Category: Psalms

Psalm 50 puts humanity on trial. In the first section, God, the almighty Judge, calls heaven and earth as witnesses to hear a just verdict. In verses 7-15, God addresses the faithful. Essentially, God says, “You’re doing pretty well, but remember that I want your hearts, rather than just your sacrifices of bulls and goats.” In verses 16-21, the wicked do not fare as well. God sees their hypocrisy–that they know God’s word, but take every opportunity they have for theft, adultery, and deceit. The final two verses are a summary of the chapter.

Instead of getting lost in the specifics of the Psalm (when was the last time any of you offered a bull as your offering?), I wanted to translate the heart of the Psalm for today’s worshiper. My distilled version is something like this: 1. Court is in session, and you’d better listen! 2. Offerings are fine, but God really wants your heart. 3. Don’t be a hypocrite. 4. Offer God a sacrifice of love. All of this is wrapped in the refrain, “Hear the word of the Lord”; it’s a common refrain in the Psalms, but in this case it has legal overtones: “Hear ye, hear ye, the judge will now speak and you need to pay attention!”

Musically, the song has a bit of a Medieval vibe–an SATB hymn, but robust and energetic. The most interesting thing to me is that it is unclear what key the song is in, even to me! The key signature is two flats, and the song starts on a Bb chord, but various phrases center on different key areas: D, Gm, G, and Eb, with a final chord of C. It makes sense to my ear, but I’m not sure how I’d analyze it if I had to!

Hear the word of the Lord.
Come, hear the word of the Lord!

1. The mighty God of all,
has summoned heaven and earth;
has gathered all humanity
into the court of the Lord.
Come, hear the word of the Lord!

2. Do I, the God of all
need lavish sacrifice?
The only offerings I desire
are hearts that beat with love.
Come, hear the word of the Lord!

3. For I can see your hearts,
even when they hide deceit.
You know my law, but live your life
as if I don’t exist.
Come, hear the word of the Lord!

4. Salvation comes to those
who hear and do my word,
who offer pure and thankful hearts–
a sacrifice of love.
Come, hear the word of the Lord!

Here in Blogsville, I’ve set many difficult Psalms to music. They’ve included Psalms of depression, rage, retribution, and acrostics. But Psalm 45 is difficult in a new way. It is a Psalm for a royal wedding.

It begins with an introduction, notable as the only Psalm to include the poet’s voice. (“I recite my verses for the king; my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.”) Next is a section extolling the king’s virtues (“You are the most excellent of men… All your robes are fragrant… Daughters of kings are among your honored women…”), followed by a section about the queen’s beauty and instructions on leaving her family behind. Finally, a concluding section anticipates this royal marriage leaving a lasting legacy.

While beautiful, it poses difficulty for the congregational songwriter. It is not really about God; it is music for a wedding ceremony. Additionally, it is a wedding from a culture that extols a man’s power and a woman’s beauty. Those ideals may make for a good wedding, but not a great hymn. Yes, one can turn the Psalm into an allegory for Christ and the Church, but that feels like a cop out.

I decided to cast this as the wedding of heaven and earth, as it were. The king of Psalm 45 is certainly a foreshadowing of the Messiah, who will come to usher in a new age of heaven on earth. The queen could be interpreted as the earth and all its treasures. And their wedding could be seen as the consummation of a new age of lasting peace and justice. Yes, that is a lot of poetic license, but it allowed me to remain faithful to the Psalm (with a verse for each section of Psalm 45–introduction, king, queen, legacy), while creating a song that could be sung in a worship context.

Behold the majesty
of God’s redeeming reign!

1. My heart is stirred by a noble theme;
my pen prepares its verse.
My lungs are full, my tongue will sing
the king of heav’n and queen of earth.
Let all the people sing: Chorus

2. The nations fall before your throne,
your splendored majesty.
Anoint your realm with peace and joy;
may justice claim the victory.
Let all the people sing: Chorus

3. May all the beauty of this world
be offered to your reign,
to weave a cloth of heav’n and earth
that flows into eternity.
Let all the people sing: Chorus

4. Oh, may this union never end,
expand from land to sea.
May justice, joy, and righteousness
remain this kingdom’s legacy.
Let all the people sing: Chorus

For this song, I teamed up with long-time collaborator Kate Bluett. Psalm 22 is one of the most poignant of all the Psalms, in part because Jesus cried it from the cross. Because of this, most settings of the Psalm are sung from the perspective of Christ’s passion. (Which works incredibly well for a text that was written centuries before him.)

But when I proposed the collaboration to Kate, I explained that I was looking for something different: I wanted it to be sung from the perspective of someone who has suffered abuse. The thing about the Psalms is that they can give voice to emotions too difficult for us to articulate. As the country learns how a club of powerful men systematically abused vulnerable young women for decades, it seems a fitting Psalm to give voice to the voiceless.

1. My God, have you abandoned me,
or don’t you hear me call?
I bear what no one seems to see,
but don’t you see it all?
Then why do you sit silently?
O you who heard your people’s plea
and in their anguish set them free,
now let your mercy fall!

2. For I am trampled as a worm,
rejected and despised,
but though my foes hold me in scorn,
on you I have relied
You held me first when I was born
and kept me safe in days before.
Oh, do not leave me so forlorn–
draw near and save my life!

3. My enemies surround me now
and here I stand alone.
Where were you when they stripped me down
and numbered all my bones?
My heart sinks down into the ground–
My God, where can your help be found?
Someday the powerful will bow,
but now they stand like stones.

4. My foes are wolves, and I’m the deer
who’s hunted by their horde.
Do not forsake me, but draw near
to me and all the poor.
O God, be with us in our fear,
and show your power for us here.
Someday our children yet shall hear
the kindness of the Lord.

Psalm 99 is a vision of God on the heavenly throne, surrounded by the mighty cherubim. In this vision, God’s feet rest on the earth–on Zion, to be exact. The temple in Zion was seen as the epicenter of God’s presence on earth. From there, God’s blessings spread throughout the whole world. The rest of the Psalm counts these blessings: justice, answered prayer, and forgiveness.

With the “nations trembling,” I could have taken a majestic or bombastic approach to Psalm 99. Instead, I decided on a more reverent interpretation, one that is filled with hushed awe at God’s presence.

All the nations tremble
at God upon the throne.
Earth begins to shake in
holy fear and joy.

Let all people bow down
in reverance and awe.
God rules over earth with
justice and with love.

Sing holy, sing holy,
sing holy to God.

95 is a popular Psalm, especially if you grew up in the “Come, Let Us Worship and Bow Down” era. Still, I hope I can add something to the repertoire with this new setting.

First, let’s start with the Psalm itself. It is a two-part Psalm, with verses 1-5 praising God for creation and verses 6-11 turning the focus inward to God’s relationship with his people. One commentator described the first section as starting with “Oh come,” and the second part with “Come in.” I shaped my song along those lines.

Sometimes in Psalms like this, you’ll be tracking along with beautiful images of God forming the seas and dry land, then suddenly the brakes screech and you’re in a section like “don’t harden your hearts like you did at Meribah.” It may cause cognitive dissonance for us, but for Israel, these are two sides of the same coin. The God who creates also relates. Verses 8-11 call Israel to confession using an example from their hard-hearted past.

In my original drafts, I intended to write this as an anthem for children’s choir. However, as my work continued, it turned into an upbeat Gospel song. It feels like it matches the energy and joy of the Psalm.

1. Oh come, come let us sing;
come let us shout aloud for joy.
Oh come, come with thanksgiving to
our Rescue and our Rock.

Oh come, come let us sing;
come let us shout aloud for joy.
Oh come, come let us praise our God
with music and with song.

For the Lord, our God, is great;
the King above all gods.
from the farthest reaches of the earth,
where the mountains touch the sun.

For the Lord, our God, is great;
the King above all gods.
And with his own hands, he poured the sea
and fashioned the dry ground.

2. Come in, come in and kneel;
come let us bow before our God.
Oh, come, come let us fall before
our Maker and our Lord.

Come in, come in and kneel;
come let us bow before our God.
Oh, come to the Good Shepherd
who is leading his flock.

And our God is speaking still,
as in the wilderness
where the people had ungrateful hearts
and they put God to the test.

And our God is calling us
to bow down and confess.
For the ones with open ears and hearts
will find his promised rest.

When a Psalm starts with, “The Lord is a God who avenges,” you know it’s going to be a bumpy ride. Indeed, Psalm 94 does not disappoint. It is a tirade against the proud and powerful, decrying their lies and schemes against the defenseless.

Sound familiar? See, that’s the thing about the Psalms, they seem hopelessly anachronistic until you suddenly find them giving words to the moment you’re living in. I’ve been so frustrated with the state of the world lately that it was with great glee that I wrote lines like “shut their filthy, snickering mouths” and “corrupted kingdoms will collapse.”

As this Psalm points out, God sees all. We don’t know when it will happen, but God, our Refuge, will set things right. We pray with the Psalmist that it won’t be long.

Oh, it won’t be long.
It won’t be long.
It won’t be long.
No, it won’t be long at all.

1. Rise up, O God, and show your power
to shut their filthy, snickering mouths.

2. They crush the weak beneath their feet.
They laugh and say that you won’t see.

3. But you, who fashioned ear and eye,
know every plan of humankind.

4. O God, do not forget your own.
We’re almost down, rise up, once more!

5. From misery’s chains we’re free at last.
Corrupted kingdoms will collapse.

6. For every wrong will be made right.
The sun will rise and scatter night.

Psalm 93 speaks of God’s majesty. The first two verses are what you might expect–the Lord reigns, is strong, is on the throne, and is eternal. But verses 3-4 take it up a notch, portraying the sea and crashing waves as praising God’s majesty. But wait… as mighty as the sea is, God is mightier still. It’s really breathtaking imagery.

I decided a modal, somewhat Medieval style would fit the majestic message of this Psalm. I especially like the “lifted up” section with its melody climbing higher and higher.

1. The Lord God reigns,
in majesty adorned;
in majesty and power, our God is robed.
Forever sure,
the world is ever sure;
forever sure when God is on the throne.

Lifted up,
the sea has lifted up;
the sea has lifted up its mighty waves.
Higher still,
still higher is the might;
still higher is the grandeur of our God.

2. The Lord God reigns,
in holiness adorned;
in holy light has decked the temple courts.
Forever sure,
your word is ever sure.
Forever sure, the mighty word of God.

Like Psalms 96 and 98, this is a “make music to the Lord” Psalm. You would think this would make it easy to make music out of it, but it’s actually pretty daunting: how do you say something unique with such a frequently used phrase? Added to that is the fact that the Psalm begins so cheerfully but quickly turns to evildoers flourishing for the moment before being destroyed forever.

Contrasting a G major chorus and an E minor verse gave me a little wiggle room with the emotional range of the Psalm. I especially like the turn to F# minor halfway through the verse; it’s enough of a curveball that the chorus feels extra joyful when it returns.

For some reason, verses 12-15 struck a chord in me. Earlier, we heard how the wicked sprout up quickly, then fade away just as quickly. Here, the psalmist compares that to the life of the righteous, who will grow and flourish like trees that bear fruit into old age. Or, as one commentator put it, “like trees that are fresh and full of sap”!

Morning and night, I sing your love.
O God, most high, my song pours out.
The harp is alive, each string resounds
with the tune of your great name,
morning and night.

1. Your works have made me glad;
my joy is in your hands.
Your wonders spring from wells so deep,
my mind can’t comprehend.

Though those who trust deceit
spring up like summer’s wheat,
they wilt and bow into the ground
while God remains the King.

2. You bless my arm with power;
anoint my head with oil.
My eyes have seen the victory;
my ears, the song of joy.

I’ll flourish in your house–
a tree within your courts–
still fresh with fruit until I die
with praise upon my tongue.