Proverbs 3:5-6

Proverbs 3:5-6

6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

7 ¶Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.

Sonnet 491 Proverbs 3: 5-6
(With apologies to George Macdonald and C.S. Lewis)

The natural man, and I mean “he”, not “she”
Is loath to seek directions on his way
Although he may find map reading a key
His instinct is to try each path in play.

And preference for going his own way
To even being on the better track
Can set into his nature day by day
Until he’s lost all want for coming back.

And since he now has not the will to say
In truth and love to God, “Thy will be done”
Then God will sadly say to him some day
In truth and love,“Thy will be done, my son.”

Oh grant me strength to ask, to plead to know
The path for me that God would gladly show.

Psalm 127:3

Psalm 127:3

3 Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

Sonnet 704 Psalm 127:3

Most miracles are very soon forgot
If even ever noticed as they came
But even interventions humbly sought
May burn a while then die out like a flame.

And some rewards are quickly gone away
There's some we eat and others that get broke
And some get lost or simply go astray
Or tossed in trash or go straight up in smoke.

But children are an everlasting gift
A miracle eternal owned and named
And even if they stray or go adrift
Their spirits can through sealings be reclaimed.

When all is said and done for time on earth
The family is the thing of greatest worth.

Psalm 119:105

Psalm 119:105

105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Sonnet 703 Psalm 119:105

We know from writ* that God is Word and Light
The light and life of every man from birth
That darkness comprehended not the sight
Of light that shineth over all the earth.

And this is light and knowledge so profound
That metaphor explodes into the real
All meaning and direction can be found
Because of what the word and light reveal.

So move your feet and scurry on your way
Employing as you go in faith the lamp
That shows the only path in night or day
Upon which faithful saints should want to tramp.

He is the Way, the Word, the Light, the Lamb
The Truth, the Rock, the Bread, the Life, the Lamp.

* John 1:1-9

Psalm 24:3-4

Psalm 24:3-4

3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?

4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.

Sonnet 702 Psalm 24:3-4

I wouldn't like to judge another's heart

Or even make a judgement of his hands

But much of common culture and its art

Must even seem unclean to total fans.

So much of what is popular is vain

And wickedness and narcissism rules

And more and more, embracing the profane

Is standardized procedure for these fools.

But you should want to stand above this waste

To climb towards the Lord for His embrace

Be clean and pure and temperate and chaste

Empowered by His everlasting grace.

So make your stand for holiness succeed

Through cleanliness in every word and deed.

1 Samuel 16:7

1 Samuel 16:7

7 But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.

Sonnet 701 1 Samuel 16:7

There seems to be a market for good looks

There's lotions and there's potions and there's gels

There's surgery enough to fill up books

And it seems like almost any option sells.

Add in tattoos and liposuction too

And jewelry and wigs and botox shots

And there is almost nothing we won't do

To change appearances that life allots.

Does anyone remember in this haste

To mutilate with plastic body art

That God is unimpressed with such a waste

His vision being focused on the heart.

Don't fret or worship at your looking glass

It didn't come to stay, it came to pass.

Joshua 24:15

Joshua 24:15

15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Sonnet 700 Joshua 24:15

Sometimes the truth is elegantly found

And stated in a way that clears the mind

And this, a declaration so profound

Is of that elegant and truthful kind.

The fundamental answer to this test

Should be as Joshua has said so well

“I'll serve the Lord ahead of all the rest.

And any other master I'll repel.”

And if you take you family on this course

And covenant in sacred binding ways

You'll wed your feeble efforts to a Force

That makes a glory of your earthly days.

You fought the war in heaven for this right

So make and keep this choice with delight.

Exodus 20:3-17 (#11) Thou shalt not bear false witness

Sonnet 699 Exodus 20:3-17 (#11) Thou shalt not bear false witness

This happens all the time in courts of law

And sadly in the parliaments of man

And even will some research people draw

False witness to defend their science plan.

This means that much of what we have for laws

And all the trials heard from day to day

Are tainted by these testimony flaws

And truth and consequence are gone astray.

But most of us don't have a day in court

Or testify to congress anyway

Or make or publish findings of import

We just go on with living day to day.

But still we have the chance to break this law

When gossiping becomes our lowly flaw.

Exodus 20:3-17 (#10) Thou shalt not steal.

Sonnet 698 Exodus 20:3-17 (#10) Thou shalt not steal.

I read this law as wide and very strong

Entailing every breach of honesty

Forbidding almost any kind of wrong

And not just grand or petty larceny.

And focus on the things that theft involves

And not just on the money or the stuff

And soon a host of thieveries evolves

Until each honest robber shouts “Enough!”

There's reputation high up on the list

And time and trust and peace of heart and mind

And hope and promise too should not be missed

When things purloined are honestly defined.

And we should pray in faith each time we kneel

To be forgiven for the things we steal.

Exodus 20:3-17 (#9) Thou shalt not commit adultery

Sonnet 697 Exodus 20:3-17 (#9) Thou shalt not commit adultery

Beyond the common meaning of the word

In Hebrew and by inference in play

Is a commandment needing to be heard

To not pollute your worship any way.

Apostasy is quite the ancient threat

As old and new as sexual designs

Devotion to the Lord must be well set

Adulterated worship undermines.

Thus chasing after gods of stone or gold

Is much the same as faithlessness to wife

As this commandment covers, we are told

The unadulterated view of life.

So if you want full blessings in your house

You must be true to God and to your spouse.

Exodus 20:3-17 (#8) Thou shalt not commit adultery

Sonnet 696 Exodus 20:3-17 (#8) Thou shalt not commit adultery

Of all the common villainies of man

Of all the things self evidently low

Of all the things against which we should plan

Adultery is as bad as man can go.

Of all the common virtues of a man

Of all the things self evidently great

Of all the things for which we ought to plan

Fidelity's the loftiest estate.

Companion virtues that attend the blessed

Are loyalty and chastity and love

With modesty and decency they best

Encompass what true goodness consists of.

Determine now to find and keep the way

That guards against temptations to betray.

Exodus 20:3-17 (#7) Thou shalt not kill

Sonnet 695 Exodus 20:3-17 (#7) Thou shalt not kill.

My Hebrew is as weak as weak can be
But I can study out a word or two
And sometimes, in my weakness, I can see
That English words in scripture aren't quite true.

The origin of “kill” is such a case
In English it's as broad as broad can be
And much more than the murder of the race
It could include the swatting of a flea.

But this translation isn't really right
The Hebrew word is narrowly defined
To cover only homicidal spite
The wanton sorts of murder of mankind.

For good advice on killing as a sport
I recommend you study this report.*

*Fundamental Principles to Ponder and Live 
President Spencer W. Kimball, Ensign, Nov. 1978, 43
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1978/10/fundamental-principles-to-ponder-and-live?lang=eng

Exodus 20:3-17 (#6) Honour thy father and thy mother

Sonnet 694 Exodus 20:3-17 (#6) Honour thy father and thy mother

Our parents come in every shape and size
Invisible, invasive or inane
Inadequate, inactive or unwise
And humble, true, indifferent and vain.

And some are rich, solicitous and kind
And others greedy, poor and hard to please
And many best described as unrefined
While others climb the social scale with ease.

And yet no matter where your parents fit
In goodness or in evil or in place
You honour them by living bit by bit
Above the fortunes of your family base.

Until if everyone would turn this key
The world would be a better place to be.

Exodus 20:3-17 (#5) Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Sonnet 693 Exodus 20:3-17 (#5) Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

And I thank heaven for the Sabbath day
A challenge for me one day of the week
To use the time in such proper way
To make it holy, restful and unique.

So many now will work or play at will
Or shop or do their housework just as rote
And seldom even think to try to fill
The day with anything of worthy note.

And so this gift of glory goes unclaimed
And lost to legions who by NFL
Or beach or such distractions surely framed
Their narrow reach to things terrestrial.

Please make you sign of faith by Sabbath days
That celebrate and bless in holy ways.

Exodus 20:3-37 (#4) Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain

Sonnet 692 Exodus 20:3-37 (#4) Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain

Though swearing and expletives are just wrong
Yet many seem in love with the profane
And loose their filthy tongues in word and song
Thus showing coarse and vacuous disdain.

And vanity exhibited this way
May even hide behind more gentle talk
So this commandment covers what we say
And also has to do with how we walk.

For how can anyone be truly right
In keeping God ahead in their domain
Or serve and worship Him both day and night
If wilfully they take his name in vain?

So keeping score along commandment trail -
If you don't keep the third the others fail.

Exodus 20:3-17 (#3) Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image

Sonnet 692 Exodus 20:3-17 (#3) Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image

It's fine to put a picture on your wall
As long as it's not something you adore
It's fine to make a drawing or a scrawl
As long as it's not something you implore.

And you can even make a graven thing
And put it in your living room for fun
But don't be thinking it will ever bring
Good luck, or happiness, or battles won.

And don't be bowing down at any cost
Before the things that hands have ever made
Or serving anything that's been embossed
Cause God gets angry when He's been betrayed.

Look to the law and to the prophets too
And God will show his mercy unto to you.

Exodus 20:3-17 (#2) Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Sonnet 691 Exodus 20:3-17 (#2) Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

On scales of one to ten where ten is best
And one is really really really dumb
This number one commandment beats the rest
A ten, and first among all rules of thumb.

And yet we get temptations not a few
To put the dumbest things ahead of God
And stumble in the first of what to do
By choosing secondary paths to trod.

Examine what you do from hour to hour
Or day or week or month or year or more
And see if you incorporate the power
Of having put no other God before.

So carefully prioritize your way
And do it every time you kneel to pray.

Exodus 20:3-17

Exodus 20:3-17

3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

7 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

12 ¶Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

13 Thou shalt not kill.

14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.

15 Thou shalt not steal.

16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.

Sonnet 689 Exodus 20:3-17

When people as a group or one on one
Decide to live without a moral law
The seeds of awful misery thus begun
Will lead those people to a tragic flaw.

And founding fathers wisely have not failed
To see the wisdom of the Maker's tools
And codes and constitutions are detailed
To follow more or less these ten best rules.

Still time goes on and nations seem to stray
As principles are compromised and tossed
Until the love of sinning wins the day
And laws are changed and peace and safety lost.

So even as our legal systems fail
Make sure, for you, that these commands prevail.

Exodus 19:5-6 (#2)

Exodus 19:5-6

5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:

6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

Sonnet 688 Exodus 19:5-6 (#2)

On Sunday in the pews and wide awake

Reviewing and renewing by degree

Commandments and the covenants we make

The Church is where the saints of God should be.

In harmony and hope throughout the week

Our hearts and hands united in the plea

To care and bless and be among the meek

The Church is where the saints of God should be.

In meetings or in visits or in class

In songs of praise or quiet bended knee

To see beyond this world's darkened glass

The Church is where the saints of God should be.

A treasure seeker's solemn guarantee -

The Church is where the saints of God should be.

Exodus 19:5-6

Exodus 19:5-6

5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:

6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

Sonnet 687 Exodus 19:5-6

Hell's Angels and the Asian gangs and such

Rotarians and Kinsmen and the like

And former Army buddies stay in touch

While bowling leagues maintain the right to strike.

It's all about belonging to a group

For safety, friendship, fun and profit too

We tend to want to be within the loop

Of those we feel some kind of kinship through.

And never mind those rabid sports team fans

Or politics or music devotees

Or unions, buffs or fishermen or clans

We all belong to one or more of these.

But one stands out in treasure and in trust

Belonging to the fold of God's a must.

Moses 7:18 (#2)

Moses 7:18
And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them.

Sonnet 500 Moses 7:18 (#2)
By Tom Matkin 

It’s hard to even dream of such a place
Where everyone is of one heart and mind
And where there is not even any trace
Of anything unrighteous or unkind.

And more that even that I find it hard
To fathom life without the poor around
No weak, no foolish, and no lame or scarred
No low, no slow, no simple and no clown.

No hungry and no hostages of fate
No puny or pathetic hanging back
No beggars and no blind to contemplate
No lazy with their lives all out of whack.

And where do you suppose that you will be
When Zion is declared to be poor-free?

Moses 1:39 (#2)

Moses 1:39
For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.

Sonnet 499 Moses 1:39 (#2)
By Tom Matkin 

That battle that began before this time
Is all about the agency of man
It’s not a point that’s subtle or sublime
You choose your fate by picking out a plan.

The one is mis’ry all dressed up as fun
The rebel call in irony complete
By disobedience their fates undone
They lose it all by opting for a cheat.

The other is surrender to a way
That works a mighty paradox of love
Your freedom found by learning to obey
A Father who defends you from above.

His work and glory tied to your success
His focus is entirely to bless.

Genesis 39:9

Genesis 39:9

9 There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?

Sonnet 686 Genesis 39:9

Temptation can be countered and denied

And passions can be bridled and controlled

But sometimes you must run from troubles side

In haste, in strength, to break the tempters hold.

And in the grasp is not the moment to

Consider all the wrongness of that course

As best we can we ought to work it through

Before the hand of evil grabs full force.

Decide today your avenues of flight

And better still determine to avoid

The places where enticements likely might

Be cultivated, sanctioned and enjoyed.

Temptation can be properly withstood

When we plan out the how of being good.

Genesis 2:24

Genesis 2:24

 24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

Sonnet 685 Genesis 2:24
by Tom Matkin

Before the Ten Commandments were in stone
Well, just as soon and Eve and Adam were
They were enjoined to go through life alone
Thus marriage is the life we should prefer.

And we can tinker with this if we will
And choose perhaps to never even leave
But if we do we'll never quite fulfill
The blessings of obedience to cleave.

And something that I'll teach you from my heart
There's nothing in this life as good as this
Not money, fame or power as a start
Compares in any way to wedded bliss.

And add to this a child or two or more
And life has given all you could ask for.

Genesis 1:26-27 (#3)

Genesis 1:26-27

26 ¶And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Sonnet 684 Genesis 1:26-27 (#3)
by Tom Matkin

There are some scary animals at large
The jungle cats, the rhinos and the like
And whales as big as almost any barge
And sharks and snakes with venom in their strike.

But nothing else is dominant like man
Who has a way with weapons unsurpassed
And who by dint of following a plan
Subdues all other species first to last.

So nothing really challenges man's place
Nor could it since God planned it out that way
It suits His purpose for the human race
To have this gift so agency's in play.

So being unafraid of any other
Has left man free to terrify his brother.

Genesis 1:26-27 (#2)

Genesis 1:26-27

26 ¶And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Sonnet 683 Genesis 1:26-27 (#2)
by Tom Matkin

It should not be a stretch of any sort
To understand the way this all played out
What other image could a child sport?
A son should mirror his Father without doubt.

So now the common looking glass displays
The face of God for anyone to see
And so in wonderment we ought to gaze
And find there our potentiality.

If all you see is just you looking back
Or worse, a hardened mask of selfishness
Repent and get yourself back on the track
To claim your heritage of godliness.

“His image in your countenance” expounds
Inheritance that knows no earthly bounds.

Genesis 1:26-27

Genesis 1:26-27

26 ¶And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Sonnet 682 Genesis 1:26-27
by Tom Matkin

All things denote there is a God above
The beauty and the order which abound
The majesty of mountains and of love
The music and variety of sound.

And added to the miracle of birth
And firmaments that glorify His hand
And all the other evidence of earth
Is God's averment all of this was planned.

So stand in awe of touch and sounds and sights
That quicken in our nature worship's ken
But also in your heart receive the rites
That comfort, teach and testify to men.

Thus you must pray to find, as I have done
Your witness of the Father. And the Son.

Abraham 3:22-23

Abraham 3:22-23
22 Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones;

 23 And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born.

Sonnet 681 Abraham 3:22-23
by Tom Matkin

Don't get too focused on the here and now

Don't take the pain and joys of each day

And set them as a feature you endow

With undeserved eminent display.

Don't get me wrong the present knows us best

In fact, the moment's all we really own

And nothing can be changed or done to wrest

Control from its uncompromising throne.

But still to not attend to what was done

Or fail to point or plan or pray ahead

Would be to not anticipate the sun

Because a night has put your day to bed.

So navigate the present with intent

To reach the future heaven's past has sent.

Moses 7:18

Moses 7:18 And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them.

Sonnet 680 Moses 7:18

by Tom Matkin

Well, how to be united heart and soul

When pride and selfish interests inspire?

We must, as many, make one common goal

Conforming to the truth and not desire.

Well, how to overcome the bane of sin

When evil's so ubiquitous and strong?

We must in humble attitude begin

By cleansing our own vessel of all wrong.

Well, how to do away with poverty

When programs seem in vain and overpriced?

We must be sure that all our charity

Is rooted in the purest love of Christ.

One thing for sure in search of Zioness

Success depends on personal progress.

Moses 1:39

Old Testament

Moses 1:39 For behold, this is my work and my glory - to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.

Sonnet 679 Moses 1:39
by Tom Matkin

Our God who set the universe in space

Who organized the stars and planets too

Who put the sun and moon and earth in place

Did all of this and more for me and you.

Our God who crafted gardens, rocks and hills

Who made the ice, the raindrops and the dew

Who gathered seas and oceans, lakes and rills

Did all of this and more for me and you.

Our God who sent his Son to die to win

And overcome the fall and to renew

His spirit children from both death and sin

Did all of this and more for me and you.

And gave us prophets, prayer and parents too

And all of this and more for me and you.