bones are out of joint,
and He healeth them in season;
and mine arm stretcheth out to the world.

page 88

Praise the Lord God, mine son,
who taketh the lost unto His Breast,
who whispereth to the widow a soothing song
and taketh her to his side;
who giveth the desolate a child
and a Maiden His Strength,
who imputeth His Spirit upon man
as a Babe in the woods.
Bless the Lord thy God,
who leadeth thee to safety;
hiding thee in the arms of the Sphinx.
He taketh thee out of Egypt,
and out of Babylon hath he sent me.
Blessed is the Lord Our God, mine son,
who maketh us a book;
and Blessed is that book
which we became.
Blessed is the Lord Our God, mine son,
Glory be unto Him forever;
Gladness of heart is our Treasure,
because we have known the Lord.
His Mercy resideth forever,
and smiles upon us through Babes;
No man hath known His Anger
that hideth in His Wings;
No man hath known His wrath,
that drinketh from His Waters;
and no man hath known His Dirth
who abideth by His Law.
Forever and everlasting is He, mine son,
His Promise abides forever;
Fortunate are we, mine son,
to have known the Glory of His Name.
Glory be to God, the Highest,
If He cut off, and shut up,
or if He gather together,
can any hinder Him?

page 89

He knoweth vain men,
and their wickedness is always before Him;
He considers their evil ways
and turneth their hearts to good.
If thou prepare thine heart,
if thou stretch out thine hands toward Him;
If iniquity be in thine hands
put it far away;
and let not wickedness dwell
in thy Tabernacle.
For then shalt thou lift up thy face, mine son,
and thou shalt be without spot;
yea, thou shalt be steadfast
a strong band that shalt not fear.
Because thou shalt forget thy misery,
as waters that pass away.

page 90

Thine age shall be clearer than noonday;
thou shalt shine forth;
thou shalt be as the morning.
A drop from heaven, art thou, mine son,
as dew upon a leaf;
all of the grass of the earth is thine.
Thou shalt be secure because of thine Hope;
yea, thou shalt dig about thee,
and thou shalt take thy rest in safety.
Also thou shalt lie down,
and none shall make thee afraid;
yea, many shall make suit unto thee,
but the eyes of the wicked shall fail;
and their hope shall be anon,
as the giving up of the ghost.
But my neighbors mocked me,
though my understanding was as well as their's;
I calleth upon God
and those around me laugh me to scorn.
And the tabernacles of the robbers prosper;
they who provoke God around me are secure;
and the wicked prosper;
they eat, drink, and are merry;
and I in my grief forever
am tempted to their cheer.
But I am comforted by my God;
The beasts he sends to teach me,
and the fowls of the air sing unto me;
The earth crieth out unto me
and the fishes of the Sea are mine.
Who hath declared these things, mine son?
Glory be unto God who declareth things forever
who hath been breath unto mankind always;
who putteth me with the ancient
and through the Righteousness of Time
He showeth me understanding.

page 91

Behold, mine son, He breaketh down
and it cannot be built up again.
He pointeth to Babylon
and the Kingdom of Egypt;
and He pointeth to the fowls of the air
who feed upon the ruined.
He leadeth counsellors away spoiled
and maketh the judges fools;
He looseth the bond of kings
and puts hooks in their jaws;
He leads the wicked with bridles
to the habitation of the desolate.
He poureth contempt upon princes
and weakeneth the strength of the mighty;
He increaseth the nations
and destroyeth them:
He enlargeth the nations,
and straighteneth them again.
He taketh away the heart of the chiefs
and causeth them to wander aimlessly;
They wander in the wilderness
where there is no way;
They grope in the dark without light,
and He maketh them to stagger;
All the princes are drunk with pleasure
and their madness is their own snare.

page 92

What the Princes of the world know,
the same do I know;
My God knoweth more.
Praise the Lord, that I may be humble
and not raise up above them;
Let me speak to the Almighty
and be Hidden in His Hand.
Hide me, O Lord, from the forgers of lies,
who are physicians of no value.
Let the wicked be taught by silence, O Lord,
let them put their hands over their mouths;
May they see yet the dust of the earth
filling their mouths with dryness;
let them flee to the holes in the rocks
where there is no comfort;
Give them their hearts desire, O Lord,
their fingers soothed by their silver and gold;
Behold how they toss it to the moles and the bats
in their habitation of angry mountains.
Behold man, my son,
who is like a flower;
all the earth is grass
which at noontime withereth;
they are flowers cut down
for a season's reproach;
men fleeth as a shadow
and continueth not.
Man dieth and wasteth away;
yea, man giveth up the ghost;
where is he?

page 93

Praise the Lord, mine son,
that He hidest me in the grave
and keepest me secret;
He hideth me until His wrath be past,
and appointest me a time
to remember me.
He calleth unto me
and I answer.
He sealeth my transgressions in a bag
and sewest up mine iniquity.
He changeth my continence
and formeth me as clay;
He showeth me falling mountains
which come to nought
and showeth me how to remove the rock
out of his place.
Men are stones, my son,
smoothed my rushing waters;
the grass of the earth
washed away in a flood;
Thy mighty winds, O Lord,
frighten the frighteners
and the hope of men
is scattered in the dust.
He maketh a song of remembrance,
a mirror of His Time,
and all the world shall watch
the twinkle of a mourning soul.

page 94

But the wicked wink at things beguiling;
they smile against the righteous;
they call unto their saints
and drink evil like water.
But a dreadful sound is in his ears,
and in his prosperity he is surrounded;
the congregation of hypocrites has heard a rumor
and their cities the noise of desolation;
their tabernacles of bribery are smoking,
and the Word of the Lord is upon them.
There is a trumpet in their midst;
and the Thunder of the Lord seeks vengeance;
O, how I criest unto the Lord;
my face is foul with weeping,
and on my eyelids is the shadow of death,
for I have made my witness in heaven,
and my record sent on high.
My friends scorn me:
but mine eye poureth out tears unto God.
Where is the righteous man?
Who calleth unto the Law and the Mighty?
Where is He who calleth unto the Light
that there might be light?
Where is He who setteth up His Candle
to lead us out of darkness?
My heart counseleth me of terrible things
and my reproach continually consumes me.
My head sinketh upon my shoulders
and my hands are tied above me.
If I wait the grave is mine house
and my bed will be darkness.

page 95

Awaken me, O Lord, and give me thy breath;
give me songs of Wisdom
and the Glory of thy name.
Let me not reside in darkness forever, O Lord,
and raise me from the pit.
All my members are as a shadow,
my days are past,
my purposes are broken off;
and the thoughts of my heart fail.
There is no one who can see;
nor any who can hear.
I returned from Jerusalem in mourning;
I saw there, there was no hope;
my lantern flickered from the wind
and the rumors of war;
all are gone aside,
no not one doeth good.
Who believeth my report?
The sins of my people are before me,
And the Angel of the Presence is with me;
He holdeth mine hand in anger
because there was no man.
The Angel of the Presence hath heard me;
and He alone comforted me
and He treasured me more than gold.
Though I be deaf,
as a man without ears,
and though I be blind,
as a man without eyes;
My Lord is continually before me
and leadeth me to quiet pastures.
In the Lord is my trust
and in the Lord is my voice.

page 96

He quickeneth me in season,
and raiseth me from the grave.
Eternal is His glory
are my thoughts from the grave;
He holdeth me in shadows
and leadeth me through night.
Praise The Lord, my savior
who giveth me new flesh:
He dresseth me with light
and the honor of His Salvation;
He leadeth me always
unto the ways of His Saints.
But the light of the wicked shall be put out;
and the spark of his fire shall not shine.
For the Lord shareth with me His Secret
and showeth me a snare in the way,
and showeth me the firstborn of death.
For the Fires of the pit shall overtake him
and the wicked shall be burned;
a voice hath told them of this
but their hearing hath failed.
Their hearts shall stop in terror
and the evils of Sodom shall sink;
The wise of the earth shall turn backward
and the doubters shall become salt.
Yea, the Lord hath told me a Secret
and He hath bid me to supper;
all the beasts and fowls shall eat;
He hath bid Him His guests.

page 97

When the wicked fill their belly
the Lord casteth forth His Wrath;
he is rained upon while eating;
and his goods he casteth away in scorn,
for a fire not blown consumes him,
his iniquity revealed in heaven;
the earth shall disgorge him
and his goods shall flow away:
priceless treasures in waters everflowing
from the banks of the Lord's wrath.
This is the heritage of the wicked,
so saith the Lord.
I am afraid,
and trembling taketh hold on my flesh:
because the wicked live and are mighty in power.
They see no rod of God upon them,
but know in a moment they go to the grave.
They cast away the Lord God
and stuff their packages with sorrows.
They fill their cupboards with chaff
which the storm carieth away.
They filleth their cups with destruction
and their children are weaned on violence;
the wicked shall drink of the Almighty,
the cup of the Lord's wrath.
They all lie down in the dust of the earth
and the Lord's robbers shall visit their graves;
the clods of the valley rail against them,
the beasts make burrows in their graves;
the earth shall belch with weeping;
it shall lament the evil in its womb;
all the wicked shall be coughed up,
and they shall cease to tempt from the grave.
Their tombs shall be opened to a fire eternal
and their souls consumed above their graves.
The inheritance of the wicked
is soon to visit their graves.

page 98

Acquaint thyself with the Lord, my son,
and be always with Him;
be at peace
and good shall always come to thee.
Hear the shouting of the wicked--
and the terror in their hearts;
see their castles falling
smitten by the Word of the Lord.
The Lord is Glory--
The Heavens shout His tidings;
Let all the earth be glad,
for the Day of the Lord is come
and the earth shall shudder before it.
Remember me, my son
and the vision of the homeless,
the broken heart of wisdom
and the timelessness of sorrow;
remember the Lord, thy God,
how He leadeth thee to righteousness;
Remember the Child of Light, my son,
who drinketh the Word forever.
Remember the island of the Innocent
and God's tender Mercies.
Keep thy hands pure,
and be always touching them upon God;
be always humble
and forsake the Vain.
Pray unto the Lord, my son,
that ye be always humbled;
and though risen up in glory
remember what the Lord giveth
He also can take away.

page 99

This is the treasure of the Lord, my son,
that the meek shall inherit the earth.
They shall plow upon the graves of the wicked
and make good plantings over sin;
they shall be as lilies of the field
who turn always unto the Lord's light;
they shall be a splendor to the Lord's eyes,
and a glow in His Heart.
For Peace cometh upon the earth
and His righteousness with it.
The Lord God maketh my heart tremble,
and the Almighty troubleth me:
Because I was not cut off before the darkness,
neither hath he covered the darkness from my face.
He hath joined me with the poor of the earth
and hid us in the bowels of wisdom;
we are hid from the groan of the city
and those who rebel against the light.
The murderer taketh souls in the night,
the thief robbeth the poor of his alms;
the adulterer's eye marks innocents in the eve;
and the trampler beholdeth not the vineyard;
the arrogant steal the sheaf from the hungry
and clothing is taken from the poor.

page 100

The chief taxes the peace
and rewards the hands of the extortioners;
he sends the poor to lodges without roofs,
to lie upon the streets without clothing.
The princes dig through homes at dusk,
which they marked for themselves in daytime;
all the world is groaning
from the rods of the wicked.
But this is the portion of the wicked
and the heritage of the oppressors:
If their children be multiplied,
it shall be for the sword,
and the innocent shall divide their silver.
But when I went out to the city,
when I prepared my seat in the street,
the young men saw me,
and hid themselves:
and the aged arose and stood up.
The princes refrained talking,
and laid their hand on their mouth.
The nobles held their peace;
their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth,
because I delivered the poor that cried,
because I delivered the fatherless;
and I delivered him that had none to help him.

page 101

For my judgment was as a robe and a diadem:
I was as eyes to the blind,
and feet to the lame;
I was a joyful song in the widow's heart,
and the cause which I knew not I searched out.
I broke the jaws of the wicked,
and I plucked the spoil out of his teeth.
All that saw me saw my root:
it was spread out on the waters,
and the dew lay all night on my branch.
The men who gave me ear
opened their mouths wide,
they gaped as for the latter rain;
and my speech dropped into them
as the dew upon a furrow.
And now I am their song;
yea, I am their byword;
for I was afflicted
and they comforted me not;
I was alone,
and they sought me not;
I was an hungered
and they fed me not;
I was athirst
and a draught they gave me not.

page 102

My bones are pierced
and cry out against them;
and my members all wracked with pain.
My soul is poured out upon me;
all that see it abhor my flesh.
But the Lord lifted me up in the wind;
like a light leaf from a tree
I took to the air.
I was a seed from the land
whose parachute lifted to heaven;
I appeared, as it were, diseased
until I was lifted up.
I floated upon the Word of the Lord;
all that saw me upon it
knew whereof I came;
My ministry was before me
as trumpets from the past;
mine own horn was lifted up
and the ancients ministered unto me.

page 103

I opened my doors to the traveller;
I became a haven for the stranger;
but those who saw me in my tabernacle
were envious of me;
the wicked laid wait at my door;
their mouths were gnashing in vain
and their armour was smeared in filthy lucre.
They desired to desire my flesh
and argued over it;
they would dissemble it and scatter it
so that it could never be recovered
but be meat for the beasts of the field.
This is the way of the wicked,
the envious at the door.
But I did not rejoice at their destruction,
because they hated me;
I did not praise God
in taking vengeance on those against me.
I wept with exceeding weeping
and cried with eternal tears,
for I was alone midst the wolf,
a morsel in the mouth of lions;
a sheep ready for the slaughter
and a man of sorrows.
And when I cried out
there was no answer;
to my own family I cried out
and there was no answer.

page 104

All that saw me were astonished,
and all that knew me were afraid.
For I was a man with a burden,
laboring under the sheaves of the Lord.
I was a colt heavily loaded;
my feet could barely carry me;
an ass in the streets of Babylon
whose hooves trembled with each step.
I was a wonder to the children,
because when I called there was no answer.
They saw that great men are not always wise,
that the aged knew not judgment.
and the world moaned instead.
The Unicorn tooketh up the plow.
He seeth the people as an ostrich;
he taketh up his horse;
the glory of his nostrils is terrible;
and he paweth in the valley,
and rejoiceth in his strength:
he goeth on to meet the armed men,
for he smelleth the battle afar off.
He taketh up wings, as an eagle,
and he taketh up a riddle,
why the heathen doth rage?

page 105

Though people ask, Who shall show us good?
Their hearts are not with them,
for they fear good as if it were evil.
They love vanity and seek after leasing.
But the Lord's tabernacle was our refuge,
it became a covering for the oppressed,
for He forgot not the expectation of the poor;
He prepared the hearts of the humble,
for the sighing of the needy He humbleth the proud;
he who is puffed up against him is like chaff
and became mingled with the dust.
All mine enemies say,
I have prevailed against him,
and those who trouble me rejoice
when they try to remove me.
The Lord taketh me from the maddening crowd,
For I have sung unto the Lord,
and He hath dealt bountifully with me;
He hath Hidden me in His Hand.
Praise the Lord God the everlasting,
Praise the Almighty.
He taketh the righteous unto Him:
they who walk uprightly,
who worketh righteousness
and speaketh the Truth in their heart;
He honoreth them that fear the Lord.

page 106

I beat the wicked as dust before the wind;
I swept them from the door of the Lord;
The Lord hath delivered me from the strivings of the people,
and strangers took me by the hand.
Day unto day the Lord uttereth His speech,
and night unto night sheweth knowledge.
When the Dayspring bringeth light
My Lord awakeneth us all.
There is no speech nor language,
there is no place,
where our voice will not be heard.
Our hearts rejoice,
because in them is the Lords statutes;
with the commandments of the Lord
are our eyes enlightened.
We behold the judgments of the Lord
and we holdeth them True;
they are righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold.
And we are refined in them as gold.
We were refined in the furnace of affliction;
In our Lord put we our Trust;
He bringeth us good pastures,
where we shall not want;
He lieth us down in peace,
the Promise of the ages.
We waiteth upon Him forever,
for Great is the Mercy of the Lord.

page 107

Our fathers trusted in the Lord
and the Lord did deliver them.
Glory be unto God the Highest,
for His Mercy reigneth forever.
But all that saw us laughed us to scorn,
they shooteth out their lip,
they shooketh their head, saying,
They trusted on the Lord that He would deliver them:
Let Him deliver them, seeing He delighted in them.
But thou art He that took us out of thy womb,
thou didst make us hope on our mother's breasts.
Be not far from us, O Lord,
for trouble is near,
and there is none to help
and many have compassed us about.
Our hearts melt like wax,
our strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and our tongues cleaveth to our jaws:
we see the dust of death.
But thou savest us from the lion's mouth,
he who seeks to devour us.
We shall declare thy name forever,
in the midst of thy congregation
shall thy Glory be thy name.
Thy heart, O Lord, shall live forever.
I give thanks unto Thee, O Lord, 1
for Thou hast put my soul in the bundle of life
and hedged me against all the snares of corruption.
Because I clung to Thy covenant,
fierce men sought after my life.
But they - a league of Falsehood, a congregation of Belial-
they knew not that through Thee I would stand.
For Thou in Thy mercy dost save my life;
for by Thee are my footsteps guided.
Of thy doing it was that they assailed me,
to the end that by Thy judgment on the wicked
Thy glory might stand revealed,
and that Thou mightest show forth through me

page 108

1) Succeeding selections from The Dead Sea Scriptures, with Introduction and notes by Theodor H. Gaster, Anchor Books, Garden City, New York, 1976 (see the Book of Hymns).

Thy power over mankind;
for by Thy mercy I have stood.
Mighty men, I said, have pitched their camp against me;
their weapons have compassed me,
their shafts have been loosed unceasing;
the flash of their spears is like fire devouring timber,
and the roar of their voices like the roar of many waters.
Like a floodburst bringing ruin far and wide,
all weak things and frail
they crush in a pounding cascade.
Yet, while my heart was dissolving like water,
my soul held firm to thy covenant,
and they - their own foot was caught
in the net they had spread for me;
in the traps they had hidden for my soul
themselves they fell.
Now that my foot on level ground doth rest,
Far from the maddening crowd, I call Thee blest'
Little did they know
that my steps were ordered of Thee...
And at every step they take
they face Perdition's shafts.

page 109

For lo, Thou hast taken a spirit
distorted by sin,
and purged it of the taint of much transgression,
and given it a place
in the host of the holy beings,
and brought it into communion
with the Sons of Heaven.
Thou hath made a mere man to share
the lot of the Spirits of Knowledge,
to praise Thy name in their chorus
and rehearse Thy wondrous deeds
before all Thy works.
I, that am molded of clay,
what am I?
I, that am kneaded with water,
what is my worth?
I, that have taken my stand
where wickedness reigns,
that have cast my lot with the froward;
whose soul has lodged like a beggar
in a place of wild unrest;
I, whose every step
has been amid ruin and rout–
on what strength of mine own may I count
when Corruption's snares are laid
and the nets of Wickedness spread,
when far and wide on the waters
Frowardness sets her drags,

page 110

when the shafts of Corruption fly
with none to turn them back,
when they are hurled apace
with no hope of escape;
when the hour of judgment strikes,
when the lot of God's anger is cast
upon the abandoned,
when His fury is poured forth upon dissemblers,
when the final doom of His rage
falls on all worthless things;
when the torrents of Death do swirl,
and there is none escape;
when the rivers of Belial
burst their high banks–
rivers that are like fire
devouring all...,
rivers whose runnels destroy
green tree and dry tree alike,
rivers that are like fire
which sweeps with flaming sparks
devouring all that drink their waters–
a fire which consumes all foundations of clay,
every solid bedrock;
when the foundations of the mountains
become a raging blaze...
when the earth cries out in anguish
for the havoc wrought in the world...

page 111

when with His mighty roar
God thunders forth,
and His glorious truth is revealed,
and the hosts of heaven give forth their voice,
and the world's foundations rock and reel;
when warfare waged by the soldiers of heaven
sweeps through the world
and turns not back until final doom
-warfare the like of which
has never been?
But as for them–
they have [dealt treacherously] with Thee,
Garblers of truth are [they all,]
witlessly stumbling along.
They have become abhorrent unto themselves.
Though Thou show Thy power through me,
they regard me not...
They have paid no heed to Thy teaching,
nor given ear to Thy word,
but have said of the vision of knowledge,
'It is not sure,'
and of the way Thou desirest,
'There is no such thing...'
Through me hast Thou illumined
the faces of full many,
and countless be the times
Thou hast shown Thy power through me.

page 112

...Verily I know
that righteousness lies not with man,
nor perfection of conduct with mortals.
Only with God On High
are all works of righteousness;
and ne'er can the way of man
be stablished save by the spirit
which God has fashioned for him,
to bring unto perfection
the life of mortal man;
that all His works may know
how mighty is His power,
how plenteous is His love
to all who do His Will.
I give thanks unto Thee, O Lord,
for Thou hast not forsaken me
though I dwell as a sojourner
among an alien people...
Thou hast sheltered me, O my God,
in the face of all mankind,
and hidden Thy teaching [within me],
until it be shown unto me
that the hour of Thy triumph is come.
In all the distress of my soul
Thou hast not abandoned me.

page 113

In the bitterness of my spirit
Thou hast heard my cry,
and in my sighing discerned
the song of my pain.
Blessed art Thou, O Lord,
for Thou hast never abandoned the orphan
neither despised the poor.
[Unbounded is] Thy power,
and Thy glory hath no measure.
Angels of wondrous strength
minister unto Thee,
and [they walk] at the side of the meek
and of them that are eager for right-doing,
and of all the lost and lorn,
that stand in need of mercy,
lifting them out of the slough
when that their feet are mired.
So, for mine own part,
to them that were once my [familiars]
I am become [a reproach],
an object of strife and discord
unto my friends;
an occasion of fury and anger
unto my fellows;
of murmuring and complaint
to all mine acquaintances.

page 114

[All] that ate of my bread
have lifted their heels against me;
all that shared my board
have mouthed distortions about me;
and they with whom I [consorted]
have turned their backs upon me
and defamed me up and down.
By reason of the secret
which Thou hast hidden within me
they have spread slander against me
to men that were bent on mischief...
Sorrow and sighing are all about me,
and the pall of shame o'er my face.
The very bre[ad] that I eat
seems to be quarreling with me,
the very drink that I drink
to be at odds with me.
They purpose to trammel my spirit,
to wear down all my strength
with blasphemous mystic lore,
converting the works of God
into that which they guiltily imagine...
bars of iron [restrain me]
and doors of brass...
So am I come to know
that in [Thy] loving [kindness]
lies hope for them that repent
and for them that abandon sin,
[and confidence for him]
who walks in the way of Thy heart
without perversity.

page 115

Therefore, though peoples roar,
though kingdoms rage,
when that they gather together,
I shall go comforted.
I shall [not] be dismayed,
knowing that in a space
Thou wilt raise a reviving for Thy people...
When as in all their deeds
they have done as Thy truth enjoined,
Thou wilt judge them with lovingkindness,
and abundance of forgiveness,
guiding them according to Thy Word,
stablishing them by Thy counsel,
by Thine unswerving truth.
Thou hast acted for Thyself and for Thy glory,
that the Law may come to [fruition,]
and hast [sent] among mankind
men that be schooled in Thy counsel
to tell forth Thy wonders through the ages,
world without end,
to [rehea]rse Thy deeds of power
without surcease,
that all nations may know Thy truth,
and all peoples Thy glory.

page 116

All them that follow Thy counsel
hast Thou brought into [com]munion with Thee,
and hast given them common estate
with the Angels of Thy Presence...
These men who were once my comrades,
pledged to the selfsame task
of bearing witness to Thee,
have let themselves be seduced
by garbl[ers of Truth],
[that they are concerned no more]
with working for righteousness.
Thou hast given them commandments, O God,
that they might have profit of their lives
by walking Thy Ho[ly way,]
whereon the uncircumcised and unclean
and profane may not pass.
But they veered from the way of Thy heart
and ensnared themselves in their lusts.
Belial has been counseling their hearts
and, through their wicked devisings,
they have been wallowing in guilt.
Wherefore on their account
I was a sailor in a ship
when the seas do froth and foam...
Lo, I am stricken dumb,
[for naught comes out of men's mouths
but] swearing [and lying].
My arm is wrenched from its socket;
my foot is sunken in mire;
mine eyes are dimmed from looking on evil;
mine ears are deafened from hearing of bloodshed;
my heart is numbed with thinking on evil;
for wheresoever men show
the temper of their being,
there is the spirit of baseness...

page 117

[Thou hast brought me into] Thy covenant.
Words flow free on my tongue,
as it were trained by Thee,
while the Spirit of Havoc stays speechless,
and the reprobate open not their mouth.
Through me Thou hast kept Thy pledge:
'False lips shall be stricken dumb'
All them that challenge me
Thou makest to stand condemned,
distinguishing through me
the right from the wrong...
Thou knowest also the nature
of this Thy servant,
how that I have not relied
[upon the things of the world,]
lifting [my heart] in pride,
vaunting my strength.
No refuge have I in flesh,
nor righteousness [in my soul,]
that I may be saved from the snare
except by Thy pardon.
On [Thy mercy alone] I rely,
and for Thy grace I hope,
to bring [what I have plan]ted to flower,
to make the shoot to grow,
to find cause for vaunting strength,
for [lifting heart.]

page 118

I give thanks unto Thee, O Lord,
because, in a dry place,
thou hast set me, beside a fountain;
in an arid land, beside a spring;
in a de[sert], beside an oasis;
like one of those evergreen trees–
fir or pine or cypress–
planted together to Thy Glory,
which, hidden 'mid other trees–
trees that stand beside water–
are fed from a secret spring,
and which put forth blossom unfading
upon an eternal trunk,
striking firm root ere they burgeon,
spreading their roots in the stream;
|a tree whose stem is exposed to living waters,
and whose stock lies beside a perpetual fount;
a tree on whose flowering leaves
all the beasts of the woodland can feed;
whose roots are so widespread
that all wayfarers cannot but tread them;
upon whose dangling boughs
there is room for every bird...
But Thou, O my God, hast, as it were,
put in my mouth
early and latter rain
(falling) all [the year round],
an outpouring of living waters,
which never fail,
opening the heavens without surcease,
so that (those waters) are become
like a river in flood,

page 119

spilling over its banks,
and like seas un[fathomable]
which, long hidden in secret,
suddenly burst forth [ ],
and quicken [every tree],
green and dry alike,
and serve as a pool for wild beasts...
At my hands hast Thou opened a wellspring for them,
yielding runnels of water,
that their roots may be firmly set
and their trees planted in line of the sun,
in light [unfailing;]
that their [boughs] may yet yield glorious foliage.
Though [mine eye] sleep [not] at night,
[though Belial assail me] without mercy,
though in anger He stir up His fury,
[and pursue me] unto destruction;
though the breakers of death swirl around me,
though Sheol be upon my couch;
though my bed take up a lament,
and [my couch] a cry of anguish;
though mine eye smart as through the smoke of an oven,
though my tears flow like rivers;
though mine eyes fail, and I have no rest;
though [my strength] stand afar off,
and my life be put aside;
though I go from rout to ruin,
from pain to plague,
from pangs to throes,
Yet will I muse on Thy wonders;
for Thou, in Thy lovingkindness,
hast at no time cast me off.

page 120

My soul will delight every moment
in the abundance of Thy mercies,
and I shall have wherewith to reply
to him that would confound me,
and to gainsay him that would abase me.
I shall refute his case,
and vindicate Thy Judgment.
For I have come to know Thy truth;
I accept Thy judgments upon me,
and am content with my afflictions.
Thy glory hath no equal,
Thy wisdom no measure,
Thy tr[uth no bound;]
and all that have forfeited them
[are doomed to perdition.]
Behold, for my own part,
through Thee have I pr[ospered my way,]
[through Thee maintained] my stand;
for Thou hast not [abandoned me]
[unto them that se]ek my hurt.
Whenever they plot against me,
Thou [savest me from their grasp,]
and if they are bent to disgrace me,
Thou in Thy mer[cy dost confound] them.
If mine enemy vaunt himself against me,
it proves to his own undoing;
and they that battle against me
[are overwhelmed] with disgrace,
and shame overtakes them that revile me.

page 121

From my youth up
Thou hast enlightened me with understanding of thy
judgments,
held me firm by Thy Truth,
and caused me to delight in Thy Holy Spirit:
and even unto this day
Thou dost stay my goings.
Even unto old age
Thou wilt yet sustain me.
What is man, mere earth,
kneaded out of [clay,]
destined to return unto the dust,
that Thou shouldest give him insight into such wonders
and make him privy to things divine?
As for me,
I am but dust and ashes.
What can I devise except Thou hast desired it?
And what can I think apart from Thy Will?
And how be strong except Thou hast stayed me,
or use my mind, except Thou hast created it?
How speak except Thou hast opened my mouth?
How reply except thou hast given me sense?
Blessed art Thou, O Lord,
Thou God of compassion and mercy,
for giving me knowledge [of Thy Truth]
and [insight] to [tell forth] Thy wonders,
unhushed day and night.

page 122

Wherefore, with heart exposed
to a spring unfailing,
drawing my strength from on high,
I shall blossom like a lily,
[while all the fruit of the wicked
shall be but travail] and woe;
they shall wither like a flower before [the heat].
Thy mercies are shed upon all
who do Thy Will.
For Thou hast made them to know Thy deep, deep truth
and divine Thine inscrutable wonders;
and, for Thy glory's sake,
Thou hast granted it unto man
to be purged of transgression,
that he may hallow himself unto Thee
and be free from all taint of filth
and all guilt of perfidy,
to be one with them that possess Thy truth
and to share the lot of Thy Holy Beings,
to the end that this worm which is man
may be lifted out of the dust
to the height of the eternal things,
and rise from a spirit perverse
to an holy understanding,
and stand in one company before Thee
with the host everlasting and the spirits of knowledge
and the choir invisible,
to be for ever renewed
with all things that are.

page 123

So am I come to know
that though Thou art ever just,
yet in Thy lovingkindness
lies sal[vation for men],
and that without Thy mercy
[theirs is but doo]m and perdition.
Lo, for mine own part,
when I mark the nature of man,
how he ever reverts [to perversity and wrongdoing],
to sin and anguish of guilt,
a fountain of bitter mourning
wells up within me;
[my tears flow like rivers],
and sorrow is not hidden from mine eyes.
These things go to my heart
and touch me to the bone,
that I raise a bitter lament
and make doleful moan and groan,
and keep plying my harp in mournful dirge
and bitter lamentation,
from Aeon to Aeon go I,
till wrongdoing be brought to an end,
and men have no more to suffer
punishing plague and stroke.

page 124

[In] my tent [I will chant]
[songs of joy] and salvation,
and in the midst of them that fear Thee
tell forth the praise of Thy name
to all ages to come,
pouring forth prayer and supplication
always, at all times and seasons;
Only to the measure of each man's knowledge
and to the meed of his understanding
hast Thou given men access [to Thee],
to serve Thee in their several domains,
even as Thou hast assigned their roles,
[but] never to overstep Thy Word.
[..If mortal men keep faith with Thee,
behold, Thou crownest their he]ads
with glory everlasting.
So, for mine own part,
through the spirit Thou hast planted within me,
I, Thy servant, am come to know
that [all Thy judgments are truth,]
and righteousness all Thy works,
and ne'er is Thy word revoked.
Therefore I know full surely
[that yet the time will come]
[when Thou wilt reward the righteous,]
and the wicked be utterly [doomed.]

page 125

[Thou hast shed] Thy Holy Spirit
on righteous and [wicked alike,]
[and Thou wilt judge all men]
[according to their deeds.]
So throughout the time
that is yet alloted to me
I shall hold firm [to Thy judgments],
and I shall maintain my stance
in the station wherein Thou dost set me;
for [Thou, a God of mercy,
dealest mercifully with all] men
and Thou dost provide for them
a way of return.
[Bless ye] the Lord,
Who redeems the humble
from the grasp of the proud,
[and deli]vers [the blameless]
[from the hand of the wicked;]
[who will yet raise Ja]cob [to honor],
and [from Israel] govern [the world];
[who will spread His tent in Zion
and be present in Jerusalem for ever!]
From Thee comes my confidence, O Lord.

page 126

Whenso I have called upon the Lord,
He (always) has answered me
[and mended] my broken heart;
whenso I have slumbered or [sl]ept or dreamed,
I (always) have I awoken;
whenso my heart has been smitten,
Lord, Thou hast (ever) upheld me,
and I have had cause to cry out!]
"'Tis Thou, Lord,
[hast rescued me!]"
Poor am I and weak,
for the worm cannot confess Thee,
nor the maggot rehearse Thy lovingkindness;
the living alone can do so,
the living alone.
Whenever Thou shewest men Thy kindness,
what time their foot has slipped,
they needs must confess Thee (and own)
that in Thy hand it is
that the souls of all living lie,
and that Thou it is hast given
breath to all flesh.
I too had been marked for death
on account of my sins,
my wrongdoings had sold me to Sheol,
but Thou, in accord with Thine abundant compassion,
Thou, in accord with Thy bounteous ways,
disdst rescue me, O Lord.

page 127

This, my son, is the Bleeding Heart.
Learn it and know from whence it came;
See what it sees and hear what it hears.
Understand it;
it shall be a guide unto all things.
For it comes from the Heart of the Lord,
tender and merciful forever.
Thou, O Lord, are eternal,
and Thine is a glory which endureth
world without end.

Who has seen the Bleeding Heart? What man has known Him? Behold, we all return to clay, but the Lord lives forever. What man would condemn me, then, for attaching myself to Him?

Let this be a lesson unto you, my son, that though the flesh is eaten by worms, though the canker worm invades man's sleep, upon the Spirit it has no effect! Behold, a man who is dead has just spoken upon you.

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Updated 5.27.2000; 2.12.2005; 3.20.06

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Copyright © 1989-2006 Mel Copeland. All rights reserved.