A selection of 60 biblical Psalms re-imagined and rewritten, with space for your reflections and reactions.
An extract from the book
PS51
How we need you Lord,
How we need you.
Your beauty, your strength, your clarity,
Each day threading through our lives.
For we fall and stumble,
Our strength fails and our vision dims,
Our clay feet grow heavy, and
We wander from the path of life.
Find ourselves wading through the mire
Of our bad choices and wilful ways.
Cleanse us and refresh we ask, please,
Restore our love and compassion,
Let the waterfalls of your grace
Wash us clean and revive us,
For without you we are weak and broken,
Without you we are lost and helpless.
Wake again the thirst for truth and hope,
Warm the embers of our longing for you.
Reset our coordinates,
So that we turn our faces once more,
To that which is full of life,
To that which can restore dignity and self-respect.
Thank you so much that you are gracious,
Slow to become angry and overflowing with love,
An ever-present help in the valleys of our troubles,
In the deserts of emptiness and times of our wanderings.
Help us to bring our broken spirits to you once more.
Psalm 51
PS57
May we take our confidence from you Lord,
May we find our strength and safety in you.
It is so easy to lose heart, to want to give up,
So easy to look to other things for comfort.
The world seems to open its jaws at times,
Roaring at us like a wild animal ready to pounce,
It seems fierce and ugly and raging and uncomfortable,
The walls close in and we feel surrounded.
Wake us up, stir us and take the scales from our eyes,
Help us to see you a little more clearly today,
To bring our fears and worries and doubts to you,
To find a source of strength in your faithfulness.
Be glorified Lord we pray, may your face shine like the sun,
And may your honour rise like the breaking dawn across our lands,
Shedding light and kindness and hope into our lives today.
Psalm 57
PS68
A good Father, a kind parent,
A carrier of burdens and worries,
One who lifts our heads and leads us,
The breaker of chains, and
In whose presence we find peace.
Glimpses of his wonder in the day’s moments.
The one who cheers when we reach out,
When we show care and appreciation for others,
When someone lost is found,
When prisoners are freed, and lives rebuilt.
Break the power of the oppressors, we pray,
Those who glory in sneering and violence,
Those who line their pockets from others’ misery.
Change this world so that truth is the song,
Gentleness the way of the strong,
And understanding is the universal language.
Change our world and change us,
Help us as we continue with those small things
That bring good change and share light.
May we sense the cheers of angels as goodness
Flies like a flag and kindness is the gift we bring.
Psalm 68