Psalms Word & Image: Psalm 86 & Shelby Lee Adams' pictures of Appalachia



Shelby Lee Adams, Eric with "Spike" the Rooster

Psalm 86

Bow down Your ear, O Lord, hear me;
For I am poor and needy.
Preserve my life, for I am holy;


Shelby Lee Adams, Jane with Diddles

You are my God;
Save Your servant who trusts in You!
Be merciful to me, O Lord,
For I cry to You all day long.


Shelby Lee Adams, Pauline Standing

Rejoice the soul of Your servant,
For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive,
And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.

Shelby Lee Adams

Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;
And attend to the voice of my supplications.
In the day of my trouble I will call upon You,
For You will answer me.



Shelby Lee Adams, Hooterville Little Church



Among the gods there is none like You, O Lord;
Nor are there any works like Your works.
All nations whom You have made
Shall come and worship before You, O Lord,

Shelby Lee Adams, Halloween Twins

And shall glorify Your name.
For You are great, and do wondrous things;
You alone are God.



Shelby Lee Adams, Leddie & Children



Teach me Your way, O Lord;
I will walk in Your truth;
Unite my heart to fear Your name.

Shelby Lee Adams, The Collins Couple

I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart,
And I will glorify Your name forevermore.
For great is Your mercy toward me,



Shelby Lee Adams, James Clapper

And You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

O God, the proud have risen against me,
And a mob of violent men have sought my life,
And have not set You before them.

Shelby Lee Adams "Retratos de los Apalaches"

But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious,
Longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.

Oh, turn to me, and have mercy on me!



Shelby Lee Adams, Napier Brother's With Puppies

Give Your strength to Your servant,
And save the son of Your maidservant.



Shelby Lee Adams, Alma Gail and Boys

Show me a sign for good,
That those who hate me may see it and be ashamed,
Because You, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

Shelby Lee Adams



Old Testament Word & Image: Psalm 65 & The Hudson River School



A View of the Two Lakes and Mountain House, Catskill Mountains, Morning, Thomas Cole

Psalm 65

Praise is awaiting You, O God, in Zion;
And to You the vow shall be performed.
O You who hear prayer,
To You all flesh will come.
Iniquities prevail against me;
As for our transgressions,
You will provide atonement for them.

Blessed is the man You choose,
And cause to approach You,
That he may dwell in Your courts.
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house,
Of Your holy temple.

By awesome deeds in righteousness You will answer us,
O God of our salvation,
You who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth,
And of the far-off seas;

Thomas Cole, The Oxbow, View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm,

Who established the mountains by His strength,
Being clothed with power;
You who still the noise of the seas,
The noise of their waves,
And the tumult of the peoples.
They also who dwell in the farthest parts are afraid of Your signs;
You make the outgoings of the morning and evening rejoice.

You visit the earth and water it,
You greatly enrich it;



Niagara Falls, 1857, Frederic Edwin Church

The river of God is full of water;
You provide their grain,
For so You have prepared it.
You water its ridges abundantly,
You settle its furrows;
You make it soft with showers,
You bless its growth.

You crown the year with Your goodness,
And Your paths drip with abundance.
They drop on the pastures of the wilderness,
And the little hills rejoice on every side.
The pastures are clothed with flocks;
The valleys also are covered with grain;
They shout for joy, they also sing.

Mount Washington, by John Frederick Kensett

 

 

Psalms Word & Image: Psalm 23 and Anton Mauve



Anton Mauve, Shepherd with Sheep.

Psalm 23

 

The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.

 

Anton Mauve, In the Pasture

He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

 



Anton Mauve, Sheep on the heath



Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;

 

Anton Mauve, Shepherdess 

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

 



Anton Mauve, Entering the Fold

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.

 

Anton Mauve, The Return of the Flock, Laren

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.

Psalms Word & Image: Psalm 12 & Steve McCurry



Nomads, Steve McCurry

Psalm 16





A miktam of David.

 

Keep me safe, O God;

in you I take refuge.

 



Nomads,Steve McCurry



I say to the LORD,

you are my Lord,

you are my only good.

 



Nomads, Steve McCurry



As for the holy ones who are in the land,

they are noble,

in whom is all my delight.

 



Nomads, Steve McCurry



They multiply their sorrows

who court other gods.

Blood libations to them I will not pour out,

nor will I take their names upon my lips.

 



Nomads, Steve McCurry



LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,

you have made my destiny secure.

 



Nomads, Steve McCurry



Pleasant places were measured out for me;

fair to me indeed is my inheritance.

 



Nomads, Steve McCurry



I bless the LORD who counsels me;

even at night my heart exhorts me.

 



Nomads, Steve McCurry



I keep the LORD always before me;

with him at my right hand, I shall never be shaken.

 

Nomads, Steve McCurry

Therefore my heart is glad, my soul rejoices;

my body also dwells secure,

 



Nomads, Steve McCurry



For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,

nor let your devout one see the pit.

 



Nomads, Steve McCurry

You will show me the path to life,

abounding joy in your presence,

the delights at your right hand forever.



Holy Week- Old Testament Word & Image: Psalm 118 & the Terracotta Army of Xi'an, China

Terracotta Warriors and Horses. Xi'an, China

Psalm 118

 

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.

 

 

Let Israel now say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
Let the house of Aaron now say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
Let those who fear the Lord now say,
“His mercy endures forever.”

 

 

 

I called on the Lord in distress;
The Lord answered me and set me in a broad place.
The Lord is on my side;
I will not fear.
What can man do to me?
The Lord is for me among those who help me;
Therefore I shall see my desire on those who hate me.
It is better to trust in the Lord
Than to put confidence in man.
It is better to trust in the Lord
Than to put confidence in princes.
 

 

All nations surrounded me,
But in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.
They surrounded me,
Yes, they surrounded me;
But in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.They surrounded me like bees;
They were quenched like a fire of thorns;
For in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.
You pushed me violently, that I might fall,
But the Lord helped me.
The Lord is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation.^[a]

 

The voice of rejoicing and salvation
Is in the tents of the righteous;
The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.
The right hand of the Lord is exalted;
The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.
I shall not die, but live,
And declare the works of the Lord.
The Lord has chastened me severely,
But He has not given me over to death.

 

Open to me the gates of righteousness;
I will go through them,
And I will praise the Lord.
This is the gate of the Lord,
Through which the righteous shall enter.

 

 

I will praise You,
For You have answered me,
And have become my salvation.

 

The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone.
This was the Lord’s doing;
It is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day the Lord has made;
We will rejoice and be glad in it.

 













Save now, I pray, O Lord;

O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
We have blessed you from the house of the Lord.
God is the Lord,
And He has given us light;
Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.
You are my God, and I will praise You;
You are my God, I will exalt You.
 

 

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.

 

 

 

 

Old Testament Word & Image: Psalm 22 & Alexander Vorontsov

Auschwitz Liberation, Alexander Vorontsov

Psalm 22  

 

My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?
Why are You so far from helping Me,
And from the words of My groaning?
O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear;
And in the night season, and am not silent.

But You are holy,
Enthroned in the praises of Israel.
Our fathers trusted in You;
They trusted, and You delivered them.
They cried to You, and were delivered;
They trusted in You, and were not ashamed.

 

But I am a worm, and no man;
A reproach of men, and despised by the people.
All those who see Me ridicule Me;
They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
“He trusted^[b] in the Lord, let Him rescue Him;
Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!”

 

But You are He who took Me out of the womb;
You made Me trust while on My mother’s breasts.
I was cast upon You from birth.
From My mother’s womb
You have been My God.
Be not far from Me,
For trouble is near;
For there is none to help.


 

Many bulls have surrounded Me;
Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me.
They gape at Me with their mouths,
Like a raging and roaring lion.

 

I am poured out like water,
And all My bones are out of joint;
My heart is like wax;
It has melted within Me.
My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
And My tongue clings to My jaws;
You have brought Me to the dust of death.
 

 

For dogs have surrounded Me;
The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.
They pierced^[c] My hands and My feet;

I can count all My bones.
They look and stare at Me.
They divide My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.


 
But You, O Lord, do not be far from Me;
O My Strength, hasten to help Me!
Deliver Me from the sword,
My precious life from the power of the dog.
Save Me from the lion’s mouth
And from the horns of the wild oxen!
 

 

You have answered Me.

 

I will declare Your name to My brethren;
In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
You who fear the Lord, praise Him!
All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him,
And fear Him, all you offspring of Israel!
For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;
Nor has He hidden His face from Him;
But when He cried to Him, He heard.

 

My praise shall be of You in the great assembly;
I will pay My vows before those who fear Him.
The poor shall eat and be satisfied;
Those who seek Him will praise the Lord.
Let your heart live forever!

 

All the ends of the world
Shall remember and turn to the Lord,
And all the families of the nations
Shall worship before You.
For the kingdom is the Lord’s,
And He rules over the nations.



All the prosperous of the earth
Shall eat and worship;
All those who go down to the dust
Shall bow before Him,
Even he who cannot keep himself alive.
 

 

A posterity shall serve Him.
It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation,
They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born,
That He has done this.