Christmas

Part of my work time is spent in the Lab.  In the Lab they play the Radio.  The only station that the Radio receives is a Pop-music station and from Thanksgiving to Christmas it ONLY plays "Christmas" music.

I have a lot of time to think about the lyrics.

All I can say is that modern Christmas songs are so devoid of deep content, focusing solely on emotions and feelings and warm, fuzzy "feel-goods" without anything to substantiate those feelings.

It reminded me of this poem that I wrote a long while back.

I see the twinkle in the sky, the spark-

    ling diamonds in a tree—‘tis shining bright

    against the dark: vivid colors of light.

I hear the sounds of people’s voices—Hark!

The glad carols peal across the cold night sky,

    proclaiming loud the News, the Gospel fair.

    I feel the crisp-fresh air, the crunching where

The shoes meet frozen turf—I know God is nigh!

‘Tis Christmas time and no silver bells could

    ever tell the gratitude of mine:

   My Jesus—my Lord God—though still divine

did take the form of man and for me stood

       to bear my punishment. My Lord, my King,

       of You my soul and Christmas shout and sing!

David Benning, 24 Dec 1981

Storm Beauty

UC Davis, December 2014, © D. Benning

GLORY be to God for stormy days—
   For skies of sodden-color as of foggy air;
     For roiling clouds all bunched up, jostling forth in flight;
Fresh rainfall, water-fall on sidewalk plays;
  Landscaped tossed and mottled—dank, drippy, misty snare;
    And all winds, their force and bluster and might.

All things showery, soggy, wet, dank;
  Whatever is blowing, blusterous (who knows how?)
    With swift, wild, dark, light; flashy, dim;
God fathers-forth—His glory without rank:
            Praise him.

- D. Benning
Originally written in Oct 2009
 

UC Davis, December 2014, © D. Benning

A Carpet of Lights

Looking out the window on the long, trans-Atlantic, night flight home, I was taken with how beautiful all the lights were: lights of the big dipper high above the wing to the north, lights of at least two thunder storms over Naples and the north coast of Spain, but especially the lights of civilization far below.  Sometimes the cluster of lights was quite small, sometimes huge.  But even at 40,000 feet elevation, the individual lights were discernible.  And that's when I thought about how God can see us and even more clearly discern each of us.  This poem came as a result.

A Carpet of Lights

David Benning, 13-Sep-2014

Glittering,
   Sparkling,
      Carpet of tiny lights.
Dazzling,
   Twinkling,
      Strewn under velvet night.

Mesmerizing grove,
   Trimmed and cropped short,
      Placed between earth and sky;
Variegated textures
   Stippled down below—
      Multi-hued points capture the eye.

Through the window
   Downward I peer,
      Ensconced in night and metal jet.
High overhead
   Lone eye looks down,
      Spreading on water, land and cloud a silver net.

Tiny light underneath,
   Numerous lights below,
      Patterns unfolding, cities to reveal;
Coiling around,
   Radiating outward,
      Imprint of culture can be seen still.

Haze now obscuring,
   Clouds blocking the view,
      Lights twinkle then fade from the sight.
Moon far above,
   Pale tenuous light,
      Cannot find hint of the carpet of light.

All lies uncovered,
   Though hidden by cloud,
      Under the sight of our Father in Heaven.
Though He seem distant
   And far from our gaze,
      To Him a record and account must be given.

By Faith

By faith the saints of old beheld You; through sorrow and joy You gently led.

By faith they reckoned You as faithful, and they clung to ev’ry word You said.

O, help me then with eyes that see far with them look to that promise free.

   ‘Against all hope, in hope believe’—You spoke and so it then shall be.

   ‘In hope believe’ and thus receive this life with You eternally!

O Lord, my Rock, my God and Savior, my Joy, my life, my all and crown,

Around me are the noise and clamors of the word that seeks to pull me down.

My eyes here long to see Your favor, and in this world a glimpse I see.

   ‘Against all hope, in hope believe’—You spoke and so it then shall be.

   ‘In hope believe’ and thus receive this life with You eternally!

Your eyes are on Your people always, on those who will obey and fear You,

On those whose hope is in salvation and Your great unfailing Love so true.

You will deliver them from judgment and bring their blinded eyes to see.

   ‘Against all hope, in hope believe’—You spoke and so it then shall be.

   ‘In hope believe’ and thus receive this life with You eternally!

O Lord, we wait in hope for Your help; You are our Rock, our Shield and fortress.

In You our hearts rejoice with singing even though by trials we are oppressed.

Say to our souls ‘I’m your salvation; My face in heaven you shall see.’

   ‘Against all hope, in hope believe’—You spoke and so it then shall be.

   ‘In hope believe’ and thus receive this life with You eternally!

This hymn is set to music and can be found here: 

http://www.scoreexchange.com/scores/59479.html

The Fog

Rom 8:22 – We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.

Wispy, wavering, silvery light—
The fog stealthed in on feet of padded soft:
Laughing, crying, whisp’ring—at time scoffed—
Shrieking silence with her ghostly bright,
She draped the landscape with a deathly white;
And cast about in passion she would oft
Rain upon the earth a dew so’s not
To let it swell and whelm within her tight.

So tenderly the earth draws close the shades
That cover up the windows of her eyes;
And in the dazzling darkness she undresses,
Lays down, and with silent serenades,
She lulls herself to sleep with quiet cries—
There hides her shame and prays for perfectness.

The Fog at UC Davis

The Sea

This picture by Sherry Lynn

A myriad of colors is seen

Capturing every facet of life:

The foam on the wave crest

Sprays forth to the sky

A vapor that envelops the air.

The long straggly sea weed,

Golden brown on the sand,

Looks from a distance to have been

Left there by some wayfaring seaman,

Who docked at this port long ago.

The little mole crab within the sand

Scurries to hide in the tide,

While over head a jillion or so

Of those wingéd creatures that soar,

Float up in the air to come down again—

Riding the currents to glide.

Off in the distance

And against the blue sky,

A dark speck of little motion

Breaks the endless horizon

That is formed by the sky and the sea.

As it comes closer in view,

Its shape and size are seen

To be that of a freighter

Returning to port with its load.

Along the sandy shore there is found

Innumerable trinkets and jewels from the deep;

Each by itself is a world of color—

A kaleidoscope of textures and hues,

Evoking emotions, one of a kind.

The soft, surfy sand now gives way

To a more rugged coastline:

The waves with a frury intense

Catapult their entirety upon the rocks,

Thundering white foam from the blue.

The air is alive with the sound and the smell of the sea:

The thundering surf, the keenness of air.

And the spray on the intransigent rocks.

The sun in the tidal pool reflects

A rainbow of intense, vivid colors

From the aquatic specimen harbored therein,

Living on such a thin, frail string of survival.

Alone I stand, facing this awesome power,

Vast and perpetual and deep—

Old as the earth, witness to many an island's birth.

But who can say of it that it is old?

For it is renewed through the powers of God:

Through the sun and its purifying rays;

Through the rain and its life-giving water so free;

Through the rivers and winds in their God-planned ways—

Each add a continuance to the continual miracle, the sea!

- D. Benning

Yep, it was this long ago!

5-12-1978

The Wedding Feast

Adorned in riches sits the honored Bride,

    Object of His never dying Love:

    He paid the dowry, brought her now Above

And whispers of Grace—for her crucified.

The Wedding Feast around them spreads so vast:

    They feast and dine on lamb and drink new wine,

    And at their sides there sits a regal lion;

While many guests, their homage pay, file past.

He tells her of His Love that never dies;

    And she looks out across the Crystal Sea

    And asks, “How could have You loved me?”

He draws her closer and hears her quiet sighs:

         Whispering to her of His Sacrifice,

         He causes her to understand and know

                                        Her Christ!

- D. Benning
August 1980