#source: trampled underfoot (the book not the song)

[maurruce]

Cheers to Bonzo’s beautiful braincell hiding drugs in a transparent drum:

I said, “Bonzo, you’d better fucking stash these somewhere.” So a little later he said to me, “Come and look.” He’d taped them to the inside of his tom-tom – forgetting of course that it was a Perspex kit so we could all see it.

[dfroza]

Today’s reading from the ancient book of Psalms

for friday, September 18 of 2020 with Psalm 18 accompanied by Psalm 91 for the 91st day of Summer and Psalm 112 for day 262 of the year

[Psalm 18]

A David Song, Which He Sang to God After Being Saved from All His Enemies and from Saul

I love you, God—

you make me strong.

God is bedrock under my feet,

the castle in which I live,

my rescuing knight.

My God—the high crag

where I run for dear life,

hiding behind the boulders,

safe in the granite hideout.

I sing to God, the Praise-Lofty,

and find myself safe and saved.

The hangman’s noose was tight at my throat;

devil waters rushed over me.

Hell’s ropes cinched me tight;

death traps barred every exit.

A hostile world! I call to God,

I cry to God to help me.

From his palace he hears my call;

my cry brings me right into his presence—

a private audience!

Earth wobbles and lurches;

huge mountains shake like leaves,

Quake like aspen leaves

because of his rage.

His nostrils flare, bellowing smoke;

his mouth spits fire.

Tongues of fire dart in and out;

he lowers the sky.

He steps down;

under his feet an abyss opens up.

He’s riding a winged creature,

swift on wind-wings.

Now he’s wrapped himself

in a trenchcoat of black-cloud darkness.

But his cloud-brightness bursts through,

spraying hailstones and fireballs.

Then God thundered out of heaven;

the High God gave a great shout,

spraying hailstones and fireballs.

God shoots his arrows—pandemonium!

He hurls his lightnings—a rout!

The secret sources of ocean are exposed,

the hidden depths of earth lie uncovered

The moment you roar in protest,

let loose your hurricane anger.

But me he caught—reached all the way

from sky to sea; he pulled me out

Of that ocean of hate, that enemy chaos,

the void in which I was drowning.

They hit me when I was down,

but God stuck by me.

He stood me up on a wide-open field;

I stood there saved—surprised to be loved!

God made my life complete

when I placed all the pieces before him.

When I got my act together,

he gave me a fresh start.

Now I’m alert to God’s ways;

I don’t take God for granted.

Every day I review the ways he works;

I try not to miss a trick.

I feel put back together,

and I’m watching my step.

God rewrote the text of my life

when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.

The good people taste your goodness,

The whole people taste your health,

The true people taste your truth,

The bad ones can’t figure you out.

You take the side of the down-and-out,

But the stuck-up you take down a peg.

Suddenly, God, you floodlight my life;

I’m blazing with glory, God’s glory!

I smash the bands of marauders,

I vault the highest fences.

What a God! His road

stretches straight and smooth.

Every God-direction is road-tested.

Everyone who runs toward him

Makes it.

Is there any god like God?

Are we not at bedrock?

Is not this the God who armed me,

then aimed me in the right direction?

Now I run like a deer;

I’m king of the mountain.

He shows me how to fight;

I can bend a bronze bow!

You protect me with salvation-armor;

you hold me up with a firm hand,

caress me with your gentle ways.

You cleared the ground under me

so my footing was firm.

When I chased my enemies I caught them;

I didn’t let go till they were dead men.

I nailed them; they were down for good;

then I walked all over them.

You armed me well for this fight,

you smashed the upstarts.

You made my enemies turn tail,

and I wiped out the haters.

They cried “uncle”

but Uncle didn’t come;

They yelled for God

and got no for an answer.

I ground them to dust; they gusted in the wind.

I threw them out, like garbage in the gutter.

You rescued me from a squabbling people;

you made me a leader of nations.

People I’d never heard of served me;

the moment they got wind of me they listened.

The foreign devils gave up; they came

on their bellies, crawling from their hideouts.

Live, God! Blessings from my Rock,

my free and freeing God, towering!

This God set things right for me

and shut up the people who talked back.

He rescued me from enemy anger,

he pulled me from the grip of upstarts,

He saved me from the bullies.

That’s why I’m thanking you, God,

all over the world.

That’s why I’m singing songs

that rhyme your name.

God’s king takes the trophy;

God’s chosen is beloved.

I mean David and all his children—

always.

The Book of Psalms, Poem 18 (The Message)

[Psalm 91]

He who takes refuge in the shelter of the Most High

will be safe in the shadow of the Almighty.

He will say to the Eternal, “My shelter, my mighty fortress,

my God, I place all my trust in You.”

For He will rescue you from the snares set by your enemies who entrap you

and from deadly plagues.

Like a bird protecting its young, God will cover you with His feathers,

will protect you under His great wings;

His faithfulness will form a shield around you, a rock-solid wall to protect you.

You will not dread the terrors that haunt the night

or enemy arrows that fly in the day

Or the plagues that lurk in darkness

or the disasters that wreak havoc at noon.

A thousand may fall on your left,

ten thousand may die on your right,

but these horrors won’t come near you.

Only your eyes will witness

the punishment that awaits the evil,

but you will not suffer because of it.

For you made the Eternal [your] refuge,

the Most High your only home.

No evil will come to you;

plagues will be turned away at your door.

He will command His heavenly messengers to guard you,

to keep you safe in every way.

They will hold you up in their hands

so that you will not crash, or fall, or even graze your foot on a stone.

You will walk on the lion and the cobra;

you will trample the lion and the serpent underfoot.

“Because he clings to Me in love,

I will rescue him from harm;

I will set him above danger.

Because he has known Me by name,

He will call on Me, and I will answer.

I’ll be with him through hard times;

I’ll rescue him and grant him honor.

I’ll reward him with many good years on this earth

and let him witness My salvation.”

The Book of Psalms, Poem 91 (The Voice)

[Psalm 112]

The Triumph of Faith

Shout in celebration of praise to the Lord!

Everyone who loves the Lord and delights in him

will cherish his words and be blessed beyond expectation.

Their descendants will be prosperous and influential.

Every generation of his godly lovers will experience his favor.

Great blessing and wealth fills the house of the wise,

for their integrity endures forever.

Even if darkness overtakes them,

sunrise-brilliance will come bursting through

because they are gracious to others, so tender and true.

Life is good for the one who is generous and charitable,

conducting affairs with honesty and truth.

Their circumstances will never shake them

and others will never forget their example.

They will not live in fear or dread of what may come,

for their hearts are firm, ever secure in their faith.

Steady and strong, they will not be afraid,

but will calmly face their every foe

until they all go down in defeat.

Never stingy and always generous to those in need,

their lives of influence and honor will never be forgotten,

for they were full of good deeds.

But the wicked take one look at a life lived like this

and they grit their teeth in anger, not understanding their bliss.

The wicked slink away speechless in the darkness that falls,

where hope dies and all their dreams fade away to nothing,

nothing at all!

The Book of Psalms, Poem 112 (The Passion Translation)