poetry

The Buds of Spring

/ brianhilton9 / 1 Comment

Inspiration from Psalm 22, 46, 104 & 139

The buds of spring unravel,

color fills the forest.

Deep in the heart of man, a song breaks out,

rivaled by creation itself.

Like a fox trotting to his den,

the weary soul solaces in the warmth of its maker.

His vibrant works are clearly seen,

the fragrance of them bring delight.

“May they persist without end!”

The King is lifted high,

His name is praised.

All creation joins in harmonious agreement,

“Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon His name.”

Shadows then creep across the valley,

the leaves start to shake.

The birds grow silent.

The trees moan and groan.

Ripples fill the stream as the sky grumbles.

Confusion screams out from the hills,

Fear laughs from behind the rocks.

Hearts look around and tremble,

the ground beneath them shifts.

Loud claps echo off the landscape,

the downcast one falls to his knees.

“Be not far from me,”

quivers the troubled man.

“Trouble is near and there is none to help.”

Anxiety’s whispers ride the wind.

Deception reaches out his brittle hand.

“Your Lord has left you; can’t you see?

Come save yourself and follow me.”

The stream’s flow spills over the banks,

agony saturates the sufferer.

His mind considers the glories of before,

the radiance of the sun and joy of the Lord.

He grieves his dreadful state

as Fear’s cackles grow louder

and Temptation rises from the mud.

“Have mercy Father,

make it stop; let it pass.

But though the earth gives way

and the mountains crumble,

Fear’s laughter will fall on deaf ears,

Confusion will run out of breath,

Anxiety will blow away,

Deception will crumble,

and Temptation will return to his pit.

You, however, will stay standing

with me in your arms.

My refuge, my rock,

I call upon your name.”

Lightning flashes.

The forest shines.

Through the stormy mist, vividness catches his eye.

The buds of spring dance,

bouncing with the punch of each droplet.

Warmth fills his shivering body,

joy floods his soggy soul.

“Oh, give thanks to the LORD; call upon His name!

For even darkness is as light to you.

Your works are wonderful,

you have again opened my eyes.”

Tears replace the rain rolling down his face.

Recollection of His Savior’s words bring gleeful silence

as the clouds begin to break overhead.

Hope in his Savior’s cross lifts him to his feet

as the waters begin to recede.

The sight of His Savior’s blossoms get him walking

as the mist lifts.

Light shines through the canopy,

growth explodes before him.

He praises the Lord for the squall,

he celebrates the sorrow.

If not for the rains, he would be incomplete,

his love for the Lord less than what it ought to be.

Now he sees more clearly

His Father’s works of beauty

The pedals of summer,

the buds of spring.

The Empty Cup

/ brianhilton9 / Leave a comment

There stands a cup

Brimming with wrath

A bitter, foaming wine

Fills the glass

A concoction so strong

One sip is deadly

Yet down to the dregs

Will the wicked drink this medley

We pour the cup

Swirling it under our noses

When we worship ourselves

And reject the God of Moses

“Wake up! Wake up!”

God’s servant Isaiah cried

“This drunkenness is not of wine

But judgement of the Divine”

“Hear the Word of the LORD,”

Jeremiah wept

“To drink is not a choice

It is your very debt”

These warnings to Israel

Extend to all mankind

For there are none righteous

All must drink this wine

Yahweh Almighty,

Perfect, holy, and true

No sin will He leave unpunished

All receive rebuke

He is the God of justice

alone defining its terms

All who reject Him

He will also spurn

This is the cup of staggering

Of fire, sulfur, and wind

No man can drink and live

Unless He be without sin

This leaves only one

Jesus, the Son of Man

Who lived a blameless life

And became our spotless lamb

The Father handed Him the cup

The one that stood before each of us

The weight of the world’s sin

Upon Messiah thrust

In agony he prayed

That the cup be taken from Him

Yet surrendered to His Father’s will

As He was beaten limb from limb

The one who raised the dead

The one who healed the blind

The one who freed the possessed

Was mocked and criminally maligned

He heard every word

And read every thought

Still, He pleaded their case

“Forgive them! What they do, they know not”

Each sip brought more misery

God’s just punishment of iniquity

And with one big swig

Cried “my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

His lips trembled

As they released from the cup

He said “It is finished”

Every last drop

Darkness covered the land

Rocks split and crumbled

The temple curtain tore in two

As the city rumbled

His lifeless body hung

From the bloody splintered wood

Those watching beat their chests

And departed from where they stood

Some followers buried His corpse

And tightly wrapped it in linen

But then after three days

Heard reports that He had risen

The Marys and Salome

Visited the tomb

And the words of an angel

Made joy out of their gloom

“Why do you look for the living

The living among the dead?

For your LORD has risen

He’s risen just as He said!”

Christ appeared to many

Even those who doubted

“See my hands, touch my side”

He mercifully propounded

He explained the cup of wrath

Had been consumed once for all

When He died and rose again

And answered His Father’s call

Now a cup of blessing replaces

That which brought condemnation

For those who believe in Him

And come to Jesus for salvation

For their new cup is His blood

His body, their bread

Christ is now the very life

Of those who believe what He’s said

Judgement replaced with blessing

Guilt replaced with peace

Grace instead of wrath

Alive instead of deceased

Come to Jesus Christ

Who drank the cup for you

Repent and receive

The one who makes you new

Your heart is His prize

The soul He Himself made

The price of His blood

Was one for you He paid

Rebel from your rebellion

Lift your cross, take it up

Come and worship the one

Who emptied your cup

Scripture References:

Thus the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it.” Jeremiah 25:15

“And if they refuse to accept the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: You must drink!” Jeremiah 25:28

For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed, and he pours out from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs. Psalm 75:8

Let him rain coals on the wicked; fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup. Psalm 11:6


Wake yourself, wake yourself, stand up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD the cup of his wrath, who have drunk to the dregs the bowl, the cup of staggering. Isaiah 51:17

Thus says your Lord, the LORD, your God who pleads the cause of his people: “Behold, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering; the bowl of my wrath you shall drink no more; and I will put it into the hand of your tormentors, who have said to you, ‘Bow down, that we may pass over’; and you have made your back like the ground and like the street for them to pass over.” Isaiah 51:22-23

For as you have drunk on my holy mountain, so all the nations shall drink continually; they shall drink and swallow, and shall be as though they had never been. Obadiah 16

Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” Matthew 20:22-23

And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” Matthew 26:39

Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” Matthew 26:42

Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized, but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” Mark 10:38-40

And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” Mark 14:36

And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” Mark 14:23-25

“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. Luke 22:42-44

So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?” John 18:11

The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?” 1 Corinthians 10:16

You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 1 Corinthians 10:21

You Held Me

/ brianhilton9 / 1 Comment

A Poem Inspired By Psalm 107 & Psalm 139

Ponder the loving deeds of LORD

Let the redeemed of the LORD say so

When I tossed and turned

And my stomach churned

And my skin burned

You held me

As my mind spun

And I wanted to run

Through the promise of your Son

You held me

Many times, I’ve failed

And in my nerves bailed

But while I felt jailed

You held me

When I cried out to you

Doing all I know to do

And though I wasn’t in a pew

You held me

When I couldn’t eat

And my spirit felt beat

When I envied the weak

You held me

When lies seemed true

Causing me to question what I knew

The Spirit of truth came through

You held me

You teach me through these things

You are my reason to sing

My life and death are yours, my King

You held me

Darkness is not dark to you

Sorrow, nothing you haven’t already been through

My Savior, the King of the Jews

You held me

No time and no place

Will I ever be without your grace

Despite my stumbling in the race

You held me

Before I existed

Your love was consistent

Though I had no subsistence

You held me

You have answered once again

My Savior, My God, My Friend

My soul sings like a wren

You held me

Another battle, another victory

A sound defeat of the devil’s trickery

This servant of the LORD cries out with glee

You held me

Though other battles will come

I smile knowing the war is won

And again I’ll say as your son

You held me

Ponder the loving deeds of the LORD

Let the redeemed of the LORD say so

Flow

/ brianhilton9 / 1 Comment

As clouds drift through the sky
So the river of God flows
Waters of peace
Satiate once parched souls

From Eden’s garden
To the Lamb on the throne
His living water springs
In those fully known

Why go to the dry riverbeds?
Why fill your pail with dust?
When the Almighty God calls
It’s His well or bust

Draw from the reservoir of Jesus
Believe, trust, obey
The suffering servant who ascended
After the third day

It’s his blood that flowed
For the blood guilt we carry
Judgement passes over my door
To Christ I am married

Dive in and swim
To the One who is faithful
Bring your questions, bring your skepticism
He is more than capable

Leave your pride at the bank
And with it your “righteousness”
Those will sink you
And keep you from his Highness

Come to Him now
While the river flows
Judgement is real
Don’t be lulled into comatose