on the morning altar,
O God, my Altar-Rock,
God, Priest-of-My-Altar.
A DAVID PSALM
020
GOD answer you on the day you crash,
The name God-of-Jacob put you out of harm’s reach,
Send reinforcements from Holy Hill,
Dispatch from Zion fresh supplies,
Exclaim over your offerings,
Celebrate your sacrifices,
Give you what your heart desires,
Accomplish your plans.
When you win, we plan to raise the roof
and lead the parade with our banners.
May all your wishes come true!
That clinches it—help’s coming,
an answer’s on the way,
everything’s going to work out.
See those people polishing their chariots,
and those others grooming their horses?
But we’re making garlands for GOD our God.
The chariots will rust,
those horses pull up lame—
and we’ll be on our feet, standing tall.
Make the king a winner, GOD;
the day we call, give us your answer.
A DAVID PSALM
021
Your strength, GOD, is the king’s strength.
Helped, he’s hollering Hosannas.
You gave him exactly what he wanted;
you didn’t hold back.
You filled his arms with gifts;
you gave him a right royal welcome.
He wanted a good life; you gave it to him,
and then made it a
long
life as a bonus.
You lifted him high and bright as a cumulus cloud,
then dressed him in rainbow colors.
You pile blessings on him;
you make him glad when you smile.
Is it any wonder the king loves GOD?
that he’s sticking with the Best?
With a fistful of enemies in one hand
and a fistful of haters in the other,
You radiate with such brilliance
that they cringe as before a furnace.
Now the furnace swallows them whole,
the fire eats them alive!
You purge the earth of their progeny,
you wipe the slate clean.
All their evil schemes, the plots they cook up,
have fizzled—every one.
You sent them packing;
they couldn’t face you.
Show your strength, GOD, so no one can miss it.
We are out singing the good news!
A DAVID PSALM
022
God, God . . . my God!
Why did you dump me
miles from nowhere?
Doubled up with pain, I call to God
all the day long. No answer. Nothing.
I keep at it all night, tossing and turning.
And you! Are you indifferent, above it all,
leaning back on the cushions of Israel’s praise?
We know you were there for our parents:
they cried for your help and you gave it;
they trusted and lived a good life.
And here I am, a nothing—an earthworm,
something to step on, to squash.
Everyone pokes fun at me;
they make faces at me, they shake their heads:
“Let’s see how GOD handles this one;
since God likes him so much, let
him
help him!”
And to think you were midwife at my birth,
setting me at my mother’s breasts!
When I left the womb you cradled me;
since the moment of birth you’ve been my God.
Then you moved far away
and trouble moved in next door.
I need a neighbor.
Herds of bulls come at me,
the raging bulls stampede,
Horns lowered, nostrils flaring,
like a herd of buffalo on the move.
I’m a bucket kicked over and spilled,
every joint in my body has been pulled apart.
My heart is a blob
of melted wax in my gut.
I’m dry as a bone,
my tongue black and swollen.
They have laid me out for burial
in the dirt.
Now packs of wild dogs come at me;
thugs gang up on me.
They pin me down hand and foot,
and lock me in a cage—a bag
Of bones in a cage, stared at
by every passerby.
They take my wallet and the shirt off my back,
and then throw dice for my clothes.
You, GOD—don’t put off my rescue!
Hurry and help me!
Don’t let them cut my throat;
don’t let those mongrels devour me.
If you don’t show up soon,
I’m done for—gored by the bulls,
meat for the lions.
Here’s the story I’ll tell my friends when they come to worship,
and punctuate it with Hallelujahs:
Shout Hallelujah, you God-worshipers;
give glory, you sons of Jacob;
adore him, you daughters of Israel.
He has never let you down,
never looked the other way
when you were being kicked around.
He has never wandered off to do his own thing;
he has been right there, listening.
Here in this great gathering for worship
I have discovered this praise-life.
And I’ll do what I promised right here
in front of the God-worshipers.
Down-and-outers sit at GOD’s table
and eat their fill.
Everyone on the hunt for God
is here, praising him.
“Live it up, from head to toe.
Don’t ever quit!”
From the four corners of the earth
people are coming to their senses,
are running back to GOD.
Long-lost families
are falling on their faces before him.
GOD has taken charge;
from now on he has the last word.
All the power-mongers are before him
—worshiping!
All the poor and powerless, too
—worshiping!
Along with those who never got it together
—worshiping!
Our children and their children
will get in on this
As the word is passed along
from parent to child.
Babies not yet conceived
will hear the good news—
that God does what he says.
A DAVID PSALM
023
GOD, my shepherd!
I don’t need a thing.
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
you find me quiet pools to drink from.
True to your word,
you let me catch my breath
and send me in the right direction.
Even when the way goes through
Death Valley,
I’m not afraid
when you walk at my side.
Your trusty shepherd’s crook
makes me feel secure.
You serve me a six-course dinner
right in front of my enemies.
You revive my drooping head;
my cup brims with blessing.
Your beauty and love chase after me
every day of my life.
I’m back home in the house of GOD
for the rest of my life.
A DAVID PSALM
024
GOD claims Earth and everything in it,
GOD claims World and all who live on it.
He built it on Ocean foundations,
laid it out on River girders.
Who can climb Mount GOD?
Who can scale the holy north-face?
Only the clean-handed,
only the pure-hearted;
Men who won’t cheat,
women who won’t seduce.
GOD is at their side;
with GOD’s help they make it.
This, Jacob, is what happens
to God-seekers, God-questers.
Wake up, you sleepyhead city!
Wake up, you sleepyhead people!
King-Glory is ready to enter.
Who is this King-Glory?
GOD, armed
and battle-ready.
Wake up, you sleepyhead city!
Wake up, you sleepyhead people!
King-Glory is ready to enter.
Who is this King-Glory?
GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies:
he is King-Glory.
A DAVID PSALM
025
My head is high, GOD, held high;
I’m looking to you, GOD;
No hangdog skulking for me.
I’ve thrown in my lot with you;
You won’t embarrass me, will you?
Or let my enemies get the best of me?
Don’t embarrass any of us
Who went out on a limb for you.
It’s the traitors who should be humiliated.
Show me how you work, GOD;
School me in your ways.
Take me by the hand;
Lead me down the path of truth.
You are my Savior, aren’t you?
Mark the milestones of your mercy and love, GOD;
Rebuild the ancient landmarks!
Forget that I sowed wild oats;
Mark me with your sign of love.
Plan only the best for me, GOD!
GOD is fair and just;
He corrects the misdirected,
Sends them in the right direction.
He gives the rejects his hand,
And leads them step-by-step.
From now on every road you travel
Will take you to GOD.
Follow the Covenant signs;
Read the charted directions.
Keep up your reputation, GOD;
Forgive my bad life;
It’s been a very bad life.
My question: What are God-worshipers like?
Your answer: Arrows aimed at God’s bull’s-eye.
They settle down in a promising place;
Their kids inherit a prosperous farm.
God-friendship is for God-worshipers;
They are the ones he confides in.
If I keep my eyes on GOD,
I won’t trip over my own feet.
Look at me and help me!
I’m all alone and in big trouble.
My heart and kidneys are fighting each other;
Call a truce to this civil war.
Take a hard look at my life of hard labor,
Then lift this ton of sin.
Do you see how many people
Have it in for me?
How viciously they hate me?
Keep watch over me and keep me out of trouble;
Don’t let me down when I run to you.
Use all your skill to put me together;
I wait to see your finished product.
GOD, give your people a break
From this run of bad luck.
A DAVID PSALM
026
Clear my name, GOD;
I’ve kept an honest shop.
I’ve thrown in my lot with you, GOD, and
I’m not budging.
Examine me, GOD, from head to foot,
order your battery of tests.
Make sure I’m fit
inside and out
So I never lose
sight of your love,
But keep in step with you,
never missing a beat.
I don’t hang out with tricksters,
I don’t pal around with thugs;
I hate that pack of gangsters,
I don’t deal with double-dealers.
I scrub my hands with purest soap,
then join hands with the others in the great circle,
dancing around your altar, GOD,
Singing God-songs at the top of my lungs,
telling God-stories.
GOD, I love living with you;
your house glows with your glory.
When it’s time for spring cleaning,
don’t sweep me out with the quacks and crooks,
Men with bags of dirty tricks,
women with purses stuffed with bribe-money.
You know I’ve been aboveboard with you;
now be aboveboard with me.
I’m on the level with you, GOD;
I bless you every chance I get.
A DAVID PSALM
027
Light, space, zest—
that’s GOD!
So, with him on my side I’m fearless,
afraid of no one and nothing.
When vandal hordes ride down
ready to eat me alive,
Those bullies and toughs
fall flat on their faces.
When besieged,
I’m calm as a baby.
When all hell breaks loose,
I’m collected and cool.
I’m asking GOD for one thing,
only one thing:
To live with him in his house
my whole life long.
I’ll contemplate his beauty;
I’ll study at his feet.
That’s the only quiet, secure place
in a noisy world,
The perfect getaway,
far from the buzz of traffic.
God holds me head and shoulders
above all who try to pull me down.
I’m headed for his place to offer anthems
that will raise the roof!
Already I’m singing God-songs;
I’m making music to GOD.
Listen, GOD, I’m calling at the top of my lungs:
“Be good to me! Answer me!”
When my heart whispered, “Seek God,”
my whole being replied,
“I’m seeking him!”
Don’t hide from me now!
You’ve always been right there for me;
don’t turn your back on me now.
Don’t throw me out, don’t abandon me;
you’ve always kept the door open.
My father and mother walked out and left me,
but GOD took me in.
Point me down your highway, GOD;
direct me along a well-lighted street;
show my enemies whose side you’re on.
Don’t throw me to the dogs,
those liars who are out to get me,
filling the air with their threats.
I’m sure now I’ll see God’s goodness
in the exuberant earth.
Stay with GOD!
Take heart. Don’t quit.
I’ll say it again:
Stay with GOD.
A DAVID PSALM
028
Don’t turn a deaf ear
when I call you, GOD.
If all I get from you is
deafening silence,
I’d be better off
in the Black Hole.
I’m letting you know what I need,
calling out for help
And lifting my arms
toward your inner sanctum.
Don’t shove me into
the same jail cell with those crooks,
With those who are
full-time employees of evil.
They talk a good line of “peace,”
then moonlight for the Devil.