Psalm 6, Versified

For the choir director. With stringed instruments. According to sheminith. A psalm of David.

Lord, keep me safe from your anger,
Don’t punish me in your wrath.
God, hold me up in your mercy,
For I’m too weak to follow your path.

My bones quake in agony,
I cry out to be healed.
My soul burns in anguish,
How long must I wait afield?

Lord, you are my salvation.
Turn and deliver me.
Your love unfailing I long for,
And your merciful face to see.

Among the dead no one praises.
No corpse can call on your name.
No songs are heard from the casket.
The graveyard is ever the same.

I am grown weak from moaning,
I flood my pillow with tears,
My eyes grow weary from sorrow,
I cannot face all of my fears.

The Lord has heard my weeping.
The Lord has accepted my prayers.
Flee, you evildoers,
I follow the Lord who cares.

My enemies are in anguish,
The all are put to shame.
They turn back in their fear,
But I will praise your name.

Psalm 2, Versified

This one was rather difficult for me to write. I’m afraid I’ve been infected by the PC vision of the age, which makes “God is Love” his only attribute, and ignores the fact that God may be angry, and indeed, may have a perfect right to be angry.
The Kingdoms rage, the people shout.
What on Earth could this be all about?
Kings and rulers plot and plan
Against their Lord, and the Son of Man.

Cast off His bands, break His cords.
Nothing can make them follow the Lord.
The Lord in his Heaven sits and laughs
As if they could resist His wrath.

For God set His Son on Zion’s hill,
God made Him His heir, to follow His will.
The world is His, with an iron rod
He shatters the nations that won’t turn to God.

Let the kings learn wisdom on Earth,
Not be the target of God’s mirth.
Celebrate his rules, with fear.
Tremble as His Son draws near.

Worship the Son, bow before Him.
His anger burns, let all adore Him.
His wrath may in an instant burn,
But blessed are they that to him turn.

Psalm 1, Versified

I’ve decided to try to go through this year and “versify” Psalms, as a devotional exercise. My goal is to complete one psalm a week, but considering that it took me three weeks to get through Psalm 1, that may be pushing things somewhat. Or you could say that it only took me one hour, after I switched the tune I was trying to write to.

Based on Psalm 1
To the tune of “O Worship the King.”

The man who loves God,
How blessed is he!
To follow God’s path
Continuously
To stand in the judgment,
To sit in the throng
Which worships the Saviour
All the day long.

The man who loves God
Will grow like a tree,
With leaves that are green,
With fruit abundantly.
God’s love flows like water,
Alive in a stream,
That waters the roots,
And keeps the leaves green.

Not so are the wicked,
They’re like the dry leaves,
That blow in the wind,
That blow on the breeze
Their ways are forsaken,
Their pathways are dim.
For all roads shall perish
That lead not to Him.