DOGS AND SWINE

 

He is the way, the truth, and the life.

And you claim to know the truth?

You, a worker of iniquity.

Yet I am also a worker of iniquity.

 

I have tried to succeed by my own hands,

And at the end of a day’s work

I have not washed them clean;

Yet He has washed all of me.

 

O Lord, that I may be restored

In the joy of Your salvation;

That I may teach Your ways

And not shout my own opinions.

 

For I have said, “Dogs are greater than swine,

Having more use alive than dead.”

I have argued evening and morning and at noon,

Until our distance was more than I could bear.

 

And I cried out to You,

Oh, my Father in heaven,

That I may be perfect like You.

That I may be like You.

 

For even the shadow of the smallest bird

Closes me in darkness as he passes,

And there I would remain in my agony

If not for the hope of You.

 

I listen to them argue

About the greatness of the dog,

And the greatness of the swine;

Both are wicked enemies of Yours.

 

They are wicked enemies of mine,

And I hold my tongue in their presence;

Yet even they do not harass me

Or instill in me this anguish.

 

But it is you who called yourself my brother,

And walked with me in the house of God;

Oh, you who has tormented me with hatred

Because you love the swine before the dog.

 

Please, take your swine,

Just as pride goes before destruction;

And my heart will break

At the frailty of your strength.

 

I pray most earnestly for you

Who judges with great measure,

Not the sin, but the speck;

Not the evil, but the appearance.

 

For you whose judgment

Will be measured back to you;

For you who I love,

Though you do not love me.

 

My heart is heavy;

My sorrows have multiplied.

I cast my burden on the Lord,

For I know He will sustain me.

 

Yet I am torn;

I am heartbroken and I am frail;

I am overcome by my iniquities;

And I am crying out to You, O Lord!

 

Do not turn Your ears from my voice;

For even my own father has done so.

Do not turn Your eyes from my pain;

For even my own mother has done so.

 

Do not turn Your back on me;

For even my own brothers and sisters have done so.

And I cry, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!

I would fly away and be at rest.

 

“Indeed, I would wander far off,

And remain in the wilderness.

I would hasten my escape

From the windy storm and tempest.”

 

I am a beggar; I am a wicked man.

I am a poor man at God’s doorstep.

The Lord shall hear my voice,

 And He shall save me.

 

Matthew 6:48; Matthew 7:1-2; Psalm 51:12-13; Psalm 55:6-8, 12-14, 16-17