Psalm 4—The wild waters shattered my staged life to so much flotsam.

"The word of God compounds inside me until my fears churn one by one to hard, humble hope..."

Rendition of Psalm 4

Hear me and answer, my God,
My righteousness, my anchorhold.
When the wild waters shattered
My staged life to so much flotsam, 
You snatched me up.
You cleared the debris.
You bent and listened.
I waited and prayed.

Lord, how long will you let them
Trade your glory for shame,
Run down the faithful and chase 
Such fickle, brittle lies?
Yet, you have marked the faithful for yourself,
You hear them when they cry to you.
I tremble with rage at wrong,
But I will not sin.
I school myself to stillness.
The word of God compounds inside me
Until my fears churn one by one 
To hard, humble hope,
Which I lay on your altar and set aflame.

You gave more joy to me
Than those whose grain and wine abound.
I am full. I am secure.
You made your face shine on me
And I do not have to ask
Where the light comes from.
I lie down to sleep in peace,
For you alone, Lord, 
Make me dwell in safety.

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Catching up with the Darkling Psalter

If you are new to the Darkling Psalter, it is a project to create renditions of the Psalms (artistic rewordings based on the original Hebrew) paired with original poems.

Psalms with poems: 1, 2, 6, 8, 13, 14, 16, 19, 22, 29, 31, 32, 34, 38, 39, 40, 42, 46, 51, 53, 65, 73, 74, 84, 86, 88, 90, 107, 118, 121, 123, 130, 131, 137, 142, 147.

Psalms only: 3, 23, 27, 43, 50, 54, 62, 63, 66, 75, 91, 100, 110, 114, 117, 119, 120, 122, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 132, 133, 134, 139, 140, 148

Psalms complete: 68/150—45%

Request the Darkling Psalter in Print

If you would like to move this project one step closer to publication, sign up on this form to request the Darkling Psalter in print.

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• Still Point—Reflections on deconstruction and explorations of the truth of Christianity.