Monday, December 19, 2011

The True Light


We behold Him even now

Though we cannot comprehend

The fullness that His love bestowed

As He put on flesh for men


He put on thus, meek flesh for men

This One that Is, before Time was

Conceived, not of the will of them

But by the holy will of God


And by the holy will of God

He brought true light upon the earth

This true Light remains till now

As testament and Living Word


As testament and Living Word

Full of mercy, hope and grace

Moses law had never heard

A proclamation such as this


A proclamation such as this

Power to become His sons

Cleansed from all unrighteousness

Washed in the blood of heaven’s One


Washed in the blood of heaven’s One

His Light remains to lead the way

Word became flesh, God’s only Son

And we still have His Word today


We still have His word today

Darkness still cannot comprehend

But oh, to those who have believed

He dwells within the heart of them


Janet~


I was reading John 1 this morning.

One of my favorite passages, not only at Christmas

But forever.

He is the True Light.

Friday, December 9, 2011

What Were You Thinking?


What were you thinking
As you lay in that manger
While we crowded ‘round you
Amazed at Your birth?
What were You thinking
As you stepped out of Heaven
Knowing the reason
You were coming to earth?

What were You thinking
As angels were singing
Declaring to all
That a Savior is born?
There in that stable
While the heavens were ringing
What were you thinking
On that first Christmas morn?

Did you think as you lay there
Of a field named Golgotha?
Did you see a cruel cross
On a hill, Calvary?
There in the midst of
The cattle and oxen
What were you thinking
As the star shone brightly?

Ah yes, you were thinking
The thoughts that still held you
As you knelt, praying
In Gethsemane
Lord, you were thinking
Of lost sheep with no Shepherd
You were thinking of us, Lord
You were thinking of me

Janet Martin

She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." Matt.1:21

Jesus Christ Forever



Soon we shall lay aside this robe
Of weakness, flesh and want
Where all the sorrows of this globe
Cannot torment nor taunt
Then sickness, need and selfish gain
Return, as we, to dirt
With no more tears of grief or pain
To vex, dismay and hurt

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust
This is the way of man
Doomed, as convicts to our lust
But for One greater plan
As Love descended from His throne
A babe in Bethlehem
To give His life and to atone
For all the sins of men

No greater gift will ever be
Than that first Christmas Day
When God gave to rebels as we
His precious Son to slay
But as He looked beyond His loss
It satisfied His favor
For He saw victory in the Cross
As Jesus became Savior

Come; gather ‘round this Christmas Day
Join in the celebration
For the Truth, the Life, the Way
Is free to every nation
Lift up your hearts in praise to Him
For none on earth can sever
Us from the Babe in Bethlehem
Jesus Christ forever

Janet Martin

Joy to the world
The Lord is come
Let earth receive her King...

Someday Upon the Open Sky...



Someday upon the open sky
The sun and stars shall dim
As all God’s heavenly angels cry
Behold, behold your King
And from four corners of the earth
Each trembling knee will bend
To see the Child of lowly birth
On Heaven’s throne descend

Dare we to scoff and jeer and scorn
The One laid in a manger
For unto us a Child was born
That day to be our Savior
Someday upon the vaulted cloud
We will look up to see
That this is Jesus Christ the Lord
Love’s sacred Deity

Then the whole earth will turn to weep
At His pure holiness
But this true Shepherd knows His sheep
And they, the Shepherd’s voice
And those who long have waited for
The coming of their King
Will rise to meet their Shepherd Lord
And join the angels hymn

Janet Martin

I'm listening to the Christmas songs while doing housework.
Powerful messages in each one, words of hope and peace and joy and love.
Hallelujah!

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Still We Come


Still we come
Each in our own fashion
To bow before
The Lord of all creation
Still we come
To kneel beside the manger
But to us
Praise God, He is no Stranger
Yet, still we ask
What can we bring that pleases
Such love as this
This One that we call Jesus

Still we come
To marvel at the wonder
Of God’s own Son
As babe within a manger
Still we come
In human imperfection
To bow before
Our Life and Resurrection
Oh lift your voice
This is the King of Glory
Sing and rejoice
This is Love’s perfect story

Still we come
Fraught with sin’s vile diseases
For there is none
That cannot come to Jesus
In wonderment
Drawn by His vast compassion
To love beyond
Man’s earth-dimmed comprehension
Still we come
To bow before our Savior
Man’s common bond
Is Jesus Christ forever

Janet Martin

Side-note chuckle: I had the left-overs of a broken Nativity Set close-by and did not notice until the picture was taken that the two-year-old had moved them all into the stable, thus the reason for two mangers:))

He was the inspiration to the poem as he knelt there and gazed quietly. I wonder what he was thinking...

A Higher Goal


Breath by breath and step by step
Toward a Gate we’re going
How soon night swallows up the day
And death, life’s minute glowing
The remnants of another year
Are slipping into history
And what a-waits beyond this sphere
Is Hope’s beckoning mystery

The pathway to love’s higher goal
Is strewn with tears and groaning
But God, the keeper of our souls
Offer His grace atoning
No plea unheard, no grief unseen
No need escapes his vision
As step by step and breath by breath
He guides us to His kingdom

Janet~

Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever! Heb. 13:8

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Perfect Love Out-poured



He could have sent a prophet
A servant, meek and low
To bear the curse of evil
And hatreds cruel blow
He could have sent a king of earth
A pauper or a priest
He had the power to place His worth
Within a mindless beast
He could have sent His angels
Legions to fill the sky
To spare Himself the anguish
Of watching His Son die
He could have, with one uttered word
Declared all man forgiven
He could have, from His visage stirred
The rocks to shout salvation
But He chose to put on flesh
The Sacred Son of Heaven
Became a servant unto men
In form, lowly and human
Upon a cross He gave Himself
A King and Royal Priest
And not one drop of love withheld
As death’s curse was released
He could have sent an army
To face the fiends of hell
But He loved us so completely
That He sent Himself

Janet






He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all. Isa. 53:2-6

Saturday, November 12, 2011

In His Service


Let not the measure of my love
Be vainly-scripted platitudes
But let me with my action prove
A heart o’er-flowed with gratitude

In service, humbly let me live
Requesting not of fellowmen
What I am unwilling to give
Or yield unto the God of Heav’n

The army of the Lord is strong
Not of ourselves, but by His might
He lifts us up on His right arm
And guides us through the bitter fight

The day is evil, yet we stand
His armor can endure the foe
Though fiery darts may sweep the sand
Secure, within His grace we go

Lift up those weary feet and sing
His promises have set us free
Beyond this vale of suffering
We are assured of victory


Janet Martin



Dominion and awe belong to Him
Who establishes peace in His heights.
“Is there any number to His troops? Job 25:2-3 NASB

Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that wars entangles himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. 2 Tim. 2:3-4 KJV

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Poverty-stricken


Desperately poor are we who live
Driven by hunger for things
Desperately poor, who do not give
Blinded by selfish wanting

Desperately poor; the heart, cold, vile
Turning a stone-deafened ear
To the anguished cry of mother and child
With no food or clothes to wear

Desperately poor, are we who seek
Treasure of moth-eaten strings
Desperately poor, as fool-hearted thieves
Bound by the striving for things

Desperately poor, the heart enslaved
To temporal pearls of sod
Desperately poor, are we who serve
Our things in place of God

Janet Martin

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. Matt. 6:19-20

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Morning Prayer


Open my mind, Lord
To feel every moment
Wide as an ocean
Let my visage be
Not in the seeing
But simply the knowing
That life is a footprint
In eternity


Open my eyes, Lord
And help me to feel it
A whisper of heaven
In every breath
Open my eyes, Lord
In moments reveal it
Without Your great mercy
My life would be death

Open my heart, Lord
Oh, let my vision
Not be deceived
By the world around me
Open my heart, Lord
Someday in your Kingdom
You will unveil
What these eyes cannot see

Janet Martin

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Gratitude


Against the blue and frosted slope
I see a silent throng
Like flowers that have shed their coat
Or minstrels with no song
A thickened sort of quiet lies
Against this rugged cusp
Where winds, like stiff-starched orderlies
Have stripped sweet summer’s lust
And up into the vaulted sky
I hear the murmur of good-bye

Against the ruby thread of dawn
I see a silhouette
A lonesome sort of picture drawn
In frames of sorrow, yet
A battle-song of beauty moans
From thorns without their bloom
In dark and muted undertones
It warms earth’s stricken tomb
As petal-tear of flow’r and leaf
Imbrues the sphere with nature’s grief

Against the tumult of the heart
A tender peace resides
For just as seasons of the earth
God’s faithfulness abides
When life is rich with vibrant bloom
Or stripped of comforts dear
He whispers in the aching gloom
To tell us He is near
And over autumn’s garb subdued
We breathe a prayer of gratitude

Janet Martin

Monday, October 24, 2011

Whispers of Him


A spangle of daisies
On springs meadow-land
A breeze, slow and lazy
Across the white sand
A breath-taking canvas
As daylight grows dim
Yet, still mankind glimpses
But whispers of Him

The glory of nature
Contained in a seed
The strength of man’s stature
Dependent on bread
As rain from the heavens
Turns bare fallow green
Mankind is given
Soft whispers of Him

Infinite resplendence
Extended in space
Nothing but Providence
To keep it in place
And on the blue circle
A wee baby’s birth
Whispers of an angel
Descending to earth

Hurricane lashing
On vulnerable shores
As dark seas come crashing
Through earth’s fragile doors
Rainbows of promise
A tiny bird sings
And yet mankind glimpses
But whispers of Him

The ring of a hammer
The flash of a sword
The insolent clamor
For the death of our Lord
The cry of redemption
As His breath grows dim
And still mankind glimpses
But whispers of Him

Janet Martin


And these are but the outer fringe of his works;
how faint the whisper we hear of him! Job 26:14

Monday, October 17, 2011

Guiltless

Guiltless before a Holy God I stand
Though man may judge by what the eye can see
I reach to touch the nail-scars in His hand
And praise the One who died to set me free

No sacrifice, no mortal gift of dross
Had power to redeem my debt of pride
But as the blood of Jesus stained the cross
The perfect will of God was satisfied

Before a throne of mercy now I bow
Unworthy, yet He loves me still the same
The evil curse of death is vanquished now
To all who call on Jesus sacred name

Have I, a man yet anything to boast?
Nay, I say nay, only one boast have I
Tis in the name of He who loves us so
That He should make Himself the Lamb to die

Guilty I fell before the law, condemned
Guiltless, because of Jesus Christ, I’ll rise
For He has conquered death for every man
His blood cleanses, redeems and justifies


Janet Martin


Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Isa. 53:10

…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,[i] through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. 28 For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, 30 since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. 31 Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law. Romans 3:23-31

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Child, Let Me


Lord, I’d be lost if I didn’t have you
So many times I’m unsure what to do
Worry and fear turn to anxiety
The You breathe through my tears, ‘Child, let Me’

Lord, far too often I try very hard
To do as I ought to until I’m so tired
The fruit of my failure is easy to see
Then I hear You whisper ‘Child, let Me’

Tempted and tried, oh, my God I confess
The road is so wide to this world’s success
I reach for you’re Hand, the way I cannot see
You understand as you repeat, ‘Child, let Me’

Lord, far too often I try on my own
Stumbling and fumbling, I weep and I groan
Help me to trust You enough to ‘just be’
As your mercy and love murmur ‘Child, let Me’

Janet Martin

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Matt.11:28-30

Fruit


Man plants the seed
Into the sod
Creature of need
Dependent on God

Man works the sod
Diligent, astute
But only our God
Gives the increase of fruit

Man plants the seeds
The Word of truth
Man prays and pleads
But God gives the fruit

Janet Martin


“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5

The Heavens Declare...


The heavens declare your eternal glory
Infinite wonder and power and love
Symbol of mercy in every morning
As the deep awning of night you remove
Grand is the sky of a moon-caressed midnight
Grander the glory of dawn’s ruby sun
Vision of rapture, the cover of twilight
Foretaste of beauty surrounding Your throne

Who can foretell the vast shades of your choosing?
Who can declare how night’s glory will rise?
Who can define the palette you are using
Or brush out the gray of November’s low skies?
There is no artist, oh God, you have gifted
That outshines the grandeur or work of Your Eye
When the dark curtain of night has been lifted
Who can arrange one square inch of the sky?

The sun, moon and stars in celestial clockwork
Cannot be altered by one mortal hand
Who, as we gaze at the canvas above us
Doth the intent of the Lord understand?
Infinite mystery, unfathomed wonder
Floor of the vault where His holy feet tread
Mouth spewing lightning and violent thunder
Sea of serenity when its wrath has been shed

Beneath it we marvel, beneath it we tremble
Beneath it we gaze at the eye of the One
Who spoke into Being all things universal
His glory exceeds the moon, stars and the sun
The heavens declare and no man can deny it
Lord, there is none who escapes Your vast Eye
The heavens declare and all man will believe it
When You re-appear on the clouds of the sky


Janet Martin~

“Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. Matthew 24:30



But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. 2 Peter 3:10


The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Psalms 19:1


“Dominion and awe belong to God;
he establishes order in the heights of heaven. Job 25:2


He spreads out the northern skies over empty space;
he suspends the earth over nothing.
He wraps up the waters in his clouds,
yet the clouds do not burst under their weight.
He covers the face of the full moon,
spreading his clouds over it.
He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters
for a boundary between light and darkness.
The pillars of the heavens quake,
aghast at his rebuke.
By his power he churned up the sea;
by his wisdom he cut Rahab to pieces.
By his breath the skies became fair;
his hand pierced the gliding serpent.
And these are but the outer fringe of his works;
how faint the whisper we hear of him!
Who then can understand the thunder of his power?” Job 26:7-14

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

For Those Who Pray...


http://ponderingprinciples.com/2011/10/difficult-journey/

This poem was inspired by above post...



There is no wall that a prayer cannot scale
No hill it cannot rise above
No plea too unworthy; no whisper too frail
For the God of compassion and love
No beggar too poor, no scholar too wise
No wealth that can ever exceed
The mercy descending, as we lift our cries
To One who beholds every need

In poverty, sickness, in sorrow or pain
In hopelessness or despair
In all of life’s troubles we do not understand
We may touch God in a prayer
When words are too hard and the misery too deep
His pure, gracious love intercedes
He hears the groan of our hearts as we weep
And ministers to our deepest needs

He hears our praise and our creature complaints
He sees every tear that we shed
When spirit is willing, but our body faints
He carries us through vales of dread
Far, far away across oceans and plains
In jungle or dungeon or tent
Prayer reaches out as it heals or sustains
The one for whom it is sent

In every nation, in every tongue
He hears and He understands
No mortal too old or ever too young
To put their trust into His hands
For those who pray, though we don’t understand
As we place in His keeping, our care
What comfort to feel the touch of His hand
As we reach out to Him in a prayer

Janet Martin


In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[i] have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:26-28

Monday, October 3, 2011

Second Chances


You held it to me in the gentlest of ways

I blushed in embarrassment beneath your kind gaze

As You pulled back the wraps of pink and pale blue

And whispered, ‘My dear, I have something for you’


It was so beautiful, perfect, unmarred

I looked at my old one, so battered and scarred

But You did not remind me of my tangled mess

As you gazed at me in profound tenderness


‘Don’t look at the old one’, I felt His embrace

As He brushed the tears of regret from my face

‘I love You, I am with you, I’ll show you the way’

And He placed into my arms a brand new day

Janet~


I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. Ps. 32:8

Sunday, October 2, 2011

It IS...


It Is…

The universe above the sky
The world beneath the sea
He spoke into existence
By these words, ‘let there be’
He moved upon the waters
And He drove the dark away
‘Let there be light’ and there it was
The first Night and the Day
And He said ‘it is good’

He gathered up the waters
And moved them to the sea
He spoke and land was formed whereon
Grew flower, fruit and tree
And in the vaulted heavens
He placed signs of days and years
Forming infinite mysteries
In the sun and moon and stars
And He said, ‘it is good’

The waters teemed with creatures
Fowl flew above the earth
In manifold abundance
He witnessed nature’s birth
The livestock for the pasture
The lion for the wild
The father for the mother
The mother for the child
And he said, ‘it is good’

God looked upon creation
Great many years had passed
Sin ruled in every nation
As man toiled ‘neath its curse
A toil of endless sacrifice
So great the debt of man
But they could never pay sin’s price
With blood of goat or ram

…and God took His beloved
His one and only Son
Who looked up to His Father
And cried, ‘Thy will be done’
As man tore at His glory
And spat upon His face
They jeered and cursed and smote the One
Who saves us by His grace

Upon a cross at Calvary
A King clothed as a man
Took on Himself all guilt of sin
Though HE, a spotless Lamb
Then, as the mountains trembled
And stars fell from the sky
He sealed the sinner’s pardon
As the guilty hear Him cry
‘It is finished. It is finished’.

Janet Martin

Genesis 1
The Beginning
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.

9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.
11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.

14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.

20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.

24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

27 So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.

28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.





When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:30

Monday, September 19, 2011

His Mercy


Mercy paints the lintel of a grand and glorious dawn
As we allow regret to fade on ruby-tinted lawn

His Light dispels the morbid gloom of ever-taunting fear
How sweet the moment in our palm when held by One so dear

Dare we to run this race today with feet bare and unshod?
Or face the enemy alone without the hand of God?

His Word is pure abiding Hope unhindered by the flight
Of moments folding into years or noontide into night

I hold within my trembling grip a Surety divine
For He will lead, guide and direct this faltering step of mine

His mercy paints the lintel in dawn’s breath-taking display
As we behold His faithfulness turn nighttime into day

Janet Martin


The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Ps. 19:1

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness. Lam. 3:22-23


Your word is a lamp for my feet,
a light on my path. Ps. 119:105

Friday, September 16, 2011

The Way


Lord, how can we know the way
We have not walked before?
The glowering skies dull and gray
And we are weak and poor
Lord, we have no gifts to offer you
In tidings of this earth
Our treasures here are paltry few
And not of any worth

Oh Lord, how oft we are inclined
To sink in bleak despair
When suddenly you stir our minds
As we reach out in prayer
You open up our tear-dimmed eyes
And whisper patiently
‘I am the Way, the Truth and Life,
My child, come unto Me

The ways of earth I have ordained
And child, you need not bring
To Me the first-fruits of My hand
As sin’s vain offering
There is but one thing of true worth
That I desire of Thee
Forsaking other gods you serve
To come and follow Me’

Janet Martin


Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:5-6

Thursday, September 15, 2011

When We Look Up


With downcast eye we see life’s grief
Its wretchedness and dirt
We see throngs blind with unbelief
Imprisoned by their hurt
We see dark cradles of despair
The hopelessness of sin
It robs our trembling lips of prayer
Lord, where can we begin?

In loathsome corridors of filth
The groveling captive lie
Doom lurks above in silent stealth
Until at last they die
Cold sorrow hovers like a shroud
The darkness closes in
We lift our voices, cry aloud
Lord, where can we begin…?

…and as we lift our distraught eyes
Above the hopelessness
Morning breaks across the skies
In shades of faithfulness
He lights the dawn to rise upon
The rich man and the poor
As He cries out to everyone
‘Behold, I am the Door’

He makes the blinded eye to see
Beyond the grief and hurt
And draws our gaze to bloom and tree
Sprouting from the dirt
As we cry, where do we begin?
And lift our eyes; undone
He lets the glorious Light shine in
As we behold the Son

Janet Martin~




Now no one can look at the sun,
bright as it is in the skies
after the wind has swept them clean.
22 Out of the north he comes in golden splendor;
God comes in awesome majesty.
23 The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power;
in his justice and great righteousness, he does not oppress.
24 Therefore, people revere him,
for does he not have regard for all the wise in heart? Job 37:21-24

Monday, September 12, 2011

Finding Purpose


Sometimes, as the gold threads of daylight are waning
And all its brief moments are garnered like mist,
When the hand gently open on fringes of dawning
Soundlessly closes in a tightly-clenched fist,
As I try to separate beginning from ending
Only to see a perpetual blending
I am perplexed with deep melancholy
Vexed by life’s seeming futility

Do I stand at the end or a brand new beginning
As daylight surrenders to night’s turning page?
Is there any purpose to this life I am living?
Or are moments vague actors on time’s phantom stage?
I reach to touch a tangible truth
And long for the rush of undeterred youth
Is there a victory to this race I am in?
The ‘what was or what is or what might have been’?

I gaze to the heaven’s unfathomable distance
Layers of space upon space with no end
A vault that could swallow ten-thousand oceans
Or wink at an eternity in each grain of sand
Yet greater than this grand infinity
Is an undeniable eternity
A-waiting each soul that departs from this earth
So then, death is a beginning greater than birth

The somnolent stirring of leaves gives no answer
Exteriors seem cold, indifferent and base
Fear is an ache and interminable hunger
Nothing is permanent…nothing but grace
His grace is greater than anything
Our perfect Creator gives this life meaning
His grace saves the soul that will not die
And thus, by the grace of God go I

Janet Martin~

I’m not sure I captured in this poem the heart of my pondering…
It began with my 13 yr.old son’s off-handed remark about there really being no point to anything because everything ends…he was talking about fun.
Later my husband remarked that the problem with good moments is that they end…
And I asked him do they? Or is what we see as the end really the beginning of the next moment which could be better but we don’t know because we have not yet lived it. Okay, futile subject, I know. But I did get to thinking about how empty every moment is at its base level. We were created by God and within us is a place that only He can fill. And only as He fills that place can we find genuine peace and purpose. The created needs the Creator. Our life is a gift. Don’t we want to know the Giver?

I love the book of Ecclesiastes, and I love these verses from Ephesians 2:



But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Constant Comfort


We cannot know what may befall
Or sweep across earth’s sands
But this we know, God is our guide
And we are in his hands

The bittersweet of life’s swift bloom
May draw a sudden tear
But what calm fortitude to know
That God is always near

Life’s quick and constant shifting tide
Prevails across the land
But changeless is the One who holds
Us in His tender hands

Janet Martin

Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever. Heb 13:8

Friday, August 19, 2011

The Wise Seek God...



One person dies in full vigor,
completely secure and at ease,
24 well nourished in body,[b]
bones rich with marrow.
25 Another dies in bitterness of soul,
never having enjoyed anything good.
26 Side by side they lie in the dust… Job 20.:23-26

The Wise Seek God…

Across the field the grasses blow
At mercy of the One
Who doth, as He sees fit bestow
The raindrop or the sun

And soon the feet that dance across
Life’s wee allotted hour
Like silent in the grave beneath
The windswept grass and flower

While some give some and some give all
And some not one mere thought
The body sleeps within the soil…
…the soul moves on to God

Man cannot see the heart of God
Or understand His plan
Though wicked prosper, righteous die
A death in Him, is gain

Side by side our bodies lie
Returned into the dust
We all live once and once we die…
The wise seek God and trust

Janet~

Thursday, August 18, 2011

When I See You


When I see You push the tresses
Of the deepened night awry
When the timid light caresses
The low border of the sky
When the sea of dazzling starlight
Fades into the azure blue
Oh, my Lord, I am reminded
There is none like You

When I see the gleaming wheat fields
Where the dormant sod had been
And I see the fruit that earth yields
From the orchard, bent and green
When I see the bud awaken
By the nudging of the sun
My faith in You remains unshaken
Oh Lord,like You there's none

Season folding over season
Tears and laughter deck this sod
And I cannot find one reason
To deserve the love of God
Though life’s disappointment tests me
Though the drought may parch the land
Still I see You, God of mercy
When I cannot understand

When I see the earth surrender
To the seasons You ordain
When I see Your love so tender
Wash away sin’s wretched stain
When I gaze up to the heavens
To its vault of ethereal blue
Then remember…I’m forgiven
I cry, Lord, there’s none like You

Janet Martin~

Psalms 8
1 LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory
in the heavens.
2 Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
3 When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?[c]

5 You have made them[d] a little lower than the angels[e]
and crowned them[f] with glory and honor.
6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their[g] feet:
7 all flocks and herds,
and the animals of the wild,
8 the birds in the sky,
and the fish in the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.

9 LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Monday, August 15, 2011

Special Gift


The landscape is threaded with burnished hues
Of golden-brown and green
August softens her deep-denim blues
In a hazy, sweltering sheen
Rivers of Queen Anne’s Lace and Blue Strife
Flow over the wearying sod
Pictures of beauty and longing and life
In gardens tended by God

Locust-song spars with the muted lay
Of a lazy, late after-noon
Willow tree arches bend and sway
To its warm and mystic tune
As August with subtle finger steals
From beneath my wanton gaze
The richness from its rolling fields
In a long and drawn-out haze

Daylight succumbs an hour too soon
There is nothing I can do
But kiss each morning and afternoon
Before I bid them adieu
Wading through rivers of wild-flower bliss
And ditches of golden-rod
Knowing full-well that August is
A special gift from God

Janet~

“Listen to this, Job;
stop and consider God’s wonders.
15 Do you know how God controls the clouds
and makes his lightning flash?
16 Do you know how the clouds hang poised,
those wonders of him who has perfect knowledge?
17 You who swelter in your clothes
when the land lies hushed under the south wind,
18 can you join him in spreading out the skies,
hard as a mirror of cast bronze? Job 37:14:18




Sunday, August 14, 2011

Wonderful


May I never lose the wonder
Of the love You have for me
Like a child, believing simply
Without insecurity

May I never lose the wonder
Of a river unrestrained
Flowing from the roughened timber
Out of Heaven’s perfect Hand

May I never lose the wonder
Of my debt, atrocious, vast
Paid in full by Christ’s atonement
It is more than I can grasp

May I never lose the wonder
…He who holds the sky and sea
Extols the lightning and the thunder
Yet cares for me intimately

May I never lose the wonder
…love I ne’er can comprehend
Saves the low confounded sinner
And His mercy will not end

May I never lose the wonder
As He takes me from this shore
To His Kingdom over yonder
There to be forevermore

Janet~

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. 1 John 3:16

Monday, August 1, 2011

Comfort


As we read His word
He takes our failure
Our despair
Our shame
Our care
Our wantonness
Our deceit
Our brokenness
Our defeat
Our misery
Our hatred
Our weariness
Our dread
Our longing
Our fear
Our blindness
Our tear
Our darkness
Our grief
Our doubts
Our unbelief
Our weakness
Our pride
Our foolishness
Our lies
Our loneliness
Our wretchedness
Our emptiness
Our hurt
Our hopelessnesshttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Our anger
Our lust
Our thirst
Our unworthiness
Our indifference
Our anguish
Our pain
And transforms them to…
A Living Hope in Him

Janet~


http://www.bible.ca/ef/expository-john-5-39-40.htm

Thursday, July 28, 2011

God Is...


I stand before the vast unknown
A dark and deep abyss
There is no way to view its road
And I know naught but this…
In everything I cannot see
God is…

The rise and fall of temporal woes
The valley or the plain
Are shielded in its hidden throes
To seek their way is vain
There is just one thing I know
God remains…

The surety of this common life
Is fragile at its best
A fleeting breath of joy or strife
None knows where those may rest
But hallelujah, I know this
Where He leads, God is…

Janet~

Never will I leave you,
Never will I forsake you...Heb.13:5

Monday, July 18, 2011

Upon My Heart


Opinion is a luxury
A small and human art
God’s law is real and binding
And written on our heart

We all are His creation
Born with the curse of sin
And no one can escape the law
That He has placed within

To err indeed is human
I am filled with awe
That God loved me enough to write
Upon my heart, His law

Janet~


"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts."—Hebrews 8:10.

Emotions


Life is a journey
Its emotions are real
And it is not wrong
For us to feel
…high or low,
Happy, sad
Triumph, failure
Good or bad
Laughter, tears
Pleasure, pain
Peace or fear
Sun or rain
Joy or sorrow
Hope, despair
But it is wrong
If we choose to bear
All of these
Without God
…or prayer

Janet~

Transformed...not Conformed


People watch…and we conform
To fit a certain mold
But it is void and useless
If it is not Christ-controlled

Good deeds make us feel worth-while
To men we appear kind
But it is nothing more than that
Without a Christ-like mind

True love is not worn like a robe
Or leaves a cause to doubt
God’s love transforms and it will flow
From the inside out

Janet


Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.Romans 12:2

Forgiven


Not by anything I’ve done
Not by merits I have won
But by the blood of God’s own Son
My sins have been forgiven
Not by silver or by gold
Not by a secret left untold
But love that God did not withhold
Has paid my way to Heaven

The One who put the stars in place
Created earth in just six days
By His vast and changeless grace
I have been forgiven
There is naught that I can bring
No sacrifice or offering
To aid the life-blood of a King
Or pay my way to Heaven

Paid in full, my debt of sin
Where, oh where can I begin
To grasp this thought and take it in
My sins have been forgiven
To as many as believe
This perfect love they will receive
Jesus’ blood will set men free
And pay our way to Heaven

Janet


Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God--John 1:12

Monday, July 11, 2011

But to Know...


Love has known know deeper passion
Love has paid no greater price
Than the One who forsook Heaven
And made Himself sin’s sacrifice

I will never understand it
How Jesus could love me so
But all I need is to believe it
Ours is but to taste and know

Storm clouds hover low above me
Waves in threatening tumult roll
I reach for the One who loves me
For I know He’s in control

Once adrift, without a Savior
I had naught in which to hide
But He forgave my vile behavior
And He never leaves my side

I have known no sweeter comfort
I have known no kinder Friend
I have known no dearer purpose
Than to serve Him till life’s end

Janet~


"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.Matt 11:28

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Synopsis


The tempest sweeps the whitewashed sand
The dawning sweeps the sea
The springtime sweeps a dormant land
With emerald chivalry
You sweep me off my feet, darling
When you look at me

The rose will bloom one season, dear
And youth few seasons more
Time is nothing more than years
That wash earth’s little shore
We face each day with faith or fear
As we stand at its door

The tempest rises but to fall
The sun shines but to set
Too soon the fields of greener shawl
Are planted with the dead
We too must heed a Higher Call
And bow the stubborn head

We are but legends in our mind
The only strands of worth
Are not in things we leave behind
To clutter God’s green earth
Things pass as surely as the wind
Or fleeting hour of mirth

The tempest rises but to rest
Within the quiet deep
The sunlight gathers in the west
Time’s shadows quickly creep
Eternity waits in each breath
The soul will never sleep


Janet~

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from youselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do " (Eph. 2:8,9).

Monday, July 4, 2011

Man Born of Woman...


*‘Man born of a woman
Is of trouble and few days
They spring up like flowers
And soon wither away
Do you fix you eye on them?’
Creatures of demand
The only wisdom they attain
Comes from a Higher Hand

Can man born of a sinful seed
Accomplish any good?
Can he alone provide a need
Without the help of God?
Is wisdom gleaned by things of earth
Not doomed to die with men?
Is there aught of eternal worth
To fix our hope upon?

Praise to man extolled by man
Soon sleeps beneath the dust
What good is good on this brief span
Without a God to trust?
Man can’t exhume from this earth’s grave
And bring to life again
Of tears and turmoil we are slave
Without God, all is vain

There is a sure foundation laid
On which a man may rest
Though man’s life is but of few days
We may taste its best
There is an eternal truth
On which feet will not stumble
Fit for aged men or youth
And hearts, tempered and humble

There is a love that spans beyond
This little gasp of Time
It proved itself upon a cross
Its grace sustains our climb
*‘Man born of a woman
Is of trouble and few days
They spring up like flowers
And soon wither away…

Janet~
*‘Man born of a woman
Is of trouble and few days
They spring up like flowers
And soon wither away...Job 14:1

Embrace


Sometimes when I think about
The road that lies ahead
I look at you, my little one
And I am filled with dread
But just when I’m about to weep
And crumble in despair
I remember who will keep
You in his loving care

There is nothing I can do
To shield you from life’s rain
We all have valleys to walk through
A little joy and pain
I wish that I could tell you
There is nothing you need fear
But all that I can say for sure
Is ‘God is always near’

The highs and lows that shape our lives
Are molded by His love
In all the choices living gives
Not one will let us move
Beyond His pure compassion
His mercy or His grace
And everyone who trusts Him
Is safe in His embrace

Janet~


He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
Psalms 121:3

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Belief...


I know Whom I believe
I know He holds my hand
But it’s the where and what and why
I do not understand

I know love never fails
I know it is life’s power
And yet I’ve seen it tarnish
Summer’s pleasant hour

For all that I may know
Tis what I cannot see
That tests the very heart of it
…I know Whom I believe

Janet~
For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. 2 Tim. 1:12

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Pondering Love


If we were assured of our children’s love
As often as we tell God of ours
Tell me, would it be enough
As long as time and life endures
If the children that we hold
Would show us in the self-same measure
Their devotion, shy or bold
Tell me, would it give us pleasure
As they told us of their love
Like we tell God; would it be enough?

If our children spent the time for us
We spend upon our knees to pray
If they in all exact amounts
Gave us what we give God each day
Would we be assured of their love?
Would our cups fill and overflow?
Tell me, would it be enough
What we give God; for us below
Would we bow when light is dim
Fulfilled with what we give to Him?

Janet~



See what great love the Father has lavished on us,
that we should be called children of God! 1 John 3:1

Monday, June 20, 2011

On Trusting


We cannot see the future Lord
Nor do we know its way
So in its mysteries, teach us then
To trust you day by day

You do not spread before our eyes
The things for which we plead
But know before we raise our cries
Exactly what we need


Janet~



Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight. Prov. 3: 5-6

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Shoes


I won’t tell you what to say
Or decide what you should choose
I can’t feel the way you feel
I haven’t travelled in your shoes

But I can love you, I can pray
And tell you God is never wrong
If we seek his narrow way
He alone will keep us strong

I can’t judge you for your sin
It would simply increase mine
God’s blood cleanses from within
With a righteousness divine

God alone can know the truth
He sees far beneath our skin
Still He chooses us to love
Oh, I scarce can take it in

I won’t tell you what to say
God can show you what to choose
I can love you; I can pray
But I cannot walk in your shoes

Janet~

Matthew 7:1-2

King James Version (KJV)

Matthew 7

1Judge not, that ye be not judged.

2For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again

Give it to God



Can you not see your way ahead?
Are your prospects lined with dread?
There is One who’ll take the lead
Give it all to God

Does the fight of life seem grim?
Has the light of faith grown dim?
Tell me, have you talked to Him?
Give it all to God

Man is formed of humble dust
The best that we can do is trust
In One whose way is right and just
Give it all to God

He has borne hates cruelest blow
There is naught He does not know
Yet above all, He loves us so
Give it all To God

Though life’s storm may still assail
Upon His arm we will not fail
He is good; He will prevail
Give it all to God

Janet~

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

When Trouble Comes


He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed
Miracles that we cannot tally
Rain and sunshine blankets the mountain
And reaches into the dark valley
Hardship does not spring from the soil
Nor trouble from ground hard and dry
Man is born to trouble and toil
As surely as sparks reach for the sky

But if I were you I would appeal to God
I would lay my cause before Him
Though He may chasten with His rod
He heals the wounded limb
He catches the wise in their craftiness
Sweeping afar wily schemes
So that their hands achieve no success
He thwarts the proud and his dreams

His hand is over the poor and the needy
He covers their tent with peace
Do not despise the great God almighty
Or ask when His chastening shall cease
Blessed is he whom the Lord reprimands
And happy is the man corrected
Though misery washes like a sea over sands
By His love we will not be rejected

Janet~

Inspired after reading Job 5

He replied, "You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" In all this, Job did not sin in what he said. Job 2:10

Friday, June 10, 2011

Giver


He gives us the laughter of children
To sweeten the toil of our day
He gives us the softness of evening
To soothe our cares away
He gives us warm shoulders to lean on
Should we need to rest for a while
And He gives us little babies
To make children and old men smile

He gives us sunshine and shadows
He paints the blue sky and gray
He gives us mountains and meadows
And sleep at the end of a day
He gives the moon for a candle
When the whisper of daylight grows dim
And He gives us just enough trouble
To keep us leaning on Him

He gives us the hill and the valley
The storm shrieking down from above
He knits them all together
By the threads of His wonderful love
How empty would be our boasting
How shallow our faith and dim
If He did not give us life’s trouble
To keep us leaning on Him

If we had the fruit of our wishes
How foolish our wanting would be
Never a weeping horizon
And never a storm-tossed sea
And never an earnest pleading
On our knees as the light grows dim
Never a reason for needing
To keep on leaning on Him

Janet~


And he changeth the times and the seasons; he removeth kings, and setteth up kings; he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that have understanding; Dan. 2:21

Greater Beauty


He pours His love into the dawn
A pale blue glow ascending
Extending from a heavenly throne
His mercy never-ending
With verdant breath He clothes the hills
And sighing woodland tresses
As from the apple orchard spills
A thousand flowered dresses

He reaches deep beneath the earth
And probes the seed still hidden
Nature responds to heaven’s mirth
To do as it is bidden
Then out across a barren world
Stripped bare by winter’s taking
Nature’s glory is unfurled
In springtime’s grand awakening

Twilight creeps across a land
A new and silent splendor
I am drawn toward the Hand
Patient, kind and tender
For all the beauty of this day
Could never be sufficient
If guilt could not be washed away
By One; perfect, omniscient

I close my eyes to see a cross
Upon it the Creator
Where mercy’s blood-red river flows
Forever and forever
He clad the earth in beauty fair
His grand and glorious garden
But its beauty can’t compare
To nail-scarred hands of pardon

Janet~

Prayer For Guidance



Lord, fill this weak and mortal cup
With passions of your praise
Until at Your dear feet I sup
In Heaven’s endless days

These fumbling, erring hands of mine
Lord, guide them by Your Spirit
And fill each humble task of mine
With heavenly joy and merit

Earth’s happiness is a vague shroud
Of Heaven’s priceless measure
Fix our eyes above the cloud
To high and holy treasure

Though now we strain through darkened glass
To understand life’s story
This little life too soon shall pass
Into eternal glory

Janet~

You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Psalm 16:11

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Miracles Happen


Just when you’re thinking that miracles don’t happen
They do
Right in the middle of life plain and mundane
There’s You
And all we need is to open our eyes
And it doesn’t take long to realize
The world is brimming and bountiful
And overflowing with miracles

The bud that was tightly sealed yesterday
Softly unfolds
A miracle revealed in breath-taking display
For mankind to behold
A small child’s warm arms wrap around us so tight
The breeze parts the clouds to release brilliant sunlight
We see heaven’s glory mirrored in a smooth puddle
And know it can only be a miracle

In the face of tragedy mankind must respond
And they do
As countless miracles abound
Seen only by You
Love reminds us that it will not fail
The past is behind us and cannot prevail
You are still compassionate and merciful
Showering us tenderly with miracles

Janet~


2 I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.
3 Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.
4 I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.
5 I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you. Ps. 63:2-5

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Beseeching Thee


Dare I to make one small request
From such a hand as Thine
When I have trampled Heaven's best
And drank the sinner's wine?

The folly of my sinful heart
Is never hid from Thee
Thou knowest every secret part
Yet lovest tenderly

Should I reserve from Heaven’s own
The best that I can bring?
Nay,yet I bow before Thy throne
With humble offering

Pleasure dies and then the man
And man returns to dust
Thou, my God and Thou alone
Art all that I can trust

Though man is like a fleeting breath
His day like fading grass
Thou wilt guide his way through death
As from this life we pass

Dare I to make one small request
From such a God as Thee?
Nay, but to ask Thy righteousness
To work its will in me

Janet

23 Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting. Ps 139:23-24

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

In the Matter of Choices


The world in lurid dissonance
Its paltry offering waves
But it cannot give hope a chance
Or reach beneath cold graves

It smiles with lies and cheating guise
To lure the seeker in
Its sordid prize lost as he dies
Too late to undo sin

The Father waits in patient love
He whispers at our door
He holds the keys to heaven above
And life forevermore

He will not break the holds we make
Nor will He walk away
In love He pleads to fill our needs
Before the Judgment Day

Janet~


Psalms 1

1 Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the LORD,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.
4 Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.