SECOND CHRONICLES CHAPTER SEVEN

¹ As soon as Solomon had finished praying,

               A fire came down from heaven and burned up

               The offerings. God’s dazzling glory filled

The temple, ² and the priests could not go in,

               ³ And when the crowd of people saw the fire

               And the Lord’s glory, they knelt down

   and worshiped

The Lord and prayed: “The Lord is good; his love

               Will never end.” ^4–5 King Solomon and people

               Did dedicate the temple to the Lord

By sacrificing cattle–twenty-two

               Thousand–and sheep–one hundred

                   twenty thousand.

               ⁶ During the ceremony, everyone

Stood up. The priests were in their places as

               Assigned and blew their trumpets. Levites faced

               Them, playing music instruments that David

Had made for them to use when they gave praise

               To God for his unending love. ⁷ On that

               Same day, King Solomon did dedicate

The courtyard in front of the temple and

               He readied it for worship. The bronze altar

               That he had made was too small, so he used

The courtyard to make sacrifices to

               Please God and made grain sacrifices, and

               Also to send aloft in smoke the fat

From other offerings. ⁸ For seven days,

               Solomon and the crowd did celebrate

               The Shelters Festival, and people came

From far away as the Egyptian Gorge

               In south and Lebo-Hamath in the north.

               ⁹ Then on the next day, everyone assembled

For worship. They had celebrated for

               A sum of fourteen days, thus seven days

               To dedicate the altar, seven more

Days for the festival. ¹⁰ The twenty-third

               Day of the seventh month, King Solomon

               Sent everybody home, and they left glad

Due to the good things that the Lord had done

               For David and King Solomon, and for

               His people Israel. ¹¹ God’s temple and

Solomon’s palace were now finished. In

               Fact, everything that Solomon had planned

               To do was finished. ¹² Some time later, God

Appeared to Solomon within a dream

               And said: “I’ve heard your prayer, and I

                  have chosen

               This temple as the place where sacrifices

Are to be made to me. ¹³ Suppose I hold

               The rain back or send locusts to consume

               The crops or make my people suffer with

Deadly diseases. ¹⁴ If my people will

               Humbly pray and turn back to me and stop

               Sinning, then I will answer them from heaven.

I will forgive them and I’ll make their land

               Fertile again. ¹⁵ I’ll hear the prayers they make

               Inside this temple, ¹⁶ for it’s mine, and this

Is where I will be worshiped evermore.

               Never will I stop watching over it.

               ¹⁷ Your father David did obey me, and

Now, Solomon, you have to do the same.

               Obey my laws and teachings, ¹⁸ and I’ll keep

               My solemn promise to him that a man

Out of your family will always be

               The king of Israel, ¹⁹ but if you or

               An Israelite shall disobey my laws

Or start to worship foreign gods, ²⁰ I will

               pull you out of this land I gave you; I’ll

               Desert this temple where I said I would

Be worshiped, so that people everywhere

               Will think it’s but a joke and will make fun

               Of it. ²¹ This temple is magnificent

Now, but when these things happen, everyone

               Who strolls by it will be astounded and will ask,

               ‘Why did the Lord do such an awful thing

To his own people and this temple?’ ²² Then

               They will reply, ‘It was because the people

               Of Israel rejected the Lord God,

Who saved their ancestors from Egypt’s rod,

               And they began to worship other gods.'”

SET FIVE

Tenant-Landlord
American Dreams
Temple Cleansed
Battle of Tours
Miracles of Jesus
American Dreams
Good Government

Tenant-Landlord
“Faucet drips,
Screen ripped,
Pipes leak,
Mice squeak,
Trash stacked,
Window’s cracked,
Sink stinks,
Light blinks,
Toilet runs,
Stove’s done,
Water’s cold,
Furnace out,
Neighbors loud,
Frame’s bent.”

“Pay rent.”

~Day Williams

American Dreams

Legal Americans have dreams to raise
Their families, safe, prosperous, secure.
They have contributed and followed laws,
They’ve risked and sacrificed, deserving praise,
While those who put them down are immature
As kids who still believe in Santa Claus.
The criminals have had their days of fun;
Let lawful citizens be Number One.

~Day Williams

The Temple Cleansed

Beware that ox, or else your side will sport
A gash in it that you could drive a cart
Through, sir. This is unusual: For sheep,
Oxen, bird cages, tables, to be strewn
Outside the temple when they all belong
Inside so that we merchants can conduct
Our business, as we do at Passover
And other feasts, the prosperous times for us.

What am I doing out here with my sheep
And doves? I’ll tell you if you’ll help me keep
These brutes together while I feed the birds.

We merchants minded our own business while
The money-changers sat at tables where
They changed the coins from foreigners, who had
To pay for sacrificial animals
With shekels–they’re the only coins we take.
My lambs and doves are highest quality,
The perfect specimens for sacrifice
According to the Law, and I will charge
No more than what the market will accept.

A man needs to make a living, sir, to feed
His family, the worker deserves a wage,
Don’t muzzle the oxen while they thresh the corn.
I give my tithes and offerings, take care
Of neighbors when they need some help, my wife—
I’m true to her, I’ve made a covenant
With my own eyes not to cast them upon
A maiden, or to covet animals
My neighbors owns, his wife, his servants, or
Anything else, and for my righteous acts
Jehovah has expanded my domain:
A bigger house, more pastureland, more sheep,
Though I am not as important as you are
As caretaker of God’s Word and a guide
To men like me who need the Lord to steer
Them through the traps and thorns that block the path
To One who made the heavens and the earth,
To One who sent the rain to flood the earth,
To One who with his brilliance made the face
Of Moses shine so brightly that he had
To wear a veil, the people were so scared.

This interloper comes from nowhere, town
Up north with ten or twelve inhabitants,
And he presumes to tell the Pharisees
And Sadducees that they don’t follow God.

We Jews, entrusted with God’s law, we know
The way to God and we don’t block a soul
From knowing him. Today that man took cords
And bound them like a whip, a whip that stung
And took its share of blood, look at my back,
If you will, see the wound and the dried blood,
Is there no balm in Gilead? That man
Should cleanse himself before he seeks to cleanse
The temple, which is what he claimed that he
Was doing, the pretentious Nazarene
Born outside marriage to a peasant girl.

He should be whipped himself; I’ll count on you
And other leaders of our faith to charge
Him with a crime, give him the lashes, teach
Him justice from the temple he’s so fond
Of, and he’ll crawl back to his tiny town,
His tail between his legs, and let us be.
This was to be my biggest day all year,
With shekels that would buy my wife and son
As many gifts and treats as they desire:
I’ll take my sheep and doves, and scrounge for coins
From foreigners devoted to the Lord.

You say that you’ll do even more than whip
The Great Pretender? He will take the curse,
Crucified like the criminal he is.
A satisfactory result, if you
Persuade the Romans to pound him with nails
And lift him up, as Moses raised the snake
So that our ancestors in wilderness
Would look at it and God would heal them. Go
And do your work, I’ll back you ‘til the end.

~Day Williams

Battle of Tours

Come save us, Hammer, from Muslim hordes
So we can serve and worship Christ our Lord

The Arabs pierced the Pyrenees, invaded
The Franks, and pounded north toward Tours, where they’d
Plunder the Abby of St. Martin, rich
And holy shrine–but their plan had a glitch,

For Charles Martel avoided roads, and brought
His army over mountains, the blind spot
For Arabs, who had to defeat this force
To get to Tours, and with their many horses

And stirrups (Franks had none), the seventh day
They charged uphill at Franks who fought and stayed
And thrust them back, while others circled round,
Took booty and freed slaves, to their renown.

The Muslim host fled from the enemy
And Christian Charles Martel claimed victory.

Come save us, Hammer, from Muslim hordes
So we can serve and worship Christ our Lord

~Day Williams

Miracles of Jesus

Miracles of Jesus

I.

Introduction

Born of a virgin, Jesus Christ, the Word
Made flesh, grew up, son of a carpenter,
His earthly father, and a maiden favored
By God who magnified the Lord when told

That she would bear the child of God, as heard
From Angel Gabriel, her visitor
Who shared glad tidings that she’d bear the Savior,
For nothing is impossible for God.

II.

The Miracles

Jesus began with water into wine
At the Cana wedding, and he healed the son
Of an official, drove a demon out,
Healed Peter’s mother-in-law, and he healed

The demon-possessed and sick at evening time,
Fulfilling prophecy, then said to Simon
To cast his net. Though Simon had his doubts,
He let nets down in water and the yield

Was so great the nets broke and boats began
To sink, and Peter on his knees said, “I’m
A sinful man,” then Jesus said that he
Would fish for men, so Peter dropped his nets

And followed Him, the one who cleansed a man
With leprosy and healed a man in his prime,
Servant of a centurion whose plea
Pleased Jesus with great faith that He not yet

Had seen in Israel, then Jesus healed
A paralytic, one his friends had lowered
Through a roof, and though Pharisees doubted
That Jesus could forgive his sins, “Take up

Your mat and walk,” He said–nothing concealed–
And the man walked, as Jewish leaders glowered.
Then on a Sabbath, He was not devout
Enough to satisfy their strange, corrupt

Minds, for He healed a man with withered hand,
Having told them that if they had a sheep
Fallen into a pit, they’d rescue it
Even on Sabbath Day, the day of rest.

“Is not a man more worthy than a lamb?”
He asked, but none of them did make a peep.
Soon afterwards, he made another hit:
A widow’s boy had died, but Jesus blessed

Her, raising him from death to life, so fear
Took hold of them and they gave God the glory
And said that a great prophet had arisen,
That God looked favorably upon his people.

III.

His fame increased. One evening he said, “Steer
The boat from here down to the other shore,”
So they went; the waves rose and the winds whizzed
While Jesus in the stern was fast asleep

Upon a cushion and the boat was sinking,
And they said, “Teacher, don’t you care if we
Drown?” and he got up, rebuked the wind
And told the waves to quiet down, as though

He spoke as dad to son who’s done a prank.
The wind and waves subsided to a breeze,
Then they were calm. He’d stretched disciples’ minds,
As God will do to those who come to know

Him, and they asked, “Who is this who can tell
The wind and waves to quiet down?” and they
Were scared, yet to the territory of
The Gadarenes they walked with Him, when men,

Two men possessed by demons, men who dwelt
In tombs, came, screamed, “Why do you come our way
And interfere with us, God’s Son? You’d love
To torture us before the time comes when

We will be punished. If you cast us out,
Then cast us in that herd of pudgy pigs
That feeds on that hill!” “Go, then,” He commanded,
And demons left the men, went in the herd,

Which plunged down that steep hillside and was drowned
In water; herdsman ran to town, so big
This was, and people did not understand
And begged Him to depart, as they preferred.

IV.

A woman suffered bleeding for twelve years,
And many doctors had not stopped the flow.
She spotted Jesus in the crowd and touched
His garment’s hem, which made Him turn around

And ask, “What person touched me? Who came near?”
For he had felt the healing power go
From him, but Peter said, “This crowd is much
Too big, so such a person can’t be found.”

The woman realized she could not hide,
And trembling, fell down at his feet and told
The Master that she’d touched him and been healed
At once. “Your faith, my daughter, made you well,”

He told her. “Go in peace.” As he replied
To her, a man, Jairus, came from home
(His daughter there was sick) and he appealed
For Jesus’ help, and he began to tell

About her illness when a messenger
Arrived and told him that his girl had died,
So, “Do not trouble Jesus anymore.”
When Jesus heard of this, “Do not be scared,”

He told Jairus, “Keep faith, she’ll be cured.”
With three disciples at her home, beside
The mourners, “Do not cry. She sleeps some more,”
He said, but mourners laughed because he dared

To say she lived when they knew she was dead.
He took her hand and loudly said, “My child,
Get up!” And life returned to her, and she
Stood up. He said for them to give her food.

V.

Two blind men followed Jesus as he left
And went into the house where he’d stayed a while.
“Have mercy on us, Son of David!” screamed
The blind men, and he asked, “Do you pursue

Me in the faith that I can make you see?”
“Yes, Lord,” they said, “we do.” He touched their eyes
And said, “Due to your faith, so will it be.”
Their eyes were opened and they could now see.

He told them to tell this to nobody–
Instead, they spread his stardom far and wide.
After they left, men brought a man to Jesus,
A man demon-possessed who could not speak.

VI.

Once Jesus cast a demon out, the man
Began to speak, which thrilled the crowds, who blurted
Out, “Nothing like this has ever occurred
In Israel!” But jealous Pharisees

Denounced the Lord as being no more than
A Satan-follower; then Jesus hurried
Into Jerusalem, where water stirred
A pool that healed the sick of their diseases,

And Jesus met an invalid and asked
Him, “Do you want to become well?” No one
Had put the man into the pool that healed
The sick whenever water was disturbed.

Jesus told him, “Stand up! Pick up your mat
And walk.” At once the man was healed, which stunned
The Pharisees, who wanted men to kneel
To legalistic ways, not God’s superb

Atoning grace, favor unmerited.
Next, Jesus went off to the other side
Of the Sea of Galilee, a giant crowd
Following him due to His miracles,

And He asked them, “Where can we buy bread
So that this crowd may eat?” Andrew, beside
The Lord, said that a boy had come around
With five loaves and two fish, but, “Who’d be full

When those were split among the crowd?” The Lord
Had people sit down on the grass, then took
The loaves, gave thanks, and handed out the bread,
Then did the same with the two fish, and each

Person had as much as he wanted, for
The food was plentiful. When Jesus looked
And saw that all were satisfied, he said
To his disciples, “Gather broken pieces

Left over, so that nothing’s wasted,” so
They gathered up the pieces and they filled
Twelve baskets, and the people saw this sign
And said, “This is the prophet who shall come

Into the world.” Then Jesus had to go
Across to Gennesaret, where God willed
He heal the sick, and people brought them by.
They begged to touch his cloak, its edge, and none

Was turned away, and all who touched the edge
Of it were healed. A woman Canaanite
From that vicinity came up and cried,
“Lord, Son of David, mercy! For a demon

Torments my girl, who suffers like a wretch,”
But Jesus said that he was sent as light
To the lost sheep of Israel, their guide:
“It’s wrong to take the children’s bread and freely

Toss it to dogs,” he said. “Yes it is, Lord,”
She said, “but even dogs eat crumbs that fall
From their master’s table,” then the Lord replied,
“Woman, you have great faith, and your request

Is granted,” and her daughter at that moment
Was healed; then Jesus left Tyre’s region, walked
To the Sea of Galilee through Sidon,
And as his miracles had so impressed

Them, they brought him a deaf-mute and implored
Jesus to lay his hand on him, so he
Took him aside, away from crowds, and placed
His fingers in his ears, and spat, and touched

His tongue, and looking heavenward, the Lord
Sighed and uttered, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be
Opened,” and his ears opened with no trace
Of blockage, and his tongue was freed, so much

So he spoke plainly. Jesus said, “Don’t speak
About this,” but the more he said, “Don’t talk
About this,” they all the more proclaimed it.
And they were staggered, saying, “He has done

All things well, even making deaf men hear
And the mute speak.” Then Jesus left and walked
Along the Sea of Galilee to sit
Upon a mountain that he’d climbed for one-

On-one encounters with the lame, the blind,
The mute, the crippled, and a host of others,
And Jesus healed them all, which stunned the crowds,
Who praised the God of Israel. He asked

For his disciples and told them, “The time
Is right to feed these people, all our brothers,
Who’ve been with me three days; I can’t allow
Them to leave hungry, when they might collapse

Along the way,” and his disciples said,
“Where could we get some bread so far from towns,
Enough to feed this crowd?” “How many loaves
Do you have?” Jesus asked them. “Seven,” they

Replied, “and a few small fish.” So he led
By telling everybody to sit on ground.
He took the seven loaves and fish, and broke
Them after he had given thanks, and gave

Disciples pieces, which they gave the people,
Who ate and were all satisfied. Disciples
Collected seven basketfuls of all
The extra broken pieces, and the crowd

Count was four thousand men who’d sat and eaten
There, plus the women and the children by
The men, and after Jesus sent the throng
Away, he took the boat and traveled down

To the vicinity of Magadan,
Then they came to Bethsaida, where some pleaded
With Him to heal a blind man, so he took
The blind man by the hand and led him outside

Town, spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands
On them, then asked, “Do you see anything?”
Looking up, he said, “I see men; they look
Like walking trees.” Jesus touched the man’s eyes

Again: His eyes were opened and his sight
Came back, and he saw things with clarity.
As Jesus went, He saw a man born blind.
“While in the world, I’m the world’s light,” he said,

Then he spit upon the ground, and with saliva
He made some mud with his dexterity,
And put it on the man’s eyes. He said kindly,
“Go wash in the Siloam Pool” (which means “Sent”),

So the man washed and came home seeing, though
His neighbors weren’t sure he was the same man;
And Pharisees, the jealous Jewish leaders,
Insulted and attacked the man when he

Twice told how the man Jesus had restored
His sight, but they claimed Jesus’ helping hand
Was sinful, while the healed man disagreed
And told them, “I was blind and now I see.”

VII.

Some Pharisees heard him say this and asked,
“What? Are we blind too?” Jesus said, “If you
Were blind, your sinful guilt would not stay ‘round,
But since you claim to see, your guilt remains.”

A father gave the Lord another task:
He said a demon seized his son and threw
Him on the dust so that he foamed at the mouth,
Ground his teeth and turned rigid as a cane.

Disciples failed to throw the demon out,
And Jesus remonstrated everyone
For lack of faith and asked, “How long must I
Put up with you? Bring me the boy.” They did,

But the demon saw the Lord and it thrust down
The boy onto the ground in a convulsion.
“The spirit often throws him in the fire
Or into water, trying to kill him,”

The Father said. “Have mercy, help us, if
You can.” “What do you mean, if I can?” Jesus
Asked. “Anything is possible if one
Believes.” The father cried, “I do believe,

But help me overcome my unbelief!”
“You deaf-mute spirit,” Jesus said, “you’ll flee
This boy and never go in him again.”
At this, the spirit screamed and it did leave

The boy after it had convulsed him one
More time: The boy seemed dead. The people muttered,
“He’s dead,” but Jesus took him by the hand,
Helped him to his feet, and he stood, straight-backed.

“Nothing’s impossible beneath the sun
For those with faith,” He said, “no matter what
The world may say.” Then the tax men demanded
To know if Jesus paid the temple tax,

And Peter said He did, and Jesus asked,
“Do kings collect a tax from their own children
Or others?” Peter said, “From others.” “For
The children are exempt,” said Jesus, “but

So that we may not cause offense, go catch
A fish and in its mouth you’ll find, with skill,
A coin to take and pay my tax and yours.”
Then they brought him a man who was beset

By a demon which had made him mute and blind,
And Jesus healed him so that he could see
And talk. Astonished, people asked, “Could this
Be David’s Son?” One Sabbath Jesus taught

Within a synagogue, as he was kind,
And a woman there, bent like a storm-tossed tree
Because a spirit crippled her–no bliss–
Came when He called her to clear up this blot

The devil had put on God’s child. “Woman, you’re
Set free from your infirmity,” he said,
And put hands on her: At once she stood erect
And praised the Lord, but because it was the Sabbath,

The leader of the synagogue came forth,
Said, “We’ve six days for work. Come and be healed
Those days, not Sabbaths.” But the Lord rejected
His view and said, “You hypocrites and crabs!

Don’t you on Sabbaths take your ox and lead
It out for water? Then should not this woman,
Daughter of Abraham, whom Satan’s bound
For eighteen years, be set free on the Sabbath?”

VIII.

Another Sabbath, He once more proceeded
To heal, this time a man whose limbs had swollen
Due to a sickness, and He looked around,
Asked, “If your cow was stuck in a mud bath

On Sabbath Day, would you not pull it out?”
The legal eagles could not say a word.
He traveled toward Jerusalem and passed
Between Samaria and Galilee.

Ten lepers stood a distance from his route
And asked for mercy on them, and he heard
And told them, “Go and show yourselves to priests.”
They went and they were cleansed of leprosy,

And one who saw that he was healed, turned back,
Praised God, and threw himself at Jesus’ feet,
Giving him thanks. He was Samaritan.
Jesus said, “Weren’t ten cleansed? Where are the nine

Others? This stranger from another land–
Is he the only one who took this street
Again to thank the Lord?” He told the man,
“Get up; go on. Your trust in God, so fine,

Has healed you.” Now a man named Lazarus
Was sick, a man from Bethany, the town
Where Mary and her sister Martha dwelled.
This was the Mary who anointed Jesus

With perfume, with that sacrifice of kindness,
This was the same Mary who knelt down
And wiped his feet with her hair as that smell
Suffused the outer room with fragrant sweetness.

This Mary’s brother was the man sick, so
The sisters sent a word to Jesus’ side,
“The one you love is sick.” When Jesus heard
This word, he said, “This sickness will not end

In death; but will instead be for God’s glory
And praise, so God’s Son may be glorified.”
They waited for two days, as He preferred,
Though He loved Martha, Mary, and his friend

Lazarus, then he told his followers,
“Let’s go back to Judea.” But they protested.
“Rabbi,” they told him, “only a few days
Ago Judeans tried to stone you. Why

Will you go there again?” “Now I will go,”
He said, “to wake up Lazarus, who rests.”
“Lord, he sleeps, but he’ll improve without delay,”
They said. He told them, “Lazarus has died,

And for your sakes, I’m glad I wasn’t there,
For now you really will believe. Come, let’s
Go see him,” and in Bethany he learned
Lazarus had been in his grave four days.

IX.

Martha went out but Mary stayed, preparing
For His arrival, and when Martha greeted
Jesus, she said to him, “It would have turned
Out better; he would not be in his grave

If you had been here, but because you care,
Even now I know God will give you, Jesus,
Whatever you ask.” Jesus was concerned
And told her, “Lazarus will rise once more.”

“Yes,” Martha said, “he’ll rise, as we’re aware,
On the last day when everybody sees
You when they rise from graves–yet I still mourn.”
Jesus told her what she knew from talks before:

X.

“I am the resurrection and the life.
Anybody who believes in me will live,
Even after dying. Everyone who
Lives in me and believes in me will never

Perish, and will be free from grief and strife.”
He asked, “Do you believe this?” “You’re God’s gift,”
Martha said, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you
Are the Messiah, Son of God forever,

Who has come in the world from God.” Then Mary
Came, fell at his feet, and told him, “Lord, if you
Had been here, Lazarus would not have died.”
“Where have you put him?” he asked. “Come, be shown,

Lord,” they replied. Then Jesus wept. “He cared
For him so much,” said some, but some withdrew
And said, “Couldn’t he have kept him alive?”
He reached the tomb, a cave which had a stone

Rolled across its entrance and he said, “Roll
The stone aside.” But Martha said, “Lord, he’s
Been dead four days and it will stink.” “Did I
Not say you’d see God’s glory if you would

Only believe?” And so they rolled the stone
Aside. “I know that you will hear my plea,
Father,” said Jesus, gazing toward the sky,
“I speak out loud so people by here could

Believe you sent me. Lazarus, come out!”
He shouted. The dead man came out, his hands
And feet bound in the graveclothes, with his face
Wrapped in a headcloth. “Unwrap him and let

Him go,” He said, and when they reached the town
Of Jericho, a beggar, blind, demanded
“Jesus, mercy!” Some said, “You’re in his space,
So hush!” But Bartimaeus would not quit

And shouted even louder, “David’s Son,
Have mercy on me!” Jesus heard him, stopped
And said, “Tell him to come here,” so they called
The blind man. “Cheer up!” they said. “Come on, he’s

Calling you!” The blind man put his coat down,
Jumped up and ran to Jesus through the mob,
And Jesus asked him, “Tell me, what are all
The things I’ll do for you?” “I want to see,

My Rabbi,” said the blind man. Jesus said
“Go, for your faith has healed you.” Instantly
The man could see; he followed Jesus down
The road. One morning Jesus was returning

Into Jerusalem, and had no bread
And he was hungry and saw a fig tree
Beside the roadway, but it had no brown
Ripe figs, but only leaves–and Jesus sternly

Said, “May you never more bear fruit!” At once
The fig tree withered up. Disciples, stunned
When they saw this, asked, “How did the fig tree
Wither so quickly?” Jesus told them, “I

Tell you the truth, if you have faith and thus
Don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much
More, and ‘May you be tossed into the sea,’
You can say to this mountain with a cry,

And it will happen; in short, you can pray
For anything, and if you have the faith,
You will receive it.” Now the Lord knew He
Had come into the world to die for it,

Redeeming men from sin that made them stray,
That His blood would appease the Father’s wrath,
So Jesus prayed hard in Gethsemane
That to the Father’s will he would submit

Himself and suffer, for his sacrifice
Was the Father’s only way; He was betrayed;
Soldiers came to arrest Him, Peter fought:
His sword slashed and severed a servant’s ear,

But Jesus said to him, “No more of this!”
And he touched the man’s ear and healed him, then they
Took him off like he was a bandit caught
For crimes, and Pilate sentenced him for fear

Of Caesar’s wrath, and soldiers nailed the Lord
Onto a cross to die, where He restrained
His power: He loved us so much he did
No miracle to save himself; his heart

Broken, he died, and blood and water flowed
From his side; his body suffered no more pain.
They placed his body in a tomb, not hidden,
Boulder-blocked, as decreed by Pilate’s court.

Christ’s ministry on earth concluded thus,
Or so the cowering disciples thought
As they concealed themselves from Roman guards,
The ministry of Jesus at an end.

XI.

“I’m going fishing,” Peter said, and others
Said to him, “We’ll go with you, but they caught
Nothing, then Jesus stood on shore, not far
From them, and asked, “Have you caught some fish, friends?”

They did not know who he was. “Throw your net
On the boat’s right side for a catch galore.”
When they did, they could not haul in the net,
The number of fish was so large. “It is

The Lord,” said a disciple. Peter dressed
Himself, jumped in the water, swam to shore,
Then helped drag in the net (he broke a sweat),
With its one hundred fifty-three large fish,

And they had breakfast with the Lord, who showed
Himself to them for forty days and taught
About God’s kingdom, telling them to wait
For the Holy Spirit to baptize them

With power, then he led them on a road
Near Bethany, blessed those whom he had brought
By lifting hands, and he ascended straight
To heaven, hidden by a cloud, God’s gem.

XII.

Conclusion

Of virgin born, raised from the dead–
With multiple miracles in between–
Christ Jesus, Son of God, the Way, Truth, Life–
Is Mankind’s Savior, the sacrifice,

Unblemished Lamb, the man and God who bled
For sinners, whose transgressions were wiped clean,
Salvation gained through faith by man, child, wife,
For God’s one Son has paid the perfect price.

~Day Williams

S.D.G.

38 Miracles of Jesus in Chronological Order

Miracle Matthew Mark Luke John

1 Jesus Turns Water into Wine 2:1-11
2 Jesus Heals an Official’s Son 4:43-54
3 Jesus Drives Out an Evil Spirit 1:21-27 4:31-36
4 Jesus Heals Peter’s Mother-in-Law 8:14-15 1:29-31 4:38-39
5 Jesus Heals Many Sick at Evening 8:16-17 1:32-34 4:40-41
6 First Miraculous Catch of Fish 5:1-11
7 Jesus Cleanses a Man With Leprosy 8:1-4 1:40-45 5:12-14
8 Jesus Heals a Centurion’s Servant 8:5-13 7:1-10
9 Jesus Heals a Paralytic 9:1-8 2:1-12 5:17-26
10 Jesus Heals a Man’s Withered Hand 12:9-14 3:1-6 6:6-11
11 Jesus Raises a Widow’s Son in Nain 7:11-17
12 Jesus Calms a Storm 8:23-27 4:35-41 8:22-25
13 Jesus Casts Demons into a Herd of Pigs 8:28-33 5:1-20 8:26-39
14 Jesus Heals a Woman in the Crowd 9:20-22 5:25-34 8:42-48
15 Jesus Raises Jairus’ Daughter to Life 9:18,
23-26 5:21-24,
35-43 8:40-42,
49-56
16 Jesus Heals Two Blind Men 9:27-31
17 Jesus Heals a Man Unable to Speak 9:32-34
18 Jesus Heals an Invalid at Bethesda 5:1-15
19 Jesus Feeds 5,000 14:13-21 6:30-44 9:10-17 6:1-15
20 Jesus Walks on Water 14:22-33 6:45-52 6:16-21
21 Jesus Heals Many Sick in Gennesaret 14:34-36 6:53-56
22 Jesus Heals a Gentile Woman’s Demon-Possessed Daughter 15:21-28 7:24-30
23 Jesus Heals a Deaf and Dumb Man 7:31-37
24 Jesus Feeds 4,000 15:32-39 8:1-13
25 Jesus Heals a Blind Man at Bethsaida 8:22-26
26 Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind 9:1-12
27 Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon 17:14-20 9:14-29 9:37-43
28 Miraculous Temple Tax in a Fish’s Mouth 17:24-27
29 Jesus Heals a Blind, Mute Demoniac 12:22-23 11:14-23
30 Jesus Heals a Crippled Woman 13:10-17
31 Jesus Heals a Man With Dropsy on the Sabbath 14:1-6
32 Jesus Cleanses Ten Lepers 17:11-19
33 Jesus Raises Lazarus from the Dead 11:1-45
34 Jesus Restores Sight to Bartimaeus 20:29-34 10:46-52 18:35-43
35 Jesus Withers the Fig Tree 21:18:22 11:12-14
36 Jesus Heals a Servant’s Severed Ear 22:50-51
37 Second Miraculous Catch of Fish 21:4-11
38 Ascension into Heaven Acts 1:1-11
Iambic pentameter. Pairs of 4-line stanzas with rhyme scheme: abcd abcd. Mostly rhymes. Some assonance and consonance. 3789 words.

Good Government

The patriots who made America
Great did not shrink from challenges and some
Gave their own lives–not for vacation days
And pension plans–but for the right to live

And build and love, pursuing happiness
In freedom, saved from the king’s heavy hand.
Good government comes from sound reasoning
With principles that take account of law

And human needs as well as stewardship
Of resources to meet today’s demand,
Pay debts and keep reserves for rainy days.
The Constitution and the Bill of Rights

Protect the people from abuses that
An overzealous and tyrannical
Agency or official could inflict
On citizens, who have less power than

The forces that the government can wield.
Shall government expand its reach, or stay
Within its present limits? Private groups
And companies: What influence should

They have on the decisions made for all?
What happened to states’ rights, the concept that
The States would have more power than the Feds
Except for certain areas prescribed

For them, such as the military, roads,
Post offices, treaties with other lands?
Shall not the States have rights to educate
Their citizens as they think best for them?

The President lets endless wars drag on
Like wounded beasts limping to waterholes.
He looks at profit, not the cost in lives,
And the Joint Chiefs refine their schemes for more.

What is this right of privacy that Roe
Invented to allow the baby deaths
By tens of millions, Moloch’s barbarism?
And Congress, like a boy who stubbornly

Refuses to perform his chores, has given up
Its power to declare a war . . . or not.
Without the fear of God to curb desires,
Men take the lowest, quickest roads, and men

Lose touch with lovingkindness, empathy,
And senses of fair play that drive most people.
Rogue agents and the Deep State, aided by
Some corporations linked to billionaires,

Usurp the rule of law and warp the press
So that the legal system can’t control,
Deter, or prosecute their monstrous crimes.
To have the innocents be massacred

And profit thus from short sale of the stock–
Such evil go unpunished often, which
Encourages more crime throughout the world.
Elected representatives decide

That they’ll pretend the land and money grabs
Do not take place–or they’re too compromised
To write the laws or take the actions that
Would stop the greedy globalists, who plan

To herd the masses into megacities
And social-engineer each person’s life.
The Fourth Estate, which once held government
To close account for questionable deals,

Too biased to investigate without
Regard to parties, and too indolent
To stray from corporate narratives, becomes
A hiding place for “journalists” who have

Poor ethics, while the independent press,
Still impecunious, has forged first-class
Fresh work that goes where cowards cowering
In mainstream pressrooms are afraid to go.

Who will arise to battle tyranny,
The many-headed serpent with forked tongue,
Gorged on its gold and power and control?
Sleeper, awake, help win the worthy fight.

~Day Williams