Success in God’s eyes is being totally fulfilled in ministering to him. Such servants aren’t striving to “make it” or seeking earthly security. They only want to know their Lord and to minister to him.
Think about the 100 prophets hidden by Obadiah (1 Kings 18:4). They lived an isolated existence in caves for at least three to four years, during a severe famine. These men had no outside ministry. They were completely out of the public’s view, forgotten by most people. They couldn’t even share in Elijah’s victory on Mount Carmel. No doubt, the world would call them failures, insignificant men who hadn’t accomplished anything.
Yet God had given these devoted servants the precious gift of time. They had days, weeks, even years to pray, study, grow and minister to the Lord. You see, God was preparing them for the day when he would release them to minister to his people. Indeed, these same men would shepherd those who returned to God under Elijah’s ministry.
Years ago, the Lord blessed me with this gift of time. Before I ever pastored a church, I went into the woods and preached to the birds and trees. I had no plans, no agenda, no dreams. I only wanted to get to know God’s heart. So I prayed daily, seeking the Lord and ministering to him. And I marked my Bible from cover to cover. I was hidden, not seen by anyone. But God knew my address all along.
My advice is, `Quit looking for ministry. Spend your time seeking God instead. He knows where to find you. He’ll summon you when he sees you are ready. Forget what others are doing. Strive to be a success at God’s throne. If you’re ministering to the Lord and praying for others, you are already a success in his eyes!’ ”
Dave Wilkerson
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Psalm 23:The Song Of A Passionate Heart
You probably know Psalm 23 by heart, but have you ever plunged into the spiritual depths of this well-loved portion of Scripture?
In Psalm 23: you can find real-life ways to thwart doubt and fear as you walk through King David's song verse by verse.
You will be reminded that true hope and contentment can only be found as you learn to rest under the watchful eye of your loving, trustworthy Shepherd.
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
In Psalm 23: you can find real-life ways to thwart doubt and fear as you walk through King David's song verse by verse.
You will be reminded that true hope and contentment can only be found as you learn to rest under the watchful eye of your loving, trustworthy Shepherd.
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Tragic Ignorance
"Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth it not: yea, gray hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knoweth not." (Hosea 7:9)
One of the saddest dramas in human experience is the sight of a proud and confident leader who does not realize that his once-vaunted powers have deserted him and he now appears merely weak and foolish. Mighty Samson, with his locks shorn, was a sad example of such tragic ignorance. "And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him" (Judges 16:20), so the Philistines put out his eyes and bound him with chains. So it was with the once-mighty people of Israel in the days of their deep apostasy. Hosea described their distressing condition in the graphic words of our text.
Many years later, God's chosen people exhibited an even more tragic state of pompous ignorance. Their Messiah had come to them, and they didn't know Him, even crucifying Him. God's judgment couldn't be delayed. "They shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation" (Luke 19:44).
But perhaps the most tragic case is the church in Laodicea. This church represents all those outwardly prosperous evangelical churches that attempt to take a neutral stance on the basic conflicts of the last days. The one who is "the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God" (Revelation 3:14) will pronounce the awful judgment. "So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked" (vv. 16-17).
How urgently the people of God need to guard against the tragedy of arrogant ignorance!
The Institute for Creation Research
One of the saddest dramas in human experience is the sight of a proud and confident leader who does not realize that his once-vaunted powers have deserted him and he now appears merely weak and foolish. Mighty Samson, with his locks shorn, was a sad example of such tragic ignorance. "And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him" (Judges 16:20), so the Philistines put out his eyes and bound him with chains. So it was with the once-mighty people of Israel in the days of their deep apostasy. Hosea described their distressing condition in the graphic words of our text.
Many years later, God's chosen people exhibited an even more tragic state of pompous ignorance. Their Messiah had come to them, and they didn't know Him, even crucifying Him. God's judgment couldn't be delayed. "They shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation" (Luke 19:44).
But perhaps the most tragic case is the church in Laodicea. This church represents all those outwardly prosperous evangelical churches that attempt to take a neutral stance on the basic conflicts of the last days. The one who is "the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God" (Revelation 3:14) will pronounce the awful judgment. "So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked" (vv. 16-17).
How urgently the people of God need to guard against the tragedy of arrogant ignorance!
The Institute for Creation Research
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Friday, August 14, 2009
Christian, American or Global Citizen?
The time is rapidly approaching when you will have to reject the first to be either of the latter two.Having been a die hard patriot, and having spent the last few years fighting the New World Order, I had sworn to die fighting the enemy, inflicting as much pain on them (cops, UN troops, garden variety NWO pawns) as possible. I was not going to abandon the fight to preserve America and her liberty period!
I hated the enemy, and would have killed everyone on earth who would not resurrect the Republic begun by our founding fathers in 1776.Recently, God has required me to give up that hatred, and has shown me my calling. It has nothing to do with our ALREADY dead and God condemned nation. He will destroy America, and very soon.
If you are his child he has a plan and a purpose for you.Do you know what your calling is? If not you should. Ask God to reveal his will to you regarding the remainder of your time on earth. If you can't understand, or get no answer ask him to reveal to you what in your life is standing between the two of you. If there is sin and you have grieved his Spirit the enemy has you lulled to sleep.
Jesus died to set you free from sin. How can we who have died to sin live any longer in it? He wants to fully sanctify you and set you free. It makes no difference how far gone or deeply mired in sin you are, he can and will deal with it if you ask him and mean it. Don't tarry, for his Spirit will not strive with you forever.
In my case there are ailments, disease, and addictions I can not free myself from, but he is doing it in His timing. Pray earnestly for him to renew your mind, cleanse your heart, and HE WILL. He has promised to do so and his promises never fail. He is also never late!
The way I see it, we all have two choices, submit to and be slaves of the NWO, living only a few years at best and then facing the consuming fire of God's wrath, or we can choose his way and allow him to do through us what he desires to do and have peace and fellowship with him on earth and for eternity beyond his second coming.
Seems like a no brainer to me.
posted by Liberty's Trumpet, Aug 13, 2009
I hated the enemy, and would have killed everyone on earth who would not resurrect the Republic begun by our founding fathers in 1776.Recently, God has required me to give up that hatred, and has shown me my calling. It has nothing to do with our ALREADY dead and God condemned nation. He will destroy America, and very soon.
If you are his child he has a plan and a purpose for you.Do you know what your calling is? If not you should. Ask God to reveal his will to you regarding the remainder of your time on earth. If you can't understand, or get no answer ask him to reveal to you what in your life is standing between the two of you. If there is sin and you have grieved his Spirit the enemy has you lulled to sleep.
Jesus died to set you free from sin. How can we who have died to sin live any longer in it? He wants to fully sanctify you and set you free. It makes no difference how far gone or deeply mired in sin you are, he can and will deal with it if you ask him and mean it. Don't tarry, for his Spirit will not strive with you forever.
In my case there are ailments, disease, and addictions I can not free myself from, but he is doing it in His timing. Pray earnestly for him to renew your mind, cleanse your heart, and HE WILL. He has promised to do so and his promises never fail. He is also never late!
The way I see it, we all have two choices, submit to and be slaves of the NWO, living only a few years at best and then facing the consuming fire of God's wrath, or we can choose his way and allow him to do through us what he desires to do and have peace and fellowship with him on earth and for eternity beyond his second coming.
Seems like a no brainer to me.
posted by Liberty's Trumpet, Aug 13, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Pharaoh-Obama And His Slaves
Sermon from a church in Virginia recently. Gen 47: 13-27
Good morning, brothers and sisters; it's always a delight to see the pews crowded on Sunday morning, and so eager to get into God's Word. Turn with me in your Bibles, if you will, to the 47th chapter of Genesis; we'll begin our reading at verse 13, and go through verse 27.
Brother Ray, would you stand and read that great passage for us?... Thank you for that fine reading, Brother Ray.. So we see that economic hard times fell upon Egypt, and the people turned to the government of Pharaoh to deal with this for them. And Pharaoh nationalized the grain harvest, and placed the grain in great storehouses that he had built. So the people brought their money to Pharaoh, like a great tax increase, and gave it all to him willingly in return for grain. And this went on until their money ran out, and they were hungry again.
So when they went to Pharaoh after that, they brought their livestock - their cattle, their horses, their sheep, and their donkey - to barter for grain, and verse 17 says that only took them through the end of that year.
But the famine wasn't over, was it?
So the next year, the people came before Pharaoh and admitted they had nothing left, except their land and their own lives. "There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our land. Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we with our land will be servants to Pharaoh." So they surrendered their homes, their land, and their real estate to Pharaoh's government, and then sold themselves into slavery to him, in return for grain.
What can we learn from this, brothers and sisters?
That turning to the government instead of to God to be our provider in hard times only leads to slavery? Yes. That the only reason government wants to be our provider is to also become our master? Yes.
But look how that passage ends, brothers and sisters! Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt , in the land of Goshen . And they gained possessions in it, and were fruitful and multiplied greatly." God provided for His people, just as He always has! They didn't end up giving all their possessions to the government, no, it says they gained possessions!
But I also tell you a great truth today, and an ominous one. We see the same thing happening today - the government today wants to "share the wealth" once again, to take it from us and redistribute it back to us. It wants to take control of healthcare, just as it has taken control of education, and ration it back to us, and when government rations it, then government decides who gets it, and how much, and what kind.
And if we go along with it, and do it willingly, then we will wind up no differently than the people of Egypt did four thousand years ago - as slaves to the government, and as slaves to our leaders.
What Mr. Obama's government is doing now is no different from what Pharaoh's government did then, and it will end the same.. And a lot of people like to call Mr. Obama a "Messiah," don't they? Is he a Messiah? A savior? Didn't the Egyptians say, after Pharaoh made them his slaves, "You have saved our lives; may it please my lord, we will be servants to Pharaoh"?
Well, I tell you this - I know the Messiah; the Messiah is a friend of mine; and Mr. Obama is no Messiah! No, brothers and sisters, if Mr. Obama is a character from the Bible, then he is Pharaoh. Bow with me in prayer, if you will.
Lord, You alone are worthy to be served, and we rely on You, and You alone. We confess that the government is not our deliverer, and never rightly will be. We read in the eighth chapter of 1 Samuel, when Samuel warned the people of what a ruler would do, where it says "And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you in that day." And Lord, we acknowledge that day has come. We cry out to you because of the ruler that we have chosen for ourselves as a nation..Lord, we pray for this nation. We pray for revival, and we pray for deliverance from those who would be our masters.
Give us hearts to seek You and hands to serve You, and protect Your people from the atrocities of Pharaoh's government.
In God we Trust.
Good morning, brothers and sisters; it's always a delight to see the pews crowded on Sunday morning, and so eager to get into God's Word. Turn with me in your Bibles, if you will, to the 47th chapter of Genesis; we'll begin our reading at verse 13, and go through verse 27.
Brother Ray, would you stand and read that great passage for us?... Thank you for that fine reading, Brother Ray.. So we see that economic hard times fell upon Egypt, and the people turned to the government of Pharaoh to deal with this for them. And Pharaoh nationalized the grain harvest, and placed the grain in great storehouses that he had built. So the people brought their money to Pharaoh, like a great tax increase, and gave it all to him willingly in return for grain. And this went on until their money ran out, and they were hungry again.
So when they went to Pharaoh after that, they brought their livestock - their cattle, their horses, their sheep, and their donkey - to barter for grain, and verse 17 says that only took them through the end of that year.
But the famine wasn't over, was it?
So the next year, the people came before Pharaoh and admitted they had nothing left, except their land and their own lives. "There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our land. Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we with our land will be servants to Pharaoh." So they surrendered their homes, their land, and their real estate to Pharaoh's government, and then sold themselves into slavery to him, in return for grain.
What can we learn from this, brothers and sisters?
That turning to the government instead of to God to be our provider in hard times only leads to slavery? Yes. That the only reason government wants to be our provider is to also become our master? Yes.
But look how that passage ends, brothers and sisters! Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt , in the land of Goshen . And they gained possessions in it, and were fruitful and multiplied greatly." God provided for His people, just as He always has! They didn't end up giving all their possessions to the government, no, it says they gained possessions!
But I also tell you a great truth today, and an ominous one. We see the same thing happening today - the government today wants to "share the wealth" once again, to take it from us and redistribute it back to us. It wants to take control of healthcare, just as it has taken control of education, and ration it back to us, and when government rations it, then government decides who gets it, and how much, and what kind.
And if we go along with it, and do it willingly, then we will wind up no differently than the people of Egypt did four thousand years ago - as slaves to the government, and as slaves to our leaders.
What Mr. Obama's government is doing now is no different from what Pharaoh's government did then, and it will end the same.. And a lot of people like to call Mr. Obama a "Messiah," don't they? Is he a Messiah? A savior? Didn't the Egyptians say, after Pharaoh made them his slaves, "You have saved our lives; may it please my lord, we will be servants to Pharaoh"?
Well, I tell you this - I know the Messiah; the Messiah is a friend of mine; and Mr. Obama is no Messiah! No, brothers and sisters, if Mr. Obama is a character from the Bible, then he is Pharaoh. Bow with me in prayer, if you will.
Lord, You alone are worthy to be served, and we rely on You, and You alone. We confess that the government is not our deliverer, and never rightly will be. We read in the eighth chapter of 1 Samuel, when Samuel warned the people of what a ruler would do, where it says "And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you in that day." And Lord, we acknowledge that day has come. We cry out to you because of the ruler that we have chosen for ourselves as a nation..Lord, we pray for this nation. We pray for revival, and we pray for deliverance from those who would be our masters.
Give us hearts to seek You and hands to serve You, and protect Your people from the atrocities of Pharaoh's government.
In God we Trust.
The Winds of "Change" Blow
The winds of change blow —hasten now to prepare your cupboards, time is running out.
All of My heavenly court are assembled. My great warring angels are amongst you protecting and guarding My faithful flock. There will be chaos, unrest, and great confusion. Nations align only to bring about a culture of death. Persecution is near. Pray for My priests for many are lukewarm and have been distracted.
A great schism will rise. A great tidal wave of fear and injustice will give rise resonating in the east; the west will be shaken by great aftershocks. Natural disasters abound. More commercial and economic collapse will give rise to anarchy. The mighty lion roars and the bear has been set upon a path that will reap destruction and havoc. Prepare for anarchy and chaos. You must stay vigilant and determined, strong in your resolve.
The time of persecution draws close. Remember you are governed by My Spirit. Fear not. Revolution, persecution, many factions are forming… Tower of Babylon, tower of Babylon, from east to west, a new nation will rise to bring about only a culture of death and destruction.
Persecution is near, prepare your homes, secure your thresholds, keep warm your hearths. Stay suited in holy armor; keep sacramentals about your homes and in places of honor… You will lead My people through the revolution—a great revolution is on the horizon.
—Jesus to Mary Reilly, November 8th, 2008 public message; November 18th, 2008 (from a private message printed here with permission); www.ourladyofthefingerlakes.com
All of My heavenly court are assembled. My great warring angels are amongst you protecting and guarding My faithful flock. There will be chaos, unrest, and great confusion. Nations align only to bring about a culture of death. Persecution is near. Pray for My priests for many are lukewarm and have been distracted.
A great schism will rise. A great tidal wave of fear and injustice will give rise resonating in the east; the west will be shaken by great aftershocks. Natural disasters abound. More commercial and economic collapse will give rise to anarchy. The mighty lion roars and the bear has been set upon a path that will reap destruction and havoc. Prepare for anarchy and chaos. You must stay vigilant and determined, strong in your resolve.
The time of persecution draws close. Remember you are governed by My Spirit. Fear not. Revolution, persecution, many factions are forming… Tower of Babylon, tower of Babylon, from east to west, a new nation will rise to bring about only a culture of death and destruction.
Persecution is near, prepare your homes, secure your thresholds, keep warm your hearths. Stay suited in holy armor; keep sacramentals about your homes and in places of honor… You will lead My people through the revolution—a great revolution is on the horizon.
—Jesus to Mary Reilly, November 8th, 2008 public message; November 18th, 2008 (from a private message printed here with permission); www.ourladyofthefingerlakes.com
Monday, August 10, 2009
Hold On To Me
Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord. Acts 11:23
My holy people; with everything that is within you be holding on to Me. No matter what the circumstance that comes along; be holding on to Me. No matter how trying the situation is; be holding on to Me. No matter if things are good or things become bad; be holding on to Me. In the easy times and in the difficult times; be holding on to Me.
For in the season that you find yourself, there is grace to come out of the many strongholds that have held on to you. This is to prepare you for the next season, where is the grace to humble yourself before Me, conceiving and producing what I have to do. In the holding on to Me, you will find the strength to conceive. In the holding on to Me, you will find definition of purpose as you fall prostrate before Me and humble yourself to Me.
I am producing more than you can see with the eyes alone. I am producing a new behavior, a new way of reacting to difficult and trying situations. I am producing a growing dependence: not just on Me, but for Me and for My Presence. My power to produce is in proportion to how you hold on to Me.
As you receive news about what is going on, hold on to Me. It will seem like the sky is falling, but it is not. It will seem like the end is upon you, but it is not. It will seem like there is nothing to hold onto, but I am always there for you to hold onto.
Allow Me to change how you react and then you will know the greatest power of all; My keeping power.
Seek My Face. Call upon My Name. Allow My Presence to overwhelm you instead of the news around you.
Hold on to Me.
www.injesus.com
My holy people; with everything that is within you be holding on to Me. No matter what the circumstance that comes along; be holding on to Me. No matter how trying the situation is; be holding on to Me. No matter if things are good or things become bad; be holding on to Me. In the easy times and in the difficult times; be holding on to Me.
For in the season that you find yourself, there is grace to come out of the many strongholds that have held on to you. This is to prepare you for the next season, where is the grace to humble yourself before Me, conceiving and producing what I have to do. In the holding on to Me, you will find the strength to conceive. In the holding on to Me, you will find definition of purpose as you fall prostrate before Me and humble yourself to Me.
I am producing more than you can see with the eyes alone. I am producing a new behavior, a new way of reacting to difficult and trying situations. I am producing a growing dependence: not just on Me, but for Me and for My Presence. My power to produce is in proportion to how you hold on to Me.
As you receive news about what is going on, hold on to Me. It will seem like the sky is falling, but it is not. It will seem like the end is upon you, but it is not. It will seem like there is nothing to hold onto, but I am always there for you to hold onto.
Allow Me to change how you react and then you will know the greatest power of all; My keeping power.
Seek My Face. Call upon My Name. Allow My Presence to overwhelm you instead of the news around you.
Hold on to Me.
www.injesus.com
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Litany For Dictatorships
BY STEPHEN VINCENT BENAT
For all those beaten, for the broken heads,
The fosterless, the simple, the oppressed,
The ghosts in the burning city of our time ...
For those taken in rapid cars to the house and beaten
By the skilful boys, the boys with the rubber fists,
Held down and beaten, the table cutting their loins,
Or kicked in the groin and left, with the muscles jerking
Like a headless hen on the floor of the slaughter-house
While they brought the next man in with his white eyes staring.
For those who still said Red Front! or God Save the Crown!
And for those who were not courageous
But were beaten nevertheless.
For those who spit out the bloody stumps of their teeth
Quietly in the hall,
Sleep well on stone or iron, watch for the time
And kill the guard in the privy before they die,
Those with the deep-socketed eyes and the lamp burning.
For those who carry the scars, who walk lame for those
Whose nameless graves are made in the prison-yard
And the earth smoothed back before morning and the lime scattered.
For those slain at once. For those living through months and years
Enduring, watching, hoping, going each day
To the work or the queue for meat or the secret club,
Living meanwhile, begetting children, smuggling guns,
And found and killed at the end like rats in a drain.
For those escaping
Incredibly into exile and wandering there.
For those who live in the small rooms of foreign cities
And who yet think of the country, the long green grass,
The childhood voices, the language, the way wind smelt then,
The shape of rooms, the coffee drunk at the table,
The talk with friends, the loved city, the waiter's face,
The gravestones, with the name, where they will not lie
Nor in any of that earth. Their children are strangers.
For those who planned and were leaders and were beaten
And for those, humble and stupid, who had no plan
But were denounced, but grew angry, but told a joke,
But could not explain, but were sent away to the camp,
But had their bodies shipped back in the sealed coffins,
Died of pneumonia. Died trying to escape
For those growers of wheat who were shot by their own wheatstacks,
For those growers of bread who were sent to the ice-locked wastes,
And their flesh remembers their fields.
For those denounced by their smug, horrible children
For a peppermint-star and the praise of the Perfect State,
For all those strangled or gelded or merely starved
To make perfect states; for the priest hanged in his cassock,
The Jew with his chest crushed in and his eyes dying,
The revolutionist lynched by the private guards
To make perfect states, in the names of the perfect states.
For those betrayed by the neighbors they shook hands with
And for the traitors, sitting in the hard chair
With the loose sweat crawling their hair and their fingers restless
As they tell the street and the house and the man's name.
And for those sitting at table in the house
With the lamp lit and the plates and the smell of food,
Talking so quietly; when they hear the cars
And the knock at the door, and they look at each other quickly
And the woman goes to the door with a stiff face,
Smoothing her dress.
We are all good citizens here.
We believe in the Perfect State.
And that was the last
Time Tony or Karl or Shorty came to the house
And the family was liquidated later.
It was the last time.
We heard the shots in the night
But nobody knew next day what the trouble was
And a man must go to his work. So I didn't see him
For three days, then, and me near out of my mind
And all the patrols on the streets with their dirty guns
And when he came back, he looked drunk, and the blood was on him.
For the women who mourn their dead in the secret night,
For the children taught to keep quiet, the old children,
The children spat-on at school.
For the wrecked laboratory,
The gutted house, the dunged picture, the pissed-in well,
The naked corpse of Knowledge flung in the square
And no man lifting a hand and no man speaking.
For the cold of the pistol-butt and the bullets heat,
For the rope that chokes, the manacles that bind,
The huge voice, metal, that lies from a thousand tubes
And the stuttering machine-gun that answers all.
For the man crucified on the crossed machine-guns
Without name, without resurrection, without stars,
His dark head heavy with death and his flesh long sour
With the smell of his many prisons John Smith, John Doe,
John Nobody oh, crack your mind for his name!
Faceless as water, naked as the dust,
Dishonored as the earth the gas-shells poison
And barbarous with portent.
This is he.
This is the man they ate at the green table
Putting their gloves on ere they touched the meat.
This is the fruit of war, the fruit of peace,
The ripeness of invention, the new lamb,
The answer to the wisdom of the wise.
And still he hangs, and still he will not die,
And still, on the steel city of our years
The light fails and the terrible blood streams down.
We thought we were done with these things but we were wrong.
We thought, because we had power, we had wisdom.
We thought the long train would run to the end of Time.
We thought the light would increase.
Now the long train stands derailed and the bandits loot it.
Now the boar and the asp have power in our time.
Now the night rolls back on the West and the night is solid.
Our fathers and ourselves sowed dragon's teeth.
Our children know and suffer the armed men.
For all those beaten, for the broken heads,
The fosterless, the simple, the oppressed,
The ghosts in the burning city of our time ...
For those taken in rapid cars to the house and beaten
By the skilful boys, the boys with the rubber fists,
Held down and beaten, the table cutting their loins,
Or kicked in the groin and left, with the muscles jerking
Like a headless hen on the floor of the slaughter-house
While they brought the next man in with his white eyes staring.
For those who still said Red Front! or God Save the Crown!
And for those who were not courageous
But were beaten nevertheless.
For those who spit out the bloody stumps of their teeth
Quietly in the hall,
Sleep well on stone or iron, watch for the time
And kill the guard in the privy before they die,
Those with the deep-socketed eyes and the lamp burning.
For those who carry the scars, who walk lame for those
Whose nameless graves are made in the prison-yard
And the earth smoothed back before morning and the lime scattered.
For those slain at once. For those living through months and years
Enduring, watching, hoping, going each day
To the work or the queue for meat or the secret club,
Living meanwhile, begetting children, smuggling guns,
And found and killed at the end like rats in a drain.
For those escaping
Incredibly into exile and wandering there.
For those who live in the small rooms of foreign cities
And who yet think of the country, the long green grass,
The childhood voices, the language, the way wind smelt then,
The shape of rooms, the coffee drunk at the table,
The talk with friends, the loved city, the waiter's face,
The gravestones, with the name, where they will not lie
Nor in any of that earth. Their children are strangers.
For those who planned and were leaders and were beaten
And for those, humble and stupid, who had no plan
But were denounced, but grew angry, but told a joke,
But could not explain, but were sent away to the camp,
But had their bodies shipped back in the sealed coffins,
Died of pneumonia. Died trying to escape
For those growers of wheat who were shot by their own wheatstacks,
For those growers of bread who were sent to the ice-locked wastes,
And their flesh remembers their fields.
For those denounced by their smug, horrible children
For a peppermint-star and the praise of the Perfect State,
For all those strangled or gelded or merely starved
To make perfect states; for the priest hanged in his cassock,
The Jew with his chest crushed in and his eyes dying,
The revolutionist lynched by the private guards
To make perfect states, in the names of the perfect states.
For those betrayed by the neighbors they shook hands with
And for the traitors, sitting in the hard chair
With the loose sweat crawling their hair and their fingers restless
As they tell the street and the house and the man's name.
And for those sitting at table in the house
With the lamp lit and the plates and the smell of food,
Talking so quietly; when they hear the cars
And the knock at the door, and they look at each other quickly
And the woman goes to the door with a stiff face,
Smoothing her dress.
We are all good citizens here.
We believe in the Perfect State.
And that was the last
Time Tony or Karl or Shorty came to the house
And the family was liquidated later.
It was the last time.
We heard the shots in the night
But nobody knew next day what the trouble was
And a man must go to his work. So I didn't see him
For three days, then, and me near out of my mind
And all the patrols on the streets with their dirty guns
And when he came back, he looked drunk, and the blood was on him.
For the women who mourn their dead in the secret night,
For the children taught to keep quiet, the old children,
The children spat-on at school.
For the wrecked laboratory,
The gutted house, the dunged picture, the pissed-in well,
The naked corpse of Knowledge flung in the square
And no man lifting a hand and no man speaking.
For the cold of the pistol-butt and the bullets heat,
For the rope that chokes, the manacles that bind,
The huge voice, metal, that lies from a thousand tubes
And the stuttering machine-gun that answers all.
For the man crucified on the crossed machine-guns
Without name, without resurrection, without stars,
His dark head heavy with death and his flesh long sour
With the smell of his many prisons John Smith, John Doe,
John Nobody oh, crack your mind for his name!
Faceless as water, naked as the dust,
Dishonored as the earth the gas-shells poison
And barbarous with portent.
This is he.
This is the man they ate at the green table
Putting their gloves on ere they touched the meat.
This is the fruit of war, the fruit of peace,
The ripeness of invention, the new lamb,
The answer to the wisdom of the wise.
And still he hangs, and still he will not die,
And still, on the steel city of our years
The light fails and the terrible blood streams down.
We thought we were done with these things but we were wrong.
We thought, because we had power, we had wisdom.
We thought the long train would run to the end of Time.
We thought the light would increase.
Now the long train stands derailed and the bandits loot it.
Now the boar and the asp have power in our time.
Now the night rolls back on the West and the night is solid.
Our fathers and ourselves sowed dragon's teeth.
Our children know and suffer the armed men.
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