“To the chief Musician upon Nehiloth [flute or wind instruments: perforated pipe], A Psalm of David.
1 Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation.
2 Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray. 3 My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.
4 For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee. 5 The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity. 6 Thou shalt destroy them that speak lies: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.
7 But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple. 8 Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.
9 For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue. 10 Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee.
11 But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee. 12 For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.” – Psalm 5
The personal prayer of King David (Ps. 5) and the national lament and prayer of Israel (Ps. 44).
Events are history. Most events revolve about wars and their aftermath. War winners write the history. If one does not have a reason to know better he must accept the victor’s version — there is nothing else he can do. The victor’s version is often twisted or downright wrong.
When a person has lived on the same land as his ancestors for ten generations, the history handed down to him is often different. He has a personal interest in it. A different history results in a different worldview. Not only is his worldview often different — it can be the correct one while the official version is not.
To many, the road to Richmond is just another Virginia two land back-road; trees, creeks, hills, an occasional unworked farm. I know the road and have had reason to travel it countless times. It crosses battlegrounds, a scalping place, a massacre, worked out coal mines, a canal — the list goes on. It seems that every rock and hill has a story. The road is a long memory trail.
