Nine for Twelve on 9-4-12

Isaiah 62 with its 12 verses comprises the theme for the New Year: “Twelve for Twelve in 2012.”

At the beginning of the New Year, I posted a blog in Dr. J’s Apothecary Shoppe based on my theme and scriptural focal point for 2012. In this case, I had selected Isaiah 62, a passage that most providentially contains twelve verses. In studying the chapter, I decided to write a series of poems, as I personalized each of the twelve verses, calling the collection “Twelve for Twelve for 2012.” Here is the link to the first installment, published in two parts, inspired by Isaiah 62:1: “One for Twelve”:

And so the series continues with the ninth installment “Nine for Twelve,” a personalized poetic rendering of Isaiah 62:9, posted on September 4, 2012 (9-4-12).  Here is the verse from the New Living Testament:

You raised the grain, and you will eat it,
    praising the Lord.
Within the courtyards of the Temple,
    you yourselves will drink the wine you have pressed.”

 Nine for Twelve

 Isaiah 62:9

Eat the bountiful harvest, for you raised the grain.

Go forth abounding in great peace, praising the Lord. 

What I did before, know that I will do again.    

I will renew your strength according to my Word. 

Know that I desire that your seed should remain, 

That you should endure and lay hold of your reward.    

Within the courts of the Temple, my dwelling place,   

You yourselves will enjoy the wine that you have pressed.   

I will reveal my love to all those who seek my face.        

Cast your care upon the Lord, do not be distressed. 

I delight to dwell with those in the secret place: 

Here you know that no greater love can be expressed.  

The references to “abounding in great peace,” and “Cast your care upon the Lord,” bring to mind the song “He is Our Peace,” so melodiously performed by the Maranatha Singers:                                             

The line “What I did before, know that I will do again” brings to mind the gospel song “He’ll do it again” sung by Shirley Caesar:

As I reflected upon this passage, I also happened to think about Psalm 27, my all-time favorite psalm that I committed to memory when I was in during my junior high school days back in the 1950s.  God promises to reveal His love “to all those who seek His face.”  The Psalmist declares “When You said, “Seek my face,” my heart said unto You, “Your face, Lord, will I seek.” Since first committing Psalm 27 to memory, my heart’s desire continues to be that of a “seeker of God’s heart,” so tenderly and powerfully expressed in this song by Sandi Patty, Larnelle Harris, and Steve Green:               

Psalm 27 continues to minister to me each time I recite it, as it did 11 years ago on September 11, 2001 when I incorporated the entire psalm into my prayer for America following the tragic events of that unforgettable day. Here is a version of Psalm 27 by Donnie McClurkin: