It Pleased Me to Bruise Him: Speaking the Word Over and Over to Yourself

Isaiah 52:13 through 53:12

You will notice as you read the poem Isaiah 52:13 through 53:12 that there are square brackets that look like this [] in it. Inside those square brackets are parts of the poem that my editor, the Maker of heaven and earth, the One who walks alongside me, and abides in me, corrected me on. You see, I was in the shower one morning, and I was thinking about my son. He was playing baseball, and he looked just like me when I was his age. He was stealing bases and everything just like I did, because he was fast just like I was. The more I thought about him, the more excited I became. I was bursting with pride at his accomplishments. Suddenly, the Lord spoke to me these words: "It pleased me to bruise him." I knew instantly that it was the Lord, because who else would say that to me. And I knew exactly what He meant. You see, I take five versions of the Bible to create poems, along with the Greek and Hebrew Lexicons to get an enormous quantity of words. And so I had chosen these words: "It was the Lord's will to crush him." I had toned it down to the Lord's will, because I thought surely it sounds a little harsh to say that it pleased the Lord to crush him. But don't you see what the Lord did? He waited until I was having the same type of feeling for my son, that He was having for His Son, and He spoke those words to me!


--Robert Steven Trahern

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