*job Chapter 38 Poem by Gary Bryson

Then the Lord answered Job and said:

Who is this who distorts my words,
And does so with knowledge that’s vain,
Face the facts, stand like a man,
And real wisdom you will attain.

Where were you when I formed the earth,
And set all things to be.
Who measured its length, its height, its girth,
And created land and sea.

Or once the foundations had been set,
And the cornerstone had been laid,
Who numbered the stars where the Angels met,
Their glory all arrayed

Who shut the sea behind the doors,
And holds it in its place?
And who clothed the land with clouds adorned,
Or the night for land to embrace.

When I fixed the limits of land and shore,
And set what ties would bind;
I said “come here”, but advance no more,
Your waves the beach will find.

Can you issue orders to the sun,
Or show the dawn it’s place?
Or punish the evil that was done,
Or show the world my Grace?

I shape the earth like potters clay,
And clothed it with my Glory.
I denied the wicked the light of day,
And left them broken, in pain, and worry.

Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea?
Or walked the oceans deep?
Or have the gates of death been shown to you,
While in the shadow of death you sleep.

Or do you know the expanse of earth?
If you do, then tell me all.
Or explain to me the meaning of light,
Or where the darkness falls.

Can you understand all that is,
Or trace all things to their source?
Or surely you knew before you were born,
Your length of life and course.



So have you ever found the source of snow?
Or entered the treasuries of hail,
Which I have reserved for times of trouble,
From war when peace will fail.

What power does the lightening hold?
Or the winds upon the earth?
And who carves the valleys for torrents of rain,
Or gives thunderstorms their birth.

Can you water the land where no man lives?
A desert with no life in it.
Or can you make the wasteland flourish green,
And cause the desert to submit?

Can rain have a father who drops the dew?
Or from whose womb will come the ice?
Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens above,
Frozen waters and land entice.

Can you bind the beautiful Pleiades?
Or loose the cords of Orion?
Can you create constellations in their seasons,
Or lead the stars to Zion?

Do you understand the laws of heaven?
Can you set dominion over earth?
Can you raise your voice above the clouds?
Or create water as if in birth.

Do you send the lightening on its way?
Or does it submit to you its paths?
Or who endowed you with wisdom of all,
Of mercy and of wrath?

Who gave you wisdom to count the clouds?
Or release the water in rain?
Or when the land is hard and parched,
Can you revive it all again?

Can you hunt the prey of the lioness?
Or the hunger of lions satiate?
All nature has its path laid out,
All nature has its fate.

No wisdom, no answers can you provide,
When the earth cries out to the Lord.
Commit to all and heed the call,
We submit in one accord.

1/13/05