History: a poem for the Year of the Bible 2011

At the beginning of Bible Year 2011 I wrote a short story - 'The New Dark Ages' (which can be read by clicking here, here and here) - and, as Bible Year 2011 draws to a close, I have also written the following poem, which took its initial inspiration from the multiplicity of images in George Herbert's 'Prayer I':

History

Fragments of text threaded on a string of meta-narrative,

a bejewelled necklace more desirable than fine gold;

God-breathed words, sweeter than the purest honey,

cutting, like a double-edged sword, to where soul and spirit meet,

judging the thoughts and desires of human hearts;

shaping, as pattern or frame, the believing community;

many voices using differing forms of speech; the result

of editing and re-editing, interpretation and re-interpretation;

record of ongoing dialogue between the human and divine;

centred on The Word of God as homepage to Trinity’s website;

a collage of God, oral and written testimony

to the activity and character of one

whose purpose is ultimately revealed, in the courtroom of history,

as the final purpose of history; His story in ours.

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James MacMillan - Dominus dabit.