This is my attempt at putting the Book of Psalms into my own words. I am not striving for an improved translation or interpretation. This is not The Message by Dave. This is words that mean to me what I am reading. I try not to change wording for the sake of changing, but rather to write down words that I feel the Bible is speaking to me. I hope that you might find some value to this; if so please let me know.

It is my goal to post each Monday. Doing the math, this will take a few years. Stick around and let's see where it goes.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Psalm 8

There are a few popular praise songs based on this Psalm. V1 "Majestic" ; V5: "Friend of God" (paraphrased a bit, of course). And we can't forget V2 on which we base the famous cliche, "out of the mouth of babes."

1 O LORD, my Lord, how I love to sing Your name above all things, over all the earth! Indeed, I also sing of Your praise and glory to the very heavens above 2 Even the little ones, the children, sing Your praise.

3 When I look at all of the wondrous works You have made, above, below, and everything between, 4 I see that you pay attention to me, just a man, and that You also sent Jesus, the son of man, and You care for us each equally? 5 You made Jesus, a man, yes, but He is still crowned him with all the glory and and all the honor. 16 You made Him ruler over all Your works and everything over and under heaven and earth: 7 all the animals, who walk, crawl; 8 and also those that fly and swim.

9 O LORD, my Lord, how I love to sing Your name above all things, over all the earth!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Psalm 7

A shiggaion of David, which he sang to the LORD concerning Cush, a Benjamite.
1 LORD and God, wrap yourself around me; I need protection from my enemies, 2 who will rip out my heart without You there to help. 3 LORD and God, if you ever catch me treating anyone this way, 4 if I have done this kind of evil to any of my friends, 5 You can give me over to them whom I have wronged; I do not deserve to live. Hear me!

6 O LORD, You are strong in Your anger, and it will stand against the anger of my enemies. Yes, stand up and bring them to Your justice. 7 Use that justice to rule over the people as You see best, You be their judge, and also my judge. Hold me accountable to the degree of my righteousness and integrity.9 You are the righteous God, You know our thoughts and feelings, don't let our evil continue. Make us secure in our righteousness. 10 I need You to protect me LORD.
11 You are the righteous judge, You never fail to show us your wrath, and You need to do this often.
12 If my enemy is allowed to continue he will assemble his evil weaponry. 14 He exudes evil and his every thought is towards deception and deceit. 15 But he also falls into his own traps. All the trouble he causes will come around to him again. It eventually will fall on his own head.

17 I will sing thanks and praise to You O LORD. You are deserving, and I will praise You.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Psalm 6

David is in a bad way again. Sometimes it is almost sad. This guy had the world by the tail. Got everything he desired. Was pretty well connected with God, and yet still penned poetry like this.

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. According to sheminith.

1LORD, please do not punish me in anger. 2Let Your mercy fall down on me LORD, in my weakness I could really use some of You right now; O LORD, touch me and make me better. I am in pain down to my very bones. 3My soul is in no better shape than my body. Why this O LORD, why me, why now, when will it end? 4O LORD, will You change your mind and bring me back to You? You can save me with the love that last forever.
5When all people are dead, how can we still praise You? Who will sing of Your glory if we are all lying in the grave?
6This weariness has eroded my soul. I am worn out from this pain and sadness; my constant tears are enough to wash away everything I have. At night these tears nearly flood my bed. 7As I look around, I see only more sadness; I cannot take the sight of all my enemies. 8Leave me, you enemies and you evil ones, the LORD is on my side. He has heard of my woes 9and He will grant me mercy; He listens to my prayers. 10Just the knowledge of this will discourage and humiliate my enemies; their dishonor will be quick and devastating.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Psalm 5

I can only read v1-3 in KJV and think of the worship song. (here's the chords). Amazing, spiritual, connecting.

For the director of music. For flutes. A psalm of David.
1Please listen to me, O LORD, my head is in a place where all I have is You right now. 2I cry out for Your help, my King and God. I pray to You 3from the start of the day to the end. O LORD, I know You hear me and listen to me; I put my prayers before You and then wait in expectation while You do what is best for me.

4For You do not get any pleasure from doing evil, or even being in the presence of evil. Evil cannot stand to be close to You. 5Likewise the arrogant cannot be near You; all who do wrong find themselves in a similar fate: without You. 6Lying, deceitful behavior, all this you do not tolerate. People who act this way and do these things are destroyed for You despise them.

7Because of Your great mercy, I get the chance to enter Your house and be with You. When I am there I will show You all the reverence that You deserve. 8Lead me to that place, O LORD; I do have enemies, but help me to remain righteous in spite of them. Show me the fastest way that leads to You.

9As for my enemies, I don't trust them, and neither should You. Inside, they are consumed with evil and malice. Their hearts, words, and deeds are altogether evil. 10I think they are guilty, O God! You should declare them so! By their own words they will condemn themselves. Don't stop them! Punish them for their sins.

11For those who follow You, let us always have joy, and sing out loud of Your goodness. Protect us with Your love, so that we may continue to sing Your praise. I know You can do this, 12for surely, O LORD, You will always be with we who are righteous; wrap us in Your loving arms, and protect us from all harm.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Psalm 4

The NIV intro to this one says:
"For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm of David."
So, David, and stringed instruments. This one is tailor made.

1I will call out for relief from this life, God. I wish it could always be easy. Please hear me. Please be merciful, and don't give me what I deserve. You know I usually ask for things You know I don't need or deserve.

2The people out there try to turn me from You. If I really turned away from You I could not live with the shame. How long people? How long will you avoid God, and find other ways for your shallow and temporary fulfillment? Listen to Him! 3The LORD can make you one of His godly people. Those not only of this world, who exist for Him. I hope to be among those godly ones, so when I call out to God He will hear me.

4Even when things are not going your way, you should not stoop to sinning. As you lie at night, use this quiet time to look into your heart. Listen to what you hear!

5Being godly will sometimes feel like a great sacrifice. Have faith in the LORD that these sacrifices are worth it. They are.

6People need to see someone good, someone godly. They sometimes need more evidence for Your goodness. that's OK - please help me to be one that shines Your light upon them. Let them see the light in me. 7 When I am successful at this, Your light fills me with great joy LORD! A greater joy than I have ever imagined. No earthly satisfaction compares. 8 Your joy allows me to sleep in peace, knowing that You LORD will be with me, and cover me with Your safety.

Friday, March 12, 2010

Psalm 3

Here is one where David is in a very bad way. His son is trying to kill him. In these verses "my enemies" is hitting pretty close to home. In those days it was not uncommon for a son to usurp the throne by killing a relative, even his own father. But just because it was accepted practice doesn't make it any easier on the father...

For reference: Psalm 3 (NIV)

1LORD, all around me are people who stand between me and You!
Everywhere I look and everywhere I go, they try to attack me!
2They tell me things, evil things. They say that You will not save me.
3But I know you are always there protecting me LORD;
in Your glory I am raised, and I can boldy lift my head 4to You and cry aloud!
You answer me from Your holy place on high. I listen!
5Even as I sleep, and then as I wake the LORD is with me, and fills me with all I need.
6If my enemies number a million, and I had no escape, I will not fear.
7Arise with me LORD, Arise! Save me Jesus, from myself and my enemies!
Break the jaw of my enemies, that they no longer say evil things to me.
Remove the power of my enemies, that they no longer control me.
8Jesus is the Savior. Bless me and all the people of the earth.
We hear You.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Psalm 2

This extends the need for belief to the nations and leaders of the earth. I emphasized that these are our leaders, and at least in a democracy, we are partly responsible for their behavior as leaders. Psalm 2 assures us that we will share in the payment for their mistakes.

For reference: Psalm 2 (NIV)

1All the peoples of the earth conspire against the LORD. 2The people and our leaders stand together against the LORD, and also against the Blessed One, Jesus. 3"We can break away from the LORD," our leaders say, "Everyone, cast away the bindings placed on us by the LORD." 4Jesus smiles ate this, and the LORD ridicules us. 5The LORD is outraged at us, and scolds us. We become afraid saying this:
6"My leader is a good leader. He is holy."
7What I need to do is to will renew my faith in the LORD. When I am sincere in this renewal, the LORD will say to me "you are my Son again, and I am your Father again. 8If you ask it of me, I will give you the whole earth, every last corner. All the peoples of the world will become yours. 9 You will be their leader. You will rule them cruelly, and shatter all people as you bring them under your control."

10So, all you people and all the leaders of those people, think about what you are doing! The LORD has told you the consequences of maintaining this evil path. 11Be very concerned with your service to the LORD. Sing and be glad, but also remain wary. 12Do not forget to honor Jesus, or he will get mad, and things will be even worse for you. Jesus can become enraged in a moment, so keep your faith, and show Jesus the honor and respect He is due. Keep Him in your heart, and all will be well.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Psalm 1

So, this is just a reminder of the major benefits of being a believer and follower of The Way. If we follow the LORD, good things happen. If we don't, not only do good things not happen, but bad things do. Not a pretty picture.

For reference Psalm 1 (NIV)

1A man sets himself apart by keeping immune from poor influences, keeping clear of bad people, those evil in deed as well as those only unpleasant in word. 2Such a man gets pleasure from the service of the LORD, all day and all night of every day he dwells in the pleasure derived from that service. 3He is rooted in a place where he gets all sustenance. When he is ready, he creates that which he is made to create. In this rooted place he is strong, and he flourishes. 4Evil ones do not get the sustenance they need. They become weak and fail, and ultimately simply fade away . 5They will never stand in the presence of the LORD, nor in the company of decent people. 6 For the LORD watches over the blessed man, but He will not watch over the way of the wicked, and they will eventually die a lonely death.

Calming Psalms

This is going to be my attempt as putting the book of Psalms into my own words. It's not trying to repeat the work of any particular version of the Bible, such as The Message. My hope is that by working through them in this fashion I will gain some new insights into God and His relationship with man, specifically, this man (me).

More than likely I will work from the New International Version, which is currently my favorite. I imagine I will tap into several versions as time goes by. Who knows.

That's it for now. I'd appreciation you sharing any thoughts you might have.