Psalms and Creative Writing: A Shining Path

The Lord, wearing a cloak of
thick, dark clouds, hunts his enemies.
The Lord’s breath of fire
incinerates anyone who
stands against him.
His spears of lightening
illuminate the night sky.
The earth trembles and
the mountains melt like wax.
Yet, the Lord sows light
for the righteous,
creating a shining path.
–Terry Chitwood.

In my creative interpretation of a part of Psalm 97, the Lord wears various guises: a hunter of enemies who wears a cloak of storm clouds, breathes fire, and throws lightning bolts like spears; a shaker of the earth; a melter of mountains, a sower of light; and the creator of the shining path. One God, many manifestations. God is not limited to a particular form nor bound by spacetime.

A Paradoxical God

The God of the Psalms exudes power and doesn’t tolerate His adversaries. He loves to be praised and worshiped, sung to and sung about, and recognized as good and faithful. He is a God of paradoxes . . . a God of extremes. A perfect God to write about.

Riddles

The Lord is a wild wind blowing us along the path, a twisting and turning way fraught with danger, full of surprises, containing many riddles only solved by answers found . . . further along the way. Our path ends at the beginning, coming full circle to make us whole—and holy. It is a sacred path that turns each of our souls to gold.

Photo Credit: Photo by subbotina.