Psalm 9 and 10 - God is Just - THE ARTWORK OF S. JEWELL S. MCGHEE

Psalm 9 and 10 - God is Just

11/25/2014

Psalms 9 and 10 together are an acrostic poem
God is Just
Psalm 9 and 10 By S. Jewell S. McGhee

Ps. 9:1-2. All my heart ( the center of my decision-making and trust) will sing and tell of your amazing acts.

3. Before you all that stands against me must give account.

4-5. Clearing my name from unjust accusations, you have called my opponents into accounts.

6. Destroying their lies and declaring me righteous through your Spirit, and delivering me to live a righteous life

7-8. Establishing his throne of judgment, he rules in righteousness and equity.

9-10. For the oppressed, you are a refuge. For the troubled, you are a strength. You have never forsaken those who seek you.

11. Give God the praises he deserves. He is GREAT and GLORIOUS and GOOD and GENEROUS.

12. He remembers my unjust suffering. He avenges and brings justice and healing.

13-14. If I intentionally look past my bitter moment toward your salvation and deliverance, I will be able to declare you praises now in the midst of my pain.

15-16. Justice comes when the schemers fall into their own schemes and their traps trap themselves.

17-18. Know that God will not forget the needy, he will keep safe the hope of the oppressed.

19-20. Lord, let the world know that you will judge them for their deeds.

10:1. Meet me here Lord. I feel alone. You feel so far away.

2-3. Noxious men seek out the weak and stand on the piles of their victims boasting of their wisdom and power.

4-5. Only for himself does he think. Only for his comfort is he concerned. Outwardly he looks successful and prosperous and carefree.

6. Preening his feathers he proudly professes his power.

7. Quite full of lies and equally full of trouble and evil and threats, he makes those around him quake.

8-9. Rotten and reviling and his actions. He leaves no repulsive thing undone to the innocent and the helpless.

10. Smugly, he misunderstands brutality for strength and fear for power.

11. Thinking he is above the notice of God, he does anything for his own advantage.

12. Uncover your face! Rise up! Show your wisdom and your understanding and your unmatched power and compassion for the weak.

13-14. Victims who commit themselves to you will see you victory. Those who revile you, in justice will be reviled by you.

15. Wickedness will be uncovered and the wicked will be punished

16. eXalted forever, you are King and you are God. Cultures and philosophies will rise and fall, but your truth and your power will never fade.

17. You hear, you listen, and you encourage all who call on you.

18. Zap the wicked so that mere mortals will not cause so much fear. Zero out their power and the terrors they have caused.

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About the Artist
S. Jewell S. McGhee likes to call her art “painting with pencils.” She first started using colored pencils to help her mother write names on lunch bags for school. “My mom would pick matching themes for the names on our bags; all balloons, or sunrises, or sometimes just geometric shapes. She always made them so beautiful; a plain brown bag lunch was, all at once, a love note, a story, a hug, and simple colors to enlighten us for the rest of the day.” These bags also became a constant reminder that art was simple, attainable, and a necessary part of every day.

“I always start with a story.” Every time you hear a story you have a physical (tears, a chuckle, or a smile) or mental (confusion, contentment) reaction which is unable to be explained in words alone. “I like to use abstract art as a medium to dive deeply into the complicated mess of a story and discover something more about it and about myself.” She follows the flow of a story and finds the shapes and colors that express its fundamental emotions and questions.

Jewell uses her art to interpret the stories of Shakespeare, the newspaper, the Bible, and her own life. “As I grapple with Hamlet, I see lines-sharp and violent-cutting through relationships and into love. There is red: obviously for blood, but also for love (a riddle itself). A golden crown, a golden son; a golden sun breaking through ghosts, clouds, and lives to reveal blackness and blood.” How black is the blackness of hate? What texture is grace? What shape is confusion, or desperation, or promise? These are the questions these pieces ask.