*J*O*Y*
Exult!
Erupt! It’s all too much!
Our God
is King! Our King is Love!
The
stars that sang while Earth began
Are
singing still, the cry that thrilled
Through
all the trillion throng, the song
That
filled the sky until it rang,
Is
ringing still. The faithful sun
Who runs
his daily race, his face
Agleam
with joy, is beaming still.
The
trusty wheel that turns the year
From icy
winter into spring’s
Refreshing,
on to summer cheer,
Is
turning still, the Father’s vow
Still
proving, and the darkest rain
By
rainbows answered, even now.
And it
can never be contained –
It leaps
and grows and overflows;
The
sweetest gladness sears the heart,
The
finest electricity
Facilitates
felicity.
The mind
reclines, the spirit soars,
And
laughter shakes the very boards!
A
snigger, then a titter, then
A giggle,
chuckle, chortle-snort!
Guffaws
grow into belly-laughs
And
crowing, hooting, cackles, shrieks,
Hysteric
fits that last for weeks!
And just
when you can take no more,
The
Spirit Who began it all
Begins
to fall, and tears are shed
That
drain our sorrows to the floor.
For Joy
can never be content
To be a
guest; on just our best
And holy
days to counterpoint
Our
daily woes: it will not rest
Until we
know, until we start,
With
softer hearts and brighter eyes
To
realize – it came to stay.
For Joy
is deeper than our grief
And
older than all sorrow;
And some
tomorrow, we believe,
The dawn
will steal in like a thief
And we
shall find ourselves relieved
Of all
our customary clothes –
The
dusty gear we once supposed
Befitted
best our grounded souls
Then,
just as suddenly – transposed!
Our rags
will fade and we shall trade
This
garb of gloomy gossamer
For
something that says “Summer’s here:
Those
dowdy shrouds are so last year!”
No,
sombre suits won’t suit at all
When
Zion’s fashionistas call
The
shots. The sons of God will be,
At last,
on show, like lions on
A
catwalk, striding slow, each one –
Ha! –
flaunting colours that the world
Has
never seen – celestial hues
Whose
glow, imbued with each soul’s truth,
Illumines,
not conceals, reveals
The
treasure of their heart. A new,
New
season will redress the Earth,
The
Earth that yearns with every turn,
That
bears the burns of all its salt
And
stinging tears, the cruel assaults
And
locust-eaten years, that longs
To hear
the song of Jubilee,
The
silver trumpet-blast, at last,
To sound
the end of slavery!
It
comes, it comes! I hear the thrum
Of
ancient wings and angel drums;
The
ground resounds, the rocks cry out,
The palm
trees wave their fronds about,
The
oceans roar, the mountains dance,
The raucous
rivers clap their hands!
And
every beast and every bird
From
every flock and every herd
Comes loping,
leaping, swooping in
To join
the never-ending hymn!
For Joy
is not some passing dream,
No! It
is the eternal theme
Of life
itself – the pulse, the beat,
Repeating,
ever incomplete,
Reverberating
down the years,
Now
loud, now soft, but never lost,
It spurs
the heart to persevere
When
every path leads to a cross.
It kept
our Champion on His course
Through
Hell itself to win His Bride,
And He
will know His heart’s delight
With her
forever at His side;
And we shall
be forever one:
Our
laughter will outlast the Sun!
From
north to south, from west to east,
The
bells ring for the wedding feast:
As
blossom like confetti falls,
Come
all, the greatest and the least,
Prepare
the way, deck out the halls,
The King
has paid the price for all!
Now ev’ry
road with flowers pave
To greet
the conqueror of the grave!
And ev’ry
voice in Heav’n and Earth
Rejoice
to hail the Lord of Mirth!
Fili – #2, July 2015
