The Hymn of a Ponderosa Pine

A year ago while in the high desert of Central Oregon during the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot), I wrote a hymn about a giant ponderosa pine tree, while sitting on the banks of the Deschutes Rivers. As I gazed at and pondered it, I saw it singing a silent praise hymn to the Creator, the Almighty Yehovah Elohim. You can find this psalm below.

This year, I found myself at another river celebrating Sukkot with my wife, this time in southern Central Oregon being amazed by another giant, majestic and ancient ponderosa pine tree. This time, I made a pen and ink drawing of this 500-year-old behemoth.

Here are my poem and my pen and ink drawing showcased together..

Here are a couple of pictures of the actual tree.

The inspiration of this poem and its birth occurred while sitting next to the Deschutes River in La Pine, Oregon, during Sukkot (the Feast of Tabernacles) in 2018, while gazing admiringly at the mighty, towering ponderosa pine trees (Pinus ponderosa) that stand as sentinels gracing its banks. At the same time, the words of the First Psalm were floating around in the author’s mind.

La Pinus1 ponderosa2 at De Falls3 River waters4;

A weighty5 giant pondering6 heavenly matters. 

Rejecting your former blackjack7 past,

Basking now in heaven’s light at last.

Arms and trunks are tanned a bright orange hue8,

With muscular limbs upraised in praise to You9

To the Messiah, the radiant Sun of Righteousness10!

O piney tree by the rivers of water,

With crown aimed high—you’re a leafy psalter11.

The still small breath12 of heaven’s heart,

Strums happily your needley harp,

To all who’re attuned in full amaze—

And hear the Spirit’s psalm of praise.

La Pinus ponderosa by De Falls River’s edge—

Precariously planted on the sloping ledge?

Gravity inexorably can’t make you slip,

As you mock the current’s undercutting grip13.

Against the storms you’re resolute, 

Exempt from its slavish tribute.

The desert’s torrid breath can’t make you wilt14.

It underestimates how well you’re built.

For deeply rooted are your hairy feet,

As they sate their thirst from the summer’s heat14.

Anchored firmly against the gale.

From brutal breezes that do assail.

Resting on the solid Rock15,

Heat and wind they can’t you shock16.

To the bank of Truth17 you tenaciously cling,

Imbibing the Spiritual life14 the waters bring.

As Heaven’s wind18 fills your leafy sail,

You clap your hands19 as me you regale.

O Pinus preacher at the River Deschutes,

You cry aloud from roots to shoots.

A riveting sermon loud and clear

To open ears both far and near.

Quietly praising the King above,

Silent shouting of heaven’s love!

Puzzle letters from your massive girth20,

A visible testament fall to the earth.

Of heaven’s radiance they joyously glow,

Trampled by naive hikers there below.

But when combined these letters spell,

The truth of heavens evangel21.

This tree’s a wellspring of worshipful praise,

In every tongue with limbs upraised!

La Pine’s1 ponderosas who grace your river blue,

There is much for me to learn from you.

Your arms point upwards in heaven’s praise,

Past you to Him, my eyes I’ll raise22!

This is my heartfelt prayer to You:

With Your Spirit and Truth23 my heart imbue.

From Your tree of life24 I’ll always feed

Producing an abundance of living seed.

May I be too a tree of life,

That my heart-would25 with your words be rife.

Amein.

Footnotes—The Poem Explained

Continue reading
 

The Hymn of a Ponderosa Pine

I’m not sure if anyone can relate to this poem, but I had fun writing it. Please enjoy. — Natan

By Natan Lawrence 

The inspiration of this poem and its birth occurred while sitting next to the Deschutes River in La Pine, Oregon, during Sukkot (the Feast of Tabernacles) in 2018, while gazing admiringly at the mighty, towering ponderosa pine trees (Pinus ponderosa) that stand as sentinels gracing its banks. At the same time, the words of the First Psalm were floating around in the author’s mind.

La Pinus1 ponderosa2 at De Falls3 River waters4;

A weighty5 giant pondering6 heavenly matters. 

Rejecting your former blackjack7 past,

Basking now in heaven’s light at last.

Arms and trunks are tanned a bright orange hue8,

With muscular limbs upraised in praise to You9

To the Messiah, the radiant Sun of Righteousness10!

 

O piney tree by the rivers of water,

With crown aimed high—you’re a leafy psalter11.

The still small breath12 of heaven’s heart,

Strums happily your needley harp,

To all who’re attuned in full amaze—

And hear the Spirit’s psalm of praise.

 

La Pinus ponderosa by De Falls River’s edge—

Precariously planted on the sloping ledge?

Gravity inexorably can’t make you slip,

As you mock the current’s undercutting grip13.

Against the storms you’re resolute, 

Exempt from its slavish tribute.

The desert’s torrid breath can’t make you wilt14.

It underestimates how well you’re built.

For deeply rooted are your hairy feet,

As they sate their thirst from the summer’s heat14.

Anchored firmly against the gale.

From brutal breezes that do assail.

Resting on the solid Rock15,

Heat and wind they can’t you shock16.

To the bank of Truth17 you tenaciously cling,

Imbibing the Spiritual life14 the waters bring.

As Heaven’s wind18 fills your leafy sail,

You clap your hands19 as me you regale.

 

O Pinus preacher at the River Deschutes,

You cry aloud from roots to shoots.

A riveting sermon loud and clear

To open ears both far and near.

Quietly praising the King above,

Silent shouting of heaven’s love!

Puzzle letters from your massive girth20,

A visible testament fall to the earth.

Of heaven’s radiance they joyously glow,

Trampled by naive hikers there below.

But when combined these letters spell,

The truth of heavens evangel21.

This tree’s a wellspring of worshipful praise,

In every tongue with limbs upraised!

 

La Pine’s1 ponderosas who grace your river blue,

There is much for me to learn from you.

Your arms point upwards in heaven’s praise,

Past you to Him, my eyes I’ll raise22!

This is my heartfelt prayer to You:

With Your Spirit and Truth23 my heart imbue.

From Your tree of life24 I’ll always feed

Producing an abundance of living seed.

May I be too a tree of life,

That my heart-would25 with your words be rife.

Amein.

Letters of the alphabet from the bark of the ponderosa pine as found lying on the ground and unmodified.

Footnotes—The Poem Explained

1 A reference to La Pine, Oregon where the mighty ponderosa pines there inspired the author to write this poem. In fact, the ponderosa pine with the largest trunk diameter in the world of nine feet two inches is located in La Pine State Park—the location where the author commenced writing this poem. 

2 The Latin name for the ponderosa pine.

3 The name Deschutes is a French word meaning “of the or some waterfalls or rapids.” The Deschutes River of Central Oregon that flows through La Pine State Park in La Pine, Oregon has plenty of both.

4 The phrases “river waters,” “rivers of waters” and the like throughout this poem are hints to the first Psalm, verse three, which was in the author’s mind when writing this hymn.

5 “Weighty” is a wordplay on the word ponderosa, which derives from the Latin word ponderosus meaning, among other things, “ponderous, massive or weighty.”

6 A wordplay on ponderosa.

7 Juvenile ponderosa pines have black bark and are colloquially known as blackjack pines. This suggests, in poetic terms, a dark, dirty and sinful youthful past.

8 The older a ponderosa pine becomes, and the more exposed to the sunlight is, over time, its bark turns from a dark black to a bright golden red-orange color.

9 Capitalized personal pronouns in this poem are references to Elohim or Yeshua the Messiah (the God of the Bible).

10 This is a biblical reference to Malachi 4:2 where the prophesied Messiah is likened to the sun, for, indeed, as the Bible later reveals, the face of Yeshua the Messiah does, indeed, shine like the sun in its full strength (Rev 1:16). Moreover, the Bible reveals that Messiah is the Light of the world, who shows man the way out of spiritual darkness and into the spiritual light. The implication here is that the more and longer the ponderosa is exposed to the sun, the brighter and sunlight-like its bark becomes. Similarly, the longer a human is exposed to the spiritual light of Messiah, the more like him they will become, and the more they will reflect him in their personality and character.

11 A psalter is a book full of psalms employed for church liturgical purposes.

12 A reference to 1 Kings 19:12.

13 The Deschutes River, like many mountain rivers, is full of trees that have fallen into the river due to the eroding action of the quickly moving river of the bank on which the trees were precariously perched.

14 Again, the first Psalm verse three is in the author’s mind.

15 A reference to Yeshua the Messiah, the Rock of our salvation.

16 Plants can go into damaging or fatal shock mode when exposed too quickly to extreme heat and cold.

17 In several places, the Bible talks about the river of life. A river as two important components without which it couldn’t exist: a bank (or a channel) and water. To the author’s mind, the bank is like Truth, while the water is like the Holy or Set-Apart Spirit of Elohim. To be a true follower of Yeshua, one must have both the Truth of the Word of Elohim along with the Spirit of Elohim to understand it and then to live it. Our Father in heaven is seeking those to worship him in both Spirit and Truth (John 4:23–24).

18 That is, the Set-Apart Spirit of Elohim. There are a number of references in Scripture to the Spirit of Elohim being like wind (e.g. John 3:8; Acts 2:2).

19 The author had Isaiah 55:12 in mind here.

20 The older a ponderosa pine becomes, the more scaly its bark becomes, such that puzzle like scales or pieces of bark are constantly falling off of the trunk. The pieces are in all sizes and shapes. They literally look like pieces of a puzzle, and many of those pieces are in the shape of the letters of the alphabet. In fact, one can pick up letters and spell words. Some people even find the letters of their name and mount them on a board as a decorative plaque.

21 Or gospel.

22 The author here is reminded of Romans 1:20 where Paul tells us that there is much to be learned about the invisible attributes of Elohim from his visible creation that surrounds us and of which most humans are unaware.

23 This is another reference to the Spirit and Truth passage of John 4:23–24.

24 This is an obvious reference to the tree of life in the Garden of Eden. There are a number of other references in Scripture to the tree of life. All of these are metaphors for the Torah–word and wisdom of Elohim that comes through faith in and a relationship with Yeshua the Messiah who redeemed us from our sins by dying on a tree, and from which springs eternal life.

25 This is a play on words. The heartwood of a tree is its central part or most interior core, even as the human heart is at the center of the one’s being both literally and spiritually.


 

A Psalm by a 20 Year-Old Man of Elohim

At our Sukkot celebration this year in Central Oregon, we had an exercise where I asked the people to go out into nature, to tune into their personal spirit and then to write a psalm of praise or worship to YHVH Elohim. This psalm came from the spirit of a 20 heart-old man of Elohim. Please enjoy…

O most High King,
Praise be to you. Father of fathers,
I proclaim your majesty,
I set it on high.
O father, look not away ashamed from your servant,
Father forgive I beg the sins whose company I have kept.
Only you can reach down and draw me from the bog of evil.
It is up to my neck;
It has nearly flooded my ears.
It threatens to choke me–
To line the inside of my stomach,
So that evil sinks within me.
I call out to you Father,
Do not leave me alone in the dark,
But blow the trumpet,
That the walls of my heart will shake and fall down.
Surely Elohim, your glory and majesty are known to your creation!
Day and night they proclaim it,
And you delight in it, Father.
I pray, may we be like the eagle
Whose wings are lifted by the Ruach.
May we be like the fish
Whose scales shine in the suns light
As they jump up against the rush of the world.
Honor and glory alone are yours;
I keep none of it,
For I am too lowly even to touch the hem of your garment.
Oh most High King, Father of fathers, hear my prayer.
Adorn me with jewels, and make me acceptable in your sight.
I praise you father, for I have tried to hide from your loving gaze,
Yet, it pierces through my veil,
You see me, and only you know my heart.
It is wicked, it is stained with the paint of sin.
But YHVH is good, despite my efforts,
He has not let his servant slip through the cracks of his strong right hand. Praise Adonai, the most Kadosh one. Amen.
A Psalm by Kaleb Pace (20 years old)
Note from Natan: I have been a spiritual mentor and father to Kaleb since he was two or three years old. He is like a son to me, an employee of mine and a precious friend. It blesses me greatly to see this young righteous man pick up both the yoke and mantle of Yeshua and his Torah-Word and to be an up and coming torch-bearing next-generation leader for Yeshua. Way to go Kaleb!

 

A Psalm by a 19 Year-Old Levitical Minstrel

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the Torah of YHVH; and in his Torah doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. (Ps 1:1–3)

This psalm was birthed in the mountain wilderness by a river at Sukkot 2018 in Central Oregon and authored by a 19 year-old born again, Spirit-filled prophetic minstrel in the spirit of Asaph. This young Davidic tender warrior is a next generation spiritual torch bearer for Yeshua the Messiah.

O Lord, my El
Forgive me for I know not how I sin against You.
I sin with the same ease as I draw breath.
The flesh is the coach by which my soul steers,
Take the reigns.
Evil comes against what I desire, drawing me in.
Through Your strength, Your goodness prevails.
Alone I am but a nightcrawler,
Rummaging in the mud, hiding under the rock of evil.
But through You, the rock is lifted and Your light shines—
Transforming my soul and spirit cleansed.
The mud is washed away in Your waters,
I am made whole.
With You there is no lack nor want.
Praise the El of Abraham,
Worship the El of Isaac,
Sacrifice our fleshly lives to the El of Jacob,
So that we may transcend evil and come before You—
Casting our crowns!
Praise the El of complexity.
Praise our Lord Yeshua, King of our lives!

-Anonymous


 

Words and more words…the wrong kind!

 

There are too many words spoken by men; they refuse to shut up.
It strains the ears and wearies the soul.
I am drowning in a sea of them and can’t take it anymore!   
Yet at the same time, I’m burning up in a vast desert void where there’s a dearth of words being expressed to glorify You Abba.     
What a pitiable shame and such a reversal of priorities.    
The foolishness and vanity of men is an endless wasteland leaving in its wake emptiness and ruination!  

You are my lifeline and my cool, refreshing drink. Thank you Abba!

This addendum comes a couple days after I initially made this blog post. This is a comment from Jerry and Lisa in response to this post. It’s an excellent Spirit-led word of exhortation for us all. Selah (pause and reflect)

Yes, that’s true. I feel it too.

 

I’m also convicted to do better in this myself as I find myself sick and tired of the ignorance, foolishness, arrogance, deception, unrighteousness, injustice, and more. Then I find myself allowing myself to be provoked within myself by it all, and then at times I find myself displaying the same shameful foolishness in the reactions of my flesh, thinking I am speaking truth, which I often am, but not of the right spirit. even returning evil for evil sometimes. I confess and repent, even now.

 

We must not be lured into it and lower ourselves to such carnality, vanity, and even demonic destructiveness. We must be sober and alert. We must walk circumspectly and be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to wrath.

 

Thanks for expressing this heartfelt grief and longing. I agree in prayer that He pour out His Spirit on all flesh, convict of sin, righteousness, and judgement, that He set us apart in the truth through His word, and that His word would dwell richly in us, and not depart from our mouths.

These are His Words that have come to me in hearing what you have shared here:

 

“Do not be quick with your mouth nor hasty in your heart to utter a word in God’s presence. For God is in heaven, and you are on the earth—therefore, let your words be few.” [Ecc 5:1]

 

“Even a fool, if he will hold his peace, shall be counted wise: and if he close his lips, a man of understanding.” [Pro 17:28]

 

“Who among you is wise and understanding? By his good conduct let him show his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not boast and lie against the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. or where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, not hypocritical. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in shalom by those who make shalom.” [Jas 3:13-18]

 

“I solemnly charge you—in the presence of God and Messiah Yeshua, who is about to judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His Kingdom—proclaim the Word! Be ready when it is convenient or inconvenient. Confront, rebuke, encourage—with complete patience and instruction.” [2Ti 4:1-2]

 

“As for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says Adonai: “My Ruach who is on you, and My words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, or from the mouth of your offspring, or from the mouth of your children’s offspring,” says Adonai, “from now on and forever.” [Isa 59:21]

 

Please pray for me, even as I will pray for you.


 

A Psalm of Natan: How Love I Thy Word!

Written Nov. 2017

In this crazy world where everything good and true is being turned on its head—reversed—such that up is now down, evil is now good, white is now black, and most humans are getting caught up and swept along in this tidal wave of psychotic madness, the only place I can find sanity is in the Word of Elohim—the Bible. This psalm is written with these things in my mind.

O how love I Thy Word…

My morning manna it has been,

Since I was a tender sprig.

Early I seek Your face before the sun shows its face.

Each morning your Light ignites my pilot light

Guiding my steps in Your way through my day.

In Your Word I daily cleanse my soul—

Washing my brain in Your river of life.

My filth is purged, my eyes widened to the Light.

A ladder to heaven is Your word

Showing me the upward way,

My heavenly destination it unveils.

 

Without a compass, most are wandering where?

Lured by the sirens’ song into the Dead Sea’s abyss,

To the lake of fire they naively slide,

Blind and giggling as they plummet.

But your Word keeps my foot firm and sure—

My destiny map to the olam haba,

Ascending Jacob’s ladder to Your renewed city from above.

 

Prized possessions?

Each has their lustful heart wrapped around.

Slaving hard to obtain—

A thirst impossible to quench.

But as for me, I grip your Word.

More precious it is to me than much gold!

 

In this ruined garden called the world,

Your Word lifts my eyes above this pallid plane.

Over the ambit I see Your heavenly paradise just ahead.

Joyfully I launch into the outer space of your Word,

I dive into the Bible’s bottomless depths.

Your Word is a universe of sunken treasure awaiting my discovery.

 

Breaststroking through the effluence of this world,

Crawling like a slug, beating the water, arms raising…falling,

I will never surrender.

Though icy fingers pull me down to sheol,

The crystal waters of your word well up,

Warm and icy all at once, they transport me.

Comforting and invigorating to the deepest cell,

I am refreshed and made alive.

Your word makes me buoyant lifting me heavenward like a rocket.

Goodbye world…forever!


 

Call 9-1-1 in the Bible: An Uplifting Commentary on Psalm 91

Psalm 91:1 (and the rest of Psalm 91) Is the Biblical 9-1-1 to Call in Our Time of Trouble

Psalms 91:1, Secret. Heb. cether means “covering, shelter, hiding place, secrecy,” and is from the root word meaning “to hide, conceal.” When troubles comes our way like a tidal wave, the natural human reaction is to stand and fight or to flee in fear. In psychology this is known as the fight or flight response. There is a time to fight, but at all times we need to be hiding in the secret place of our relationship with our Almighty Father in heaven, to which the latter part of this verse alludes. Out of that place, and from under the shadow of the wings of the Almighty and in his throne room, we will not be cowering in fear from our enemies, but we will find the courage, will and stamina to stand firm in faith, and, if necessary, to come out and to fight the enemy not in our own strength, but in that of Elohim as led and guided by his Spirit.

Abide. Heb. luwn means “to lodge, stop over, pass the night or abide.” A lodge is a place where one temporarily spends the night. When dark times come our way, we need to stop over, spend the night, run to and abide in the throne room of the Almighty! This speaks of prayer, worship, praise and studying his Word.

Psalms 91:1, 4, Under the shadow of the Almighty…under his wings. According to the ancient Jewish sages, Moses composed this psalm for the tribe of Levi who dwelt under the shadow of the wings of cherubim that stood over the ark of the covenant in the Tabernacle of Moses—a physical representation of YHVH’s throne room in heaven. The sages go on to explain that the psalmist describes the devout man of faith who lives with Elohim in his heart, and who never leaves Elohim’s shadow. Such a man is a true biblical hero of faith to whom Elohim pledges (v. 16) he will satisfy with long life and show him his salvation (The ArtScroll Tanach Series Tehillim/Psalms Commentary on Ps 91). This psalm ends with the promise of the blessing of long life to those love and serve YHVH, and beyond that, salvation, which is the Hebrew word Yeshua—the very name of the coming Messiah who would offer his people deliverance from the ultimate enemy, namely sin and its death penalty. The result of this deliverance is the glorious divine gift of eternal life through faith in Yeshua the Messiah—the supreme gift and blessing of all! This psalm is a prophecy pointing to the Messiah.

In Jewish understanding, the Tabernacle of Moses wasn’t complete until the glory of YHVH’s presence took residence in the tabernacle’s inner chamber, the holy of holies. This was evidence that YHVH was making this habitation his own in a most intimate way. How was it possible, they ask, for the Creator of the universe to inhabit a mere tent? They explain that he focused his presence into this tiny spot. This isn’t unlike a magnifying glass that reflects the suns rays into a small but focused point on a piece of wood or paper. Were the earth closer to the sun, it would be burned up. Yet the sun’s light can be brought to the earth in a concentrated form that will not cause harm. This is exactly what Elohim did when he incarnated Yeshua into the womb of Mary. The sages had the understanding that the holy of holies is a picture of man’s heart that the Creator wants to indwell, which is the most sacred sanctuary of all.

The conception and birth of Yeshua was the fulfillment of this prophecy. The fire of the Set-Apart Spirit that came down upon the disciples on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2 was a fulfillment of this desire of YHVH of which the fiery glory cloud that dwelt in and over the Tabernacle of Moses was a prophetic portent. Yeshua promised his disciples that through this same divine fire he would dwell in their hearts after his death, resurrection and ascension. The result of this divine encounter of Elohim with those in the upper room resulted in many repenting of their sins and coming to faith in Yeshua the Messiah (Acts 2:38–41), which is the greater message of Psalm 91.

Psalms 91:3, Snare of the fowler. This is literally referring to a bird trap and the trapper. In ancient times, birds were trapped and used for food. This could be a poetic picture of Satan and his demons who fly through the air searching for human prey. A biblical example Continue reading