Suffering God
Isaiah says
…Zion said,
“The Lord has forsaken me;
my Lord has forgotten me.”“Can a woman forget her nursing child,
that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget,
yet I will not forget you.
Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are continually before me.”
2 responses to “Suffering God”
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Prayer for children, based on Isaiah, prayed by many parents of Dutch heritage, have not ever found a really great translation, at least not one that lumps the throat like the original. Babel fish trashes it, a symbol perhaps of what IT does to all beauty and emotion!
The prayer is a request that God would indeed keep the names of our children written in His hand, with ineradicable letters, especially knowing that Evil will test and try them. The prayer goes on to state that shielding from all unhappiness is not being asked for, rather the poet asks God to be our childrens eternal comfort, especially when they are lonely and scared. The prayer finishes with a plea that our children would never be estranged from God. To me a beautiful application of God’s word, his covenant, faithfulness and the comfort they bring to me as a parent.
Ik leg de namen van mijn
kinderen in Uw handen.
Graveer Gij ze daarin met
onuitwisbaar schrift,
Dat niets of niemand ze meer
ooit daaruit kan branden,
ook niet als satan ze straks
als de tarwe zift.
Ik vraag U niet mijn kinderen
elk verdriet te sparen,
maar wees Gij wel hun troost, als
ze eenzaam zijn en bang.
Wil om Uws naams wil hen in
Uw verband bewaren,
en laat ze nooit van U ver-
vreemden, nooit, hun leven lang.
Thanks so much for this much loved prayer. My parents had it on a plaque in our home and I don’t know what happened to
it. I was thrilled to find it. My son is getting married and we have been asked to give a blessing in the Dutch language.
I hope I don’t bastardize it too badly! It does get me choked up when I remember how much the words reflected my dad’s
heart for his children. Thanks again, Marie