Image of the Week: Psalm 139
© D. Yael Bernhard
Poetry presents an interesting challenge for illustrators. Most illustration assignments demand a high level of accountability – everything must be clear to the viewer and faithful to the text. Poetry is an exception. It allows for the power of suggestion – a refreshing loosening of visual constraints.
But what if the poet – or in this case, psalmist – lived over three thousand years ago? Freedom of expression can quickly become frightening. Who can represent words written so long ago – by none other than King David himself?
Thus when I was commissioned by a Christian publisher several years ago to illustrate Psalm 139, I was a bit intimidated. Yet I love ancient literature, and felt immediately intrigued by the assigned passage. Timeless and transcendent, Psalm 139 speaks of the omnipresence of God – a revolutionary concept in an age of widespread idol worship. It reads as prayer in the form of song, and speaks to what a 4th-century Christian theologian called "the seed of a mighty mystery": the primordial state of human existence, inescapable from divine knowledge. The verses cry out with conviction that we are intimately known by our Creator since before birth. Only by pondering this idea could I find myself worthy of the task at hand: if divine Presence is everywhere and knows each individual from beginning to end, then that presence must surely have a hand in my creative efforts.
You covered me in my mothers' womb . . . my essence was not hidden from you . . . I was formed in the lowest parts of the earth . . . Your eyes saw my unformed body.
From these words, an image formed of a person – not child, not adult – floating in a womb of color, shaped by the hands of Creation, its fingers entwined with growing vines. Overlapping forms are transparent. Like stained glass, I tried to make the colors both dark and vibrant.
The illustration was not entirely unconstrained: the size was restricted, and the deadline was short. I could have taken this image much further. Would that the eternal Presence cast aside my obligations so I could do so right now! I would also weave into my painting these verses from the psalm:
Whither shall I go from thy spirit?
If I take the wings of the morning,
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there shall thy hand lead me.
No wonder the words of King David have endured for so long! If he were alive today, he could be a popular musician, a wise elder in a sweat lodge, a yoga teacher, a progressive priest, a cool rabbi, a modern-day monk, or a physicist with a literary bent. Would the humble shepherd destined to be king stand out from today's spiritual seekers and leaders?
Will the words of today's most inspired thinkers endure for millennia to come?
Something to ponder – which I believe is the purpose of psalms.
Wishing you a good week –
D Yael Bernhard