Forgotten Ground Regained
O Wonder-Worker (Psalm 77)
Poem reprinted from The Song of Joseph and Selected Poems
I cry aloud to the Lord, my God;I cry to Him to hear me and help me in my distress.Without ceasing I stretch out my handall through the night; my anguished soulrefuses to be comforted; it frets and broods.When I remember God I moan and grieveand my spirit faints and my faith is troubled.
You hold my eyelids open at night;I cannot speak for my distress consumes me.Let me remember the song I sang in the nightin years gone by, in better days.My spirit made search and I said to my soul,“Will the Lord spurn His servant forever,and never again give His favor?Has His steadfast love ceased forever?Are His promises ended once and for all?Has God forgotten to be gracious and giving?Has His anger shut up His ardent heart?”
But I will remember the merciful deedsof the Lord, my God, in long-ago times:Your miraculous works, Your wonderful acts.I will meditate and muse on Your mighty deeds.
O God, Your ways are wondrous and holy.What God is so great as our God who saves?You have made known Your might among the peoples.With Your arm You redeemed Your own people,the sons of Jacob and the sons of Joseph.
When the waters saw You, O Wonder-Worker,they trembled with dread; even the deeps were troubled.Water beat down from the dark clouds;thunder sounded from storming skies;on every side Your arrows flashed.Your thunder roared from the reeling wind;the flash of Your lightnings lit up the world;the earth trembled; the earth shuddered.You made Your way through the mighty waters;the sea was Your path as You passed along;with footprints unseen You strode forward.
By the hand of Moses and the hand of Aaron,You led Your people like a patient shepherd.
Copyright © 2023 Kathryn Ann Hill.