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