good to good
people, good to the good-hearted.
But I nearly
missed it,
missed seeing
his goodness.
I was looking
the other way,
looking up to
the people
At the top,
envying the
wicked who have it made,
Who have
nothing to worry about,
not a care in
the whole wide world.
Pretentious
with arrogance,
they wear the
latest fashions in violence,
Pampered and
overfed,
decked out in
silk bows of silliness.
They jeer,
using words to kill;
they bully
their way with words.
They’re full
of hot air,
loudmouths
disturbing the peace.
People actually
listen to them—can you believe it?
Like thirsty
puppies, they lap up their words.
What’s going
on here? Is God out to lunch?
Nobody’s
tending the store.
The wicked get
by with everything;
they have it
made, piling up riches.
I’ve been
stupid to play by the rules;
what has it
gotten me?
A long run of
bad luck, that’s what—
a slap in the
face every time I walk out the door.
If I’d have
given in and talked like this,
I would have
betrayed your dear children.
Still, when I
tried to figure it out,
all I got was
a splitting headache …
Until I entered
the sanctuary of God.
Then I saw
the whole picture:
The slippery
road you’ve put them on,
with a final
crash in a ditch of delusions.
In the blink of
an eye, disaster!
A blind curve
in the dark, and—nightmare!
We wake up and
rub our eyes.… Nothing.
There’s
nothing to them. And there never was.
When I was
beleaguered and bitter,
totally
consumed by envy,
I was totally
ignorant, a dumb ox
in your very
presence.
I’m still in
your presence,
but you’ve
taken my hand.
You wisely and
tenderly lead me,
and then you
bless me.
You’re all I
want in heaven!
You’re all
I want on earth!
When my skin
sags and my bones get brittle,
God is
rock-firm and faithful.
Look! Those who
left you are falling apart!
Deserters,
they’ll never be heard from again.
But I’m in
the very presence of God—
oh, how
refreshing it is!
I’ve made
Lord God my home.
God, I’m
telling the world what you do!