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Splendid Majesty

“I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your
majesty, and on Your wondrous works.”
—Psalm 145:5

I tried to meditate upon
the splendor of Your majesty
and rose each day before the dawn
to gaze around expectantly.

The colors of the pre-dawn sky
would weave their daily tapestry
and awed me for a while but I
soon saw just pleasant scenery.

Each waterfall, each baby’s birth,
each bird that sang a brand-new song,
each miracle upon the Earth
grew commonplace before too long.

I took for granted what should awe
me while I sought new stimuli
that at first bite would drop my jaw
but over time would stultify.

I prayed and fasted in my bid
to glimpse You in totality.
From time to time I thought I did,
but each time You eluded me.

At wit’s end, I was at a loss
but by Your grace, you helped me see
no nails could keep You on that Cross,
it was Your splendid majesty.

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Warren Bonham is a private equity investor who lives in Southlake, Texas.

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9 Responses

  1. Roy Eugene Peterson

    Warren, another wonderful poem of yours to consider and contemplate. I can feel the spiritual inspiration contained therein with splendid rhyme.

    Reply
    • Warren Bonham

      Thanks! I don’t know why, but I’ve always found it difficult to wrap my head around His wondrous works even though we’re surrounded by them.

      Reply
  2. Cynthia Erlandson

    This is such an insightful poem, Warren. It recalled to me the scripture that tells us that no one can see God’s face and live; and also T.S. Eliot’s line, “Humankind cannot bear very much reality.”

    Reply
    • Warren Bonham

      My education continues. I’m not familiar with that line from Eliot but it applies very well here. Thanks!

      Reply
  3. Gigi Ryan

    Dear Warren,
    As beautiful and glorious as nature is, in the end, nothing can truly move the soul the way the awe of the Cross and all that it means can. Redemption never grows commonplace. Thank you for such a beautiful reminder.
    Gigi

    Reply
    • Warren Bonham

      That is very well put and captures what I was trying to say. That voluntary act of self-sacrifice when it would have been so easy to stop it at any time puts everything in perspective.

      Reply
  4. Margaret Coats

    What a wondrous meditation, Warren! It first looks for a God and King in the glories of nature, but encounters foreseeable difficulties. How and where does God best show His royal qualities? Your language at once plain and exalted finds the answer in the Cross. You are in good company. Ancient hymnwriter Venantius Fortunatus says in his “Vexilla Regis” for Passiontide, “God reigned from a Tree,” basing the line on interpretation of Psalm 96:10 by Church Fathers.

    Reply
    • Warren Bonham

      Thanks! Even though I spend a lot of time outdoors, I’ve never been able to meditate for long on the glories of nature. The Cross is in a completely different category. I don’t know many ancient hymnwriters (Fortunatus is on the list of those I’m not familiar with). It always amazes me that people who knew so much less about the world around them knew so much more about their place in that world.

      Reply
  5. Paul A. Freeman

    It can take much to prevent us taking everything for granted, but generally I take a bit of time each day and think of something.

    A very thoughtful and thought-provoking poem, Warren.

    Reply

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