Spiritual Blindness

I see but i do not see everything
For my eyes were created to look and gaze
And direct my ways on the path of life
To search far and wide for an open sky
For a newness of life, a new light

I enjoy the view that makes life new
That opens my eyes to all the surrounds
And shall I gaze even farther still
To see a faint hue of that promised land
Of trees and mountains, fountains and fruit

I wonder should I keep going or just settle in?
Make this world my home and set up a tent
So all my goals will be met as well as I've planned
Or should I continue to forgoe these walls
Keep ever pressing on towards your rewards
Rewards even better and lasting forever

With light as my guide through the night
Your star I see in the north from a far
But if I shall gaze on the bright daylight star
I would lose all direction and become blind
Seeking that which is so bright

Transfixed in its beams and subject to its power
The sun shines on even the tiniest of flowers
Yet face it for long and I would lose face
Is this the power reflected in grace?

And yet I'm drawn to it, I yearn ever still
I bask in its warmth for a glimpse shall not kill
But kill indeed I would vanish with ease
Were I subjected completely without release

The light I so fully beheld and desired
Would become my end in a consuming fire

The paradox is sure and I shall explain
The word it is certain and never betrays

He who created the light and eye in His power
Refines the impure and grinds it to powder
To pound out the wicked on His threshing floor
And purify the world from evil once more

He rises in vengeance to bring justice and truth
And rides with His glory and purpose for earth
And all who shall look upon His face shining holy
Shall erupt in a flame in the light of His glory

Deuteronomy 29:1-6

Renewal of the Covenant

1 These are the terms of the covenant the LORD commanded Moses to make with the Israelites in Moab, in addition to the covenant he had made with them at Horeb.
2 Moses summoned all the Israelites and said to them:
Your eyes have seen all that the LORD did in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials and to all his land. 3 With your own eyes you saw those great trials, those miraculous signs and great wonders. 4 But to this day the LORD has not given you a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear. 5 During the forty years that I led you through the desert, your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet. 6 You ate no bread and drank no wine or other fermented drink. I did this so that you might know that I am the LORD your God.

Psalm 115

1 Not to us, O LORD, not to us
but to your name be the glory,
because of your love and faithfulness.

2 Why do the nations say,
"Where is their God?"

3 Our God is in heaven;
he does whatever pleases him.

4 But their idols are silver and gold,
made by the hands of men.

5 They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but they cannot see;

6 they have ears, but cannot hear,
noses, but they cannot smell;

7 they have hands, but cannot feel,
feet, but they cannot walk;
nor can they utter a sound with their throats.

8 Those who make them will be like them,
and so will all who trust in them.

9 O house of Israel, trust in the LORD—
he is their help and shield.

10 O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD—
he is their help and shield.

11 You who fear him, trust in the LORD—
he is their help and shield.

12 The LORD remembers us and will bless us:
He will bless the house of Israel,
he will bless the house of Aaron,

13 he will bless those who fear the LORD—
small and great alike.

14 May the LORD make you increase,
both you and your children.

15 May you be blessed by the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

16 The highest heavens belong to the LORD,
but the earth he has given to man.

17 It is not the dead who praise the LORD,
those who go down to silence;

18 it is we who extol the LORD,
both now and forevermore.
Praise the LORD. [a]

Footnotes:

Psalm 115:18 Hebrew Hallelu Yah

Isaiah 32

The Kingdom of Righteousness

1 See, a king will reign in righteousness
and rulers will rule with justice.
2 Each man will be like a shelter from the wind
and a refuge from the storm,
like streams of water in the desert
and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land.

3 Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed,
and the ears of those who hear will listen.

4 The mind of the rash will know and understand,
and the stammering tongue will be fluent and clear.

5 No longer will the fool be called noble
nor the scoundrel be highly respected.

6 For the fool speaks folly,
his mind is busy with evil:
He practices ungodliness
and spreads error concerning the LORD;
the hungry he leaves empty
and from the thirsty he withholds water.

7 The scoundrel's methods are wicked,
he makes up evil schemes
to destroy the poor with lies,
even when the plea of the needy is just.

8 But the noble man makes noble plans,
and by noble deeds he stands.