Bow

4.23.19

Cherry Tree Blossom

Bow
Your Ear
低头
Ditou
耳を傾け 
Mimi o katamuke
ps86

Bow your ear
that you may hear.

Bend the branch down from the tree of life.
Allow me what I  need to overcome my strife. 

The tree of life has been our resource in the garden
to reach for the stars with the recourse to pardon belief in our stardom.

The fruit of knowledge knows time before experience,
but the analysis of existence makes it truly serious.

I love to lie by the river in Eden
to reflect on the wonders of reason.

Preserve my soul for you are holy.
Your presence lifts me up from feeling lowly.

You have been our God long ahead of me.
My faith was yours before I came to be.

Be merciful to me.
I talk to you daily.

Rejoice in the heart of your student.
I lift up my soul to your desire for your human.

You have been good and ready to forgive.
My debt with you is such that I can pay it while I live.

You are plenteous in mercy to all that call to you.
The grace of your Spirit moves all those whom the energy may pass through.

Move your love through the voice of my supplication.
Help me bend my intent to the will of your deliberation.

I will call to you in the day of trouble. 
I trust that you will help me in my struggle.

There is none like you among the gods.
Feasts on the meat of beasts make the flesh too proud to beat the odds.

All the nations that you have formed will worship you in your holiness.
All the stations in human nature will purchase the transcendence of lowliness.

You are great. You've done wonderful things. 
You are the God who has enacted numberless deeds.

You have delivered my soul from hell. 
You have let me drink water from your well. 

The proud have risen against me.
The violent have sought to chop me like an immense tree.

They have not set your will before them.
Faith in you is seen as something to transform postmortem.

You are gracious, compassionate and full of mercy for truth.
Turn to me. Grant me your mercy to keep my soul smooth.

Show me as a token for good to those who seek to shake my faith
that they may behold the wonder of your saving grace.  

---------------------------

Psalm 86

Bow down thine ear, O Lord, hear me: for I am poor and needy.
2 Preserve my soul; for I am holy: O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee.
3 Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily.
4 Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
5 For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.
6 Give ear, O Lord, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications.
7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me.
8 Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works.
9 All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name.
10 For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone.
11 Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.
12 I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore.
13 For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.
14 O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them.
15 But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.
16 O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me; give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son of thine handmaid.
17 Shew me a token for good; that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed: because thou, Lord, hast holpen me, and comforted me.

-------------------------------

The word Asherah may have been drawn from Ishtar in the Hebrew lexicon of middle eastern goddesses. The Asherah was a pole that represented a tree in religious ceremonies. There is a phonetic similarity that suggests that it was the same word spoken in a different language.

Asherah

The first verse of Psalm 86 may include a play on the image of a tree bow bowing down to listen to the prayer of someone in need.

Psalm 86:1

Bow down your ear to me Lord and hear me. I am poor and need help.

-------------------------

The tree branch took on the symbolic aspect of divine providence. It was a metaphor for divine provision through nature.

Ancient inscriptions refer to Asherah as the wife of Yahweh.

Wife of Yahweh
Tree of Life; Wife of Yahweh

"Asherah is  sometimes  referred to as the wife of Yahweh,  whose name became something that could not be uttered, only represented as "the Lord".  The Asherah poles, and eventually the name of Asherah, were banned from worship as Judaism became monotheistic and established the sole deity as male."

Ascetic influences cut out images of deity. The move to monotheism had an iconoclastic element. While the images were removed from religious temples for the sake of uniformity, there was also a preservation of the principles of human nature associated with the mythological stories.

Asherah became Ishtar. Ishtar became the tree of life in the account of creation. The tree of life was incorporated as monogamous marriage in the ceremonial celebration of the social institution that perpetuates the family tree as an element in the path to citizenship for the propagation of the state and the life of the species.

The Egyptian Sycamore Tree as the Tree of Life

Article

"The goddesses Nut, Isis and Hathor were shown as a sycamore tree...providing a liquid, almost like they are are suckling..."

The ascetic element adopted a position of opposition with respect for polytheistic expressions in mythology.

"This author, known as the Yahwist (because he was the first author of the Hebrew Bible to use the name Yahweh for God), most clearly set out his anti-Canaanite views at the beginning of his version of the Ten Commandments, in Exodus 34:12-15, where Yahweh warns the Hebrews against associating with the Canaanites, intermarrying with them, and worshipping their deities; Yahweh also orders the Hebrews to tear down Canaanite altars, pillars, and asherahs (wooden poles (stylized trees) in sanctuaries that were the cult object of their goddess Asherah (in Hebrew pronounced ah-shei-RAH) and symbolized her). "

The renunciation preserved important descriptive elements of the polytheistic worship.

Monotheism was derived from polytheism.

Asherah
Article

Polytheism was normal throughout Israel between the 10th century BCE and the beginning of their exile in 586 BCE, it was only after the exile that worship of Yahweh alone became established.
Monotheism may not have become standard among Jews as late as the time of the Maccabees (2nd century BCE).

Goats are depicted near an asherah as another aspect of providence.

------------------------

Raised Dust

George Berkeley raised some dust of his own in his Principles of Human Knowledge. I cringed when I read his argument about triangles, but I believe that it was his intent to question that which was wrong about Locke's argument about human understanding.

The Irish were criticized for Pelagian views from the time of Augustine. The subtext was about the justification for slavery in Locke's treatise.

Augustine himself wasn't that strongly against slavery.  Neo-Platonic philosophy saw it as a transient thing. A slave today could be a king tomorrow. It wasn't what would be regarded today as a rejection of the institution. His theology was against human claims to flawlessness, purity, perfection or deification in God or as gods in God. No one was without flaw. No one was above the law.

I don't think that he agreed with Athanasius. His conviction was that faith allows us to ascend to attain our legal moral aspiration in a healthy natural way with the ethical application of religious principles for life. 

Berkeley didn't argue for slavery so much as he advocated for manumission as a realizable goal for those owners who engaged in the institution. His proposal for a seminary in the Bahamas was made in the context of the competition for imperial expansion out of Europe.

The question for the competition was framed in the context of being successful by not being so moral that the other political leadership didn't accumulate a treasury large enough to invade those who wouldn't entertain slavery as a condition for the competition in imperial expansion.

The unity of the holy Roman empire had been dissolved with the Renaissance. The introduction of republican thought by classical authors had a strong anti-monarchical and anti-executive authority context in the classical Roman tradition.  Executive authority for the ancient Republic only allowed for two consuls with a term limit of one year.

That was an incredibly radical opposition to the conservative policy in the line of succession for a royal house. The European theater was set for the respective kingdoms and the Dutch Republic to look to expand into the new world in a way that would maintain independence from any other colonial power.

The dust Berkeley raised in the direction of Locke's argument served a purpose that wasn't so threatening as to invite punitive action as a retaliation for disagreement. He had already made life in the British colonies a part of his plan for his ministry for the Church.

Sluga raises some dust about the president, then manages to clear away some misconception about the man. The liberal battle for one socialism or another is something that still threatens to undermine integrity in the authority of Congress more than the executive office. The liberals are dedicated to making someone else take the blame for the errors of socialist doctrine.

Sluga on Trump
https://lareviewofbooks.org/entitled-opinions/hans-sluga-donald-j-trump/#!
"Trump has been a real estate developer, a reality TV star, a prolific tweeter, a politician, and has changed his party affiliation seven or eight times. Is he a fascist? Sluga, author of Wittgenstein and Heidegger’s Crisis, warns against easy tags: “We’ve drained this word of much of its specific meaning.” Fascism, he says, “is a form of statism quite different from what we have in America today.”"

Trump has personally been against socialism. Reagan had been against socialism as well. The liberal influence won out against his conservative economic values. It is a difficulty for successful leadership in a government that like many other governments seems to be more socialist than capitalist.

Hans Sluga
b. 4.24.1939  Germany

BYU Singers - Bow Thine Ear

Shine

Marika Shinoda
篠田麻里子
Biography
Pictures

Shine
Bright
明るく輝く
Akaruku kagayaku
ps107

The broken bowl bell
held food quite well 
until it fell.

The squeaking squeal from the wheel 
yields wealth in health appeal
from the way the appeal feels. 

Mop up the mess.
It's part of the test.

Sweep up the ceramic.
You won't have to panic.

This piece was shaped like a diamond.
My mind looked to the horizon.

A diamond shines bright
with the facets of light’s life
in mind with insight.

She smiles for miles
with the delight of her sight.

Diamonds start as coal.
Earth is the source for the intense force that cajoles
the carbon in its moles to make tiny holes
extol less space for lex taste holding the philosopher’s stone 
as a blown tome now known
as the most remarkable clone.

Opaque matter, darker than night,
becomes transparent, shining sparkles in light.

Hardship hardens your core for sure
to make your heart shine as pure.
Purity is the cure that lures.

Performers stay healthy 
so their products are wealthy.

The best work smart with rested heart
for the next test to start.

These followed their food.
These chopped what the beaver chewed.
These grew what they could.
These shot from where they stood.
These worked in mines.
These hunted from blinds.
These worked in fields.
These negotiated deals.
These squealed for appeals.
These worked in a factory.
These made customers happy.
These worked in the field.
'No mind' was their shield.

Mugwort and hemp 
healed that which was bent.

The redeemer’s redemption came
by correction in detention for those who lost their way to fame
and became lame with respect for the rules of the game

These formed conception with education
to avoid the deception of perception 
by the sensation of the senses.

All these weathered the storm;
while these struggled through thorns.

These strengthened their homes
while these burned diseased bones.

When the mist came with Spring.
these felt they had to travel and sing.

When they strayed from the path
they became children of wrath.

They rode and they fought.
They forgot what they had been taught.

Some went to the sea to travel in ships
to ply their trade without loose lips.

They moved straight on the ocean
when the crab didn't make the motion.

They beheld the wonders of the deep.
Things went so well they felt that they could weep.

Then a storm bossed the wind and the waves of the sea.
They rose so high they tossed the ship like a flea on a sheep.

The ship mounted the heavens then fell back to the depths.
Their hearts melted groan. Some actually wept.

They staggered and fell like the most practiced of drunkards.
They looked to the sky and prayed for their mothers.

The wind carried their prayer to the height of the sky.
They were delivered from the storm as if by their cry.

The storm was stilled to a whispering purr.
The sea felt so soft she seemed like the cure.

They all felt glad because of the calm of the sea.
The harbor they made soothed them like the balm of morality.

Let them give thanks for the love of sweet mercy.
The sailors were saved from wet death with the thirst for eternity.

The Redeemer redeemed lost time as the story.
Joy was embraced as a parcel of glory.

The weather is the greatest of friends
or the worst to offend.

We accomplish all things with the goodness of weather.
Natural disaster destroys anything, but buh-bling or bird feathers.

A silver cord streams 
from the container of dreams.
We were made to be loved
with light from above.

Drink truth deep from your heart before sleep.
It will help you keep what you seek
looking sleek.

Shine like a diamond.
You will be alive then.
You won’t feel like a siren 
on an island off the horizon.


Psalm 107

Part I Confitemini Domino
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, *
and his mercy endures for ever.
2 Let all those whom the Lord has redeemed proclaim *
that he redeemed them from the hand of the foe.
3 He gathered them out of the lands; *
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.
4 Some wandered in desert wastes; *
they found no way to a city where they might dwell.
5 They were hungry and thirsty; *
their spirits languished within them.
6 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, *
and he delivered them from their distress.
7 He put their feet on a straight path *
to go to a city where they might dwell.
8 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his mercy *
and the wonders he does for his children.
9 For he satisfies the thirsty *
and fills the hungry with good things.
10 Some sat in darkness and deep gloom, *
bound fast in misery and iron;
11 Because they rebelled against the words of God *
and despised the counsel of the Most High.
12 So he humbled their spirits with hard labor; *
they stumbled, and there was none to help.
13 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, *
and he delivered them from their distress.
14 He led them out of darkness and deep gloom *
and broke their bonds asunder.
15 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his mercy *
and the wonders he does for his children.
16 For he shatters the doors of bronze *
and breaks in two the iron bars.
17 Some were fools and took to rebellious ways; *
they were afflicted because of their sins.
18 They abhorred all manner of food *
and drew near to death's door.
19 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, *
and he delivered them from their distress.
20 He sent forth his word and healed them *
and saved them from the grave.
21 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his mercy *
and the wonders he does for his children.
22 Let them offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving *
and tell of his acts with shouts of joy.
23 Some went down to the sea in ships *
and plied their trade in deep waters;
24 They beheld the works of the Lord *
and his wonders in the deep.
25 Then he spoke, and a stormy wind arose, *
which tossed high the waves of the sea.
26 They mounted up to the heavens and fell back to the depths; *
their hearts melted because of their peril.
27 They reeled and staggered like drunkards *
and were at their wits' end.
28 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, *
and he delivered them from their distress.
29 He stilled the storm to a whisper *
and quieted the waves of the sea.
30 Then were they glad because of the calm, *
and he brought them to the harbor they were bound for.
31 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his mercy *
and the wonders he does for his children.
32 Let them exalt him in the congregation of the people *
and praise him in the council of the elders.

Num. 21:8

the Lord said to Moses, ‘Make a poisonous serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live.’

Ephesians 2:3

All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else.

John 3:17

God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

3.11.18

Mars and Saturn glow over Scorpius in early dawn all week.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/space/go-for-launch/os-whats-in-the-night-sky-march-20180226-story.html
"Following the path of the moon and sun along the Zodiac will be Gemini and Cancer as the bight winter season constellations of Orion and Taurus move farther west in the prime viewing hours of the evening sky."

"Days will begin to grow longer on this date, although sunset will be later in the day once daylight saving time springs forward at 2 a.m. (make that 3 a.m.) Sunday, March 11."
the twins
the crab

篠 Xiǎo            Shin    rope the narrow road
田 tián    field   oda   rice field no mind
麻 má     hemp   ma     hemp          strength
里     lǐ     in       ri        village                security
子    zi  child        ko       child

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oku_no_Hosomichi
There was mist in the air when spring came. I thought of crossing the white river into the field on the plain. The spirit to wander all but deprived me of my senses. The guardian of the road beckoned. I could not settle down to work.

Defend

Kendall Jenner
The secret revenge body?


Defend
Your Garden
あなたの庭を守る
Anata no niwa o mamoru
ps40

After judgment had been revealed
I was subjected to trial by ordeal.

They cast me into the mire and mud.
I landed with an awful thud.

I tried to climb out of the well.
I tried and tried. Each time I fell.

No one came to this cistern.
My calls for help became whispered.

I waited and waited for deliverance.
My shivering became quite vigorous.

My prayers were answered. My cry was heard.
I no longer felt like a gallows bird.

I was lifted up from the shifty shallow.
Solid rock became most hallowed.

I climbed up to the tallest cliff
to gaze out over the great abyss.

A new song sprang from my mouth.
I'd been delivered from my drought.

Many will see and stand in awe.
The eagle grasps the fish with claw.

Spinoza's judgment was not as severe
as the Inquisition which tortured and seared.

Happy are those whose trust is fulfilled.
Results were made for what was willed.

False statements are not contorted.
Pleas are heeded as needed, not aborted.

Great things are those that you have done
when the risk has passed and you have won.

Immeasurable are your plans in wonder for us
when goals are met in fulfillment of trust.

Numerous are the discoveries investigation reveals.
Design is layered. No change is cause concealed.

Sacrifice defends the state that stands.
Trade is made from hand to hand.

Prosperity is for those who work and wait.
So I said, "I will not be late."

It is written in the book concerning me,
"You will open your eyes to see
the law is deep in your heart.
It has been there from the start."

It was the horse that drew the cart.
Praise has been raised to show you art.

Your love was not concealed from the congregation.
Libation for the nation will increase your station.

Behold. I did not restrain my speech.
The greater good, I did beseech.

Faith in justice must draw the arc
of the moral universe to light the spark
that melts the metal of the matter at the conjoining part
for the strongest bond. A weld that holds like the tiny quark.

You are the author of your love.
Let your destiny give fate a shove.

Innumerable troubles have crowded me;
so many I could barely see.

There were more in number than the hairs on my head.
My heart felt like a part of the living dead.

Please deliver me from the ties that bind my mind.
When I seek truth, it is facts that I will find.

Let those who seek to harm be dismayed
by the trouble they cause by the game they played.

Let those who delight in causing misfortune
feel the shame for their social contortion.

Let those who gloat over the pain they caused
remind those they harmed to stay on guard.

Let those who defend the will for salvation
be granted grace to find safe haven.

Let those who love your salvation say,
"It is great to love the eternal way."

Though poor and afflicted, I have been regarded
as an ardent artist for the guarded home and garden.


40 Expectans, expectavi

1 I waited patiently upon the Lord; *
he stooped to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the desolate pit, out of the mire and clay; *
he set my feet upon a high cliff and made my footing sure.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God; *
many shall see, and stand in awe,
and put their trust in the Lord.
4 Happy are they who trust in the Lord! *
they do not resort to evil spirits or turn to false gods.
5 Great things are they that you have done, O Lord my God!
how great your wonders and your plans for us! *
there is none who can be compared with you.
6 Oh, that I could make them known and tell them! *
but they are more than I can count.
7 In sacrifice and offering you take no pleasure *
(you have given me ears to hear you);
8 Burnt-offering and sin-offering you have not required, *
and so I said, "Behold, I come.
9 In the roll of the book it is written concerning me: *
'I love to do your will, O my God;
your law is deep in my heart.'"
10 I proclaimed righteousness in the great congregation; *
behold, I did not restrain my lips;
and that, O Lord, you know.
11 Your righteousness have I not hidden in my heart;
I have spoken of your faithfulness and your deliverance; *
I have not concealed your love and faithfulness from the great congregation.
12 You are the Lord;
do not withhold your compassion from me; *
let your love and your faithfulness keep me safe for ever,
13 For innumerable troubles have crowded upon me;
my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see; *
they are more in number than the hairs of my head,
and my heart fails me.
14 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me; *
O Lord, make haste to help me.
15 Let them be ashamed and altogether dismayed
who seek after my life to destroy it; *
let them draw back and be disgraced who take pleasure in my misfortune.
16 Let those who say "Aha!" and gloat over me be confounded, *
because they are ashamed.
17 Let all who seek you rejoice in you and be glad; *
let those who love your salvation continually say,
"Great is the Lord!"
18 Though I am poor and afflicted, *
the Lord will have regard for me.
19 You are my helper and my deliverer; *
do not tarry, O my God.