God's Trombones

James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938)


And now, 0 Lord, this man of God,

Who breaks the bread of life this morning -

Shadow him in the hollow of thy hand,

And keep him out of the gunshot of the devil.

Take him Lord - this morning -

Wash him with hyssop inside and out,

Hang him up and drain him dry of sin.

Pin his ear to the wisdom-post,

And make his words sledge hammers of truth -

Beating on the iron heart of sin.

Lord God, this morning -

Put his eye to the telescope of eternity,

And let him look upon the paper walls of time.

Lord, turpentine his imagination,

Put perpetual motion in his arms,

Fill him full of the dynamite of thy power,

Anoint him all over with the oil of thy salvation,

And set ills tongue on fire.

And now, 0 Lord-

When I've done drunk my last cup of sorrow -

When I've been called everything but a child of God -

When I'm done traveling up the rough side of the

mountain -

0 Mary's Baby-

When I start down the steep and slippery steps of

death -

When tills old world begins to rock beneath my feet -



Lower me to my dusty grave in peace

To wait for that great gittin' up morning-

Amen.