Lord God, Lord Jesus

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Lord Yahweh, he’s the God who IS, the Lord. 

Lord Jesus you’re the Lord & god of me;

because, like Thomas said to you+, afford-

ding ambiguity(?), we watch and see

his stumble-ing attempts to put in words

to mere human being what should not

be said, unless you orchestrated his 

experience, so that emotion in 

the moment, could lead him to knowledge of

the holy one, the holy thing that was

borne here by Mary, born in fact, like us,

who did such wondrous things. Therefore because

of them, when he saw you “then risen up”,

he maybe too foresaw “death swallowed up”.

So I, like him, lift up, and praise, exalt

your name, but since Man is just one step down

from God*, we find it hard to much exalt

your name Lord Jesus, in between the two.

So maybe then like Thomas’s words salt-

ed with the fire of love, ex-per’n-cing you

who activated perfect faithfulness.

We honour you, revere you, our ref-uge,

our shelter from the storm, & shade from heat,

as hen gathers her chicks, and seems so huge

compared to them. You tower over us.

Our shroud, our sheet, our veil is torn away,

so bridegroom would destroy his bride's own veil

and wipe away our tears of disgrace.

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Footnote

+   “A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” (‭John 20:26-29 NRSVUE‬) [when Jesus says “Have you believed because you saw me…” he is obviously not talking about believing in the concept of some particular take in “the Trinity”; he is talking about Thomas trusting him to have conquered death and to be a leader worth following..  Thomas’s response (esp. in the light of Isa 25), shows that Thomas now does, and he recognises Jesus’s faithfulness (& graciousness) to himself (Thomas). Who else is this gracious? 

*    “..  what are humans that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?  Yet you have made them a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor.  You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet,” (Psalms 8:4-6 NRSVUE‬) & from the translators’ footnotes of the NET on the plural “them” and the reference to “Man”, here translated “humans” we have: “Psalms 8:4 Of what importance is the human race, tn Heb

"What is man[kind]?" The singular noun א ('enosh, "man") is used here in a collective sense and refers to the human race. that you should notice tn Heb "remember him." them? Of what importance is mankind, tn Heb "and the son of man." The phrase "son of man" is used here in a collective sense and refers to human beings. For other uses of the phrase in a collective or representative manner, see Num 23:19; Ps 146:3; Isa 51:12. that you should pay attention to them, tn The two imperfect verbal forms in v. 4 describe God's characteristic activity.”

When understood, this simple device is seen to allow the psalm’s poetic nature to refer simultaneously to a singular and the plural. the N.T. book of Hebrews takes up this point, and applies it to Jesus individually (though it might just as well go on to apply it to “his body” as we shall be on earth plural or singular too).

Bibliography

1]  Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago.

[3] Therefore strong peoples will honour you; cities of ruthless nations will revere you. [4] You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall

[7] On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; [8] he will swallow up death for ever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The Lord has spoken. (‭Isaiah 25:1, 3-4, 7-8 NIVUK‬) Etc…

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