Lent 1: Singing in the Wilderness

Short post to include the paraphrase of Psalm 25:1-10 read in worship at Cedar Park for the First Sunday in Lent.  This psalm was likely written in the time of the Babylonian captivity, or shortly thereafter.  While not obvious in English, this psalm is an acrostic psalm, meaning that each verse begins with a consecutive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.  We all know this is a helpful way to remember a long list, or a set of instructions, so we assume that it served a similar purpose with this psalm too.  One other feature of Psalms is their ‘doublets’ (not Shakespearean style costumes), or ‘echoes’.  Not content with saying something once, the psalm repeats an idea with slightly different phrasing: this is still obvious in the psalm, and this paraphrase makes it even more obvious. Enjoy!

  Psalm 25: 1-10

To you, Holy One, I lift up my soul.               

In my God, in you I trust,

I trust you to keep me safe from shame, 

and from the triumph of those who would do me harm.

                 Yes, keep me safe from falsifiers, those who can’t be trusted.

Set my feet on the right path,  Holy One,

                Yes, teach me which way to go.

 Lead me forward towards wholeness and truth,

                Teach me the paths,  O God of my salvation.

I put my trust in you, and wait the days long.

Don’t remember all the ways I’ve mis-stepped,

                God, forget the waywardness of my youth,

Instead, for the sake of your goodness, remember me.

                Because you are steadfast, remember me, not my faults.

Be teacher and Guide to me, all the days of my life,

                Lead me in the way that is good from this day to life’s end.

For all your paths are paved with steadfast love and faithfulness.

                Your covenant is the ground upon which we walk.