The Complete Psalms in Meter: With Bullet-Point Commentary

By Ryan Stewart

Author Ryan L. Stewart began working on his version of the Psalms in meter in 1996, after the passing of his grandmother Mable (Stewart) Anderson. He was inspired by a book his grandfather carried everywhere: a 1911 printing of the 1650 Scottish Psalter, one of the earliest versions of the Psalms in meter, and took on the task of creating a more modern version.

Written over the course of sixteen years and refined in the spring of 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic that shut down the world for many months, The Complete Psalms in Meter presents a modern rendering of the Psalms in metric verse. It also offers bullet-point commentary for each chapter intended to help you better understand the Psalms, providing interesting facts and additional insight into the verses. Stewart’s sincere hope is that others enjoy the work and perhaps learn something new of our loving God in the process.

Uplifting and accessible, this collection offers a modern rendering of the Psalms in metric verse, supplemented by commentary and interesting facts about this important part of the Bible.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Oct 27, 2020
• ISBN: 9781664205178

Ryan Stewart

Ryan L. Stewart a Boeing 787 captain for United Airlines and a glider tow pilot at the US Air Force Academy. He plays the bass guitar with his church’s praise and worship team and fills in both with adult Sunday school teaching and occasionally the pulpit when the pastor is away. A father of five and grandfather of three, he lives with his wife, Kathy, in the country east of Colorado Springs.

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Copyright © 2020 Ryan Stewart.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

WestBow Press

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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ISBN: 978-1-6642-0516-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-0518-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-0517-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020917455

WestBow Press rev. date: 10/06/2020

For:

My four daughters and

son, Morgan, Jessica, Jamie, Seth, Andrea

Grandchildren, Maya, Micah, Hendrix

And descendants to come!

Special Thanks:

To my beautiful wife Kathy for making it possible for me to finish this book

Dedicated:

To my late grandparents Ira and Mable Stewart who

made it possible for me to start this book

CONTENTS

Preface

Book I

Book II

Book III

Book IV

Book V

Psalms: General Information

Bibliography

PREFACE

I started working on my version of the Psalms in Meter in 1996 after the passing of my grandmother Mable (Stewart) Anderson. She had been married to my granddad Ira V. Stewart until his passing as a young man in January of 1936. They had two boys at the time including my dad, Alan I. Stewart, who was only one year old at the time of Ira’s passing. My grandmother Mable told me many stories about Ira over the years. He was a Christian man who would lead the singing at church, teach Sunday school, or fill the pulpit for the pastor if need be. After my grandmother Mable’s funeral, I spent several days going through her personal belongings and came across a small book that my grandmother had previously told me that my grandad Ira carried with him every day in his shirt pocket. It was a 1911 printing of the 1650 Scottish Psalter which was one of, if not the, earliest versions of the Psalms in Meter. I started reading it and became taken with the Psalms converted to Meter. I thought it was somewhat hard to read though due to over 300 years of language changes and its heavy Celtic influence. I decided to rewrite the first chapter into a more modern version. Sixteen years later I finished my version of the Psalms in Meter and was not quite sure what to do with it. I had tried to quit the project numerous times over that sixteen-year period, but God would never quite let me stop working on it. I would feel His compelling push to get back to work on it until it was finished. I put the work on the shelf for several years but was pretty sure it would not be complete until I had written a bullet-point commentary for each chapter that would help the reader understand each chapter and maybe give some insight that perhaps could not be obtained with just the reading of the chapter. The spring of 2020 provided the much-needed time to finish writing the book due to the Covid 19 pandemic that shut down much of the world for several months. It is my sincere hope that the reader enjoys the work and perhaps learns something new of our loving God in the process. I would never suggest that my work in any way should replace an authorized translation of the Psalms or a commentary by a respected professional in the field such as George A. F. Knight or Charles H. Spurgeon. When I started the poetry version of the Psalms in 1996 I did not use the internet to look up anything for a number of years into the project due both to my lack of computer knowledge and the lack of available information on the internet. After I completed the poetry/meter version of the Psalms for this book, I was researching the earliest versions of Psalms in Meter and discovered an interesting fact. There were three authors of the metrical psalter in Gaelic that was produced in the 1650’s in Scotland. One of those three authors was John Stewart who lived close to my Stewart ancestor’s homes in Renfrew, Scotland. Probably just coincidence.

Ryan Stewart

BOOK I

PSALM 1-41

PSALM 1

• Authorship of Psalm 1 is Anonymous

• Genre of Psalm 1 is Torah (Torah means teaching)

• Superscription: Happiness of the Godly; Misery of the Wicked

• Psalm 1 of Book 1

• Mathew placed the beatitudes at the beginning of Jesus’s teachings for much the same reason that the editor of the Psalms placed Psalm 1 at the head of the collection of the 150 Psalms. As if to say: "Read all of the rest of the Psalms in the light of this first Psalm

• The real way to life is in fellowship with God and humble obedience to Him

• Micah 6:8 says much the same thing: What does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God

• The word law is the Hebrew word Torah. Torah means both teaching and revelation

• Torah is the name given to the first five books of the Old Testament

• Chaff is of no use in feeding the hungry!

• God does not have to destroy sinners. Their way of life destroys them. They just blow away.

PSALM 1

1 Oh, the joy of those who do not follow,

After the wicked man’s advice,

For they gather not with the sinners,

Or to their council, listen twice.

2 In laws of the Lord they place their thought,

Forever taking much delight,

They are meditating always,

Throughout the day and by the night.

3 Like trees along a riverbank,

Bearing luscious fruit each season,

Their leaves shall never come to wither,

Prospering, against all earthly reason.

4 But for sinners what a different story,

They are like chaff before the wind,

5 They are not safe on Judgment Day,

Or with the Godly in the end.

6 For the Lord watches over all the plans,

And the paths of Godly men,

But the path of the ungodly leads to doom,

And it is the path of sin.

PSALM 2

• Authorship of Psalm 2 is Anonymous

• Genre of Psalm 2 is Royal

• Superscription: Christ’s victorious Kingdom

• David’s universal dominion

• One of God’s gifts to Israel was the person of its King

• Israel would discover the abiding presence of God. Not in a building but in a human being

• Nathan explains to David in 2nd Sam 7 that the Lord will make him a house. That house was to be the dynasty of Kings from David onwards

• God made a covenant with the line of David

• Steadfast love is the Hebrew word hesed and recurs throughout the Psalms

• Hesed is used to describe the loyalty and reliability of God’s love. A love that will not let me go

• To conspire and plot against the line of David is to conspire and plot against God!

• There is no true love without wrath. God expresses His fury at sinners

• All of Israel was the Son of God

• God chose Israel for His own purpose of the redemption of the world

PSALM 2

1 Why are the lands in an uproar?

All of this devising by the nations,

Why do the people plot a vain thing?

Why all the plans and the preparations?

2 A conference, by the kings of the earth,

Has been called to plot against the Lord,

3 Let us break His chains, they have said,

And sever and cast away His cord.

4 But God in Heaven merely laughs!

He is amused by their feeble plans,

5 Rebuked, the terror in them flames,

As though stoked by Heavenly fans,

6 For the Lord declares, "I have made my choice,

He is now my King appointed,"

And over Zion, my Holy Hill,

I will have Him King anointed.

7 It is unto me, the Lord has said,

"I will determine the decree,

You are my one and only Son,

On this day have I begotten Thee."

8 Only ask and I will give unto you,

From all the nations of the earth,

9 I will break them with an iron rod,

As clay pots, dashed upon the hearth.

10 O Kings and rulers of the earth,

Now is the time to hear my voice,

11 Serve now the Lord with reverent fear,

You will tremble while you rejoice.

12 Embrace now the Son, tempering His ire,

Before you perish against His wrath,

His anger is like a kindling fire,

Touching not, he who walks in His path.

PSALM 3

• Authorship of Psalm 3 is accredited to David

• Genre of Psalm 3 is Individual Lament

• Superscription: In reference to when David fled from Absalom, his son

• A Psalm that is referred to as A Psalm of David does not necessarily mean that David wrote it

• This Psalm corresponds to an event in David’s life

• 700 years after David, editors of the Psalter placed headings on some of them but now on others. The method they worked with may not always be fully accurate

• The greatness of the Psalms lies in their having a universal and timeless message

• In Psalm 3, we see the word Selah three times. What it means exactly, no one knows exactly what it means

• Selah was probably a musical direction meaning pause here and make a loud noise with cymbals

• Fleeing his own son would be a grievous and heart-wrenching experience for David. We can read further about his grief in 2nd Samuel 15:30

• David’s experiences bring help to all people to find faith during our own difficult situations

• All men are sinners and all men and women are our enemies

• God is the God of grace

• Enemies come in all forms including our evil thoughts

PSALM 3

1 O Lord, how many are my foes,

How many have risen up against me?

2 God will not rescue and deliver him,

Is what is being said by so many.                Selah

3 But You, O Lord, are my strength and power,

You are my hope and my only shield.

With glory You cause me to lift my head,

When unto You I yield.

4 I cried unto the Lord with my voice,

And He heard me from His Holy hill.                Selah

5 I safely laid and slept in peace,

For the Lord was watching over me still.

6 Although ten-thousands of my enemies,

On every side of me do abound,

I will have no fear when God alone,

Is compassed around me and does surround!

7 Arise, O Lord, deliver me my God,

Strike and break the teeth of my enemy.

8 May Your blessing be on Your people,

When from the Lord, comes your delivery.

PSALM 4

• Authorship of Psalm 4 is accredited to David

• Genre of Psalm 4 is Individual Lament

• Superscription: David Exhorts men to Trust in God

• To the choirmaster: With stringed instruments

• A Psalm of David

• The Psalmist speaks, God replies

• Godly people are covenant people

• Godly comes from the noun hesed describing God’s steadfast love

• Psalm 4:4 is quoted by Paul in Ephesians 4:26 "In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry

• It is important to find out what God thinks

• And so, God acts, and the psalmist receives his blessing

• The psalmist knows a joy that is not of this world

• This joy is not the same as human happiness. Happiness can disappear. This joy is of God and belongs to God

• God is always with us

PSALM 4

1 Answer me when I call to You, O Lord,

You are the God of my righteousness,

Have mercy on me and hear my prayer,

Please enlarge me in my distress.

2 The Lord has asked, "How long, O man,

Will you turn my glory into shame?

While you are longing after vanities,

Seeking those, those that are only gods in name."                     Selah

3 God has set apart the righteous man,

And He hears what this man has said,

4 For he stands before the Lord in awe,

And his heart communes with God in bed.                                Selah

5 Offer up to God a right sacrifice,

And give, unto God, all your trust.

6 For He will prove your enemies wrong,

As His countenance shines on the just.

7 Greater than joy at the time of harvest,

Is the gladness you have given unto me.

8 I will lie me down in peace and sleep,

For in God alone, I dwell in safety.

PSALM 5

• Authorship of Psalm 5 is accredited to David

• Genre of Psalm 5 is Individual Lament

• Superscription: David prays to God for Guidance

• To the choirmaster: For the Flutes

• A Psalm of David

• This psalm has been used throughout the ages as a morning hymn and upon entering the sanctuary

• Was meant to be accompanied by flutes

• David appointed singers and musicians

• The psalmist takes the wrath of God for granted, as did Jesus

• Here God’s wrath is regarded as a mark of His love

• Prepare means to set things in order

• To understand the Cross of Christ is to understand that the God of love must hate sinners

• In verse 7 we see God’s steadfast love (Hesed): this is the content of the Covenant that God made with Israel

• The result of God’s saving love is change in a man’s heart. A new righteousness springs up

PSALM 5

1 O Lord, lend Your ear to all my words,

And, on my sighs and meditation, weigh.

2 O Lord, listen to and hear my cries,

For it is only to You that I pray.

3 I will look unto You in Heaven, Lord,

When I rise and make my requisition,

I will direct my prayer to You, O Lord,

As I am waiting in expectation.

4 You find no pleasure in wickedness,

And You cannot tolerate man’s sin.

5 Proud sinners will not survive your gaze,

For You hate the evils of wicked men.

6 You will destroy them for their evil lies,

For You abhor murder and deception.

7 For Your mercy I love and worship you,

And in your temple, I find protection.

8 O Lord, please lead me in Your righteousness,

Lest I am conquered by my enemy,

Lord, tell me clearly which way to turn,

9 For their words come untruthfully.

For their hearts are filled with wickedness,

And their suggestions hold death and sin,

Their tongues are filled with flatteries,

So that they might gain their wicked end.

10 But God will hold them all responsible,

While they are caught in their own snare,

When the weight of their transgressions,

And rebellion, catches them unaware.

11 Make everyone rejoice, O Lord,

Who puts his trust in, and relies on, You.

For those who love Your name may rejoice,

And spread Your protection over them too.

12 For surely Lord, You bless the righteous man,

With blessings You have sent from above,

And You will always, his protector be,

As You shield him, O Lord, with your love.

PSALM 6

• The authorship of Psalm 6 is accredited to David

• The genre of Psalm 6 is Individual Lament

• Superscription: David’s complaint in his sickness

• To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments; according to the Sheminith

• A Psalm of David

• The word Sheminith in the heading means eighth. We use eight notes to the octave, but we do not know if the ancients did as well

• The psalmist’s enemies seem to be as much within his heart as outside it

• In Hebrew, the words soul and life are the same word. The word is nephesh

• Jesus drew no distinction between curing the body and forgiving a sinner

• It is of note that the tone of the Psalm changes in verse 8: From out of the depths to a renewal of faith and courage. The psalmist is confident that God has heard his prayer

PSALM 6

1 O Lord, do not rebuke and punish me,

With displeasure that is akin to fire.

2 Heal me, for my body is very sick,

My bones are vexed, Your healing, my desire.

3 My soul is disturbed, and I am in anguish,

My soul, to You, seems not to belong,

It is filled with torment and suffering,

How much more should I suffer, Lord, how long?

4 Return, O Lord, and deliver my soul,

Save me, because of Your love unfailing.

5 If I die, I cannot give praise to You,

Who, from their grave, can praises bring?

6 I am worn with pain, and every night,

My pillow is wet with all my tears.

7 Because of my enemies, my eyes are dim,

They have aged far beyond my years.

8 The Lord has heard the voice of my weeping,

Depart from me, men of iniquities.

9 The Lord will receive all of my prayers,

For He has heard my weeping and my pleas.

10 All my enemies will be dishonored,

Sorely vexed and the receivers of blame,

They will be dismayed and full of disgrace,

And they will be forced to return in shame.

PSALM 7

• Authorship of Psalm 7 is accredited to David

• Genre of Psalm 7 is Individual Lament with Divine Council

• This Psalm corresponds to an event in David’s life

• Superscription: David prays against His Enemies Malice

• A Shiggaion of David, which he sang unto the Lord, concerning the words of Cush the Benjamite

• Shiggaion is another musical term whose exact meaning is lost today

• The root of the word Shiggaion means to wander possibly suggesting arpeggio-like music

• Cush possibly may refer to someone from the Sudan, perhaps a black man

• The Hebrews seem to have been free of color-consciousness

• Violence is a fact of human life

• Romans 8:22 reiterates that humanity and nature must suffer

• It is out of pain and suffering that the Kingdom of God arrives

• Righteous does NOT mean self-righteous

• Evil is self-destructive

• Numbers 32:23 says Your sin will find you out

• The Most High was the name that Abraham used. This name means My God is Righteous

PSALM 7

1 Lord, to save me from my prosecutors,

I depend on and I trust in you.

2 Do not let them maul my soul as a lion,

With no one coming to my rescue.

3 It would be different if my hands had sin,

4 Returning evil to him that is just,

5 Then let the enemy take my soul,

Trampling my honor into the dust.                                Selah

6 But, O Lord, rise up in Your anger,

Lift Yourself against my enemy’s rage.

Awake, Lord, and demand justice for me,

I have earned it as Your commanded wage.

7 For the people’s sake, return from on high,

Let the congregation encompass Thee.

8 Let the Lord judge all of the people,

And me, by my rightness and integrity.

9 O Lord, establish the righteous and just,

Let the wickedness of the wicked depart,

Make the upright and righteous secure,

For God’s judgment is the reins on the heart.

10 God is my shield and my defense,

And He will save those whose heart is upright.

11 The Lord, our God, will judge the righteous,

He is angry with the wicked, day and night.

12 If he turns not, God will whet His sword,

God has made ready by bending His bow.

13 He also prepared instruments of death,

And He makes ready His flaming arrow.

14 He who is pregnant with iniquities,

Gives birth to lies and disillusionment.

15 He who digs a pit and has scooped it out,

Into his own pit, he shall be sent.

16 His mischief shall return on his own head,

And his violent dealings return the same.

17 I praise the Lord as to His righteousness,

And sing praises to the Lord’s high name.

PSALM 8

• Authorship of Psalm 8 is accredited to David

• Genre of Psalm 8 is that of Hymn

• Superscription: God’s Glory Magnified by His Works

• To the Chief Musician upon Gittith (Gittith is a stringed instrument of music)

• A Psalm of David

• A relationship with God brings a sense of awe and wonder

• The part of God that is His glory, the Bible says, is visible to the eyes of faith

• God accepts the praise of innocent children

• In Mathew 19:14 Jesus says, suffer the little children to come unto me

• It is simplicity of faith, not the sophisticated twists of adults, that can stop the avenger in his tracks

• The miracle of grace cannot be understood through human reason. You can only accept it as a small child accepts it

• In both the Hebrew of the Old Testament and the Greek of the New Testament, there are two words for man. One means male as distinct from female. The other means mankind, humanity, made up of both male and female

• In the New Testament, people gave over fifty titles or names to Jesus

• Jesus only, gave himself the title of Son of man. We see it here in verse 4. Man meaning mankind

• God has assigned to man the fantastic responsibility of carrying forward creative activity

• We get it wrong if we think of man’s dominion over nature as being the right to exploit it as we see fit

• Having heard this great poem of faith recited in their ears, the whole congregation, in verse 9, then exclaims in one voice, the glory with which the poem began

PSALM 8

1 O Lord, our God, throughout all the earth,

With the majesty of Your name, it’s filled.

Your glory extends to the far and wide,

Into the starry heavens it has spilled.

2 The infants and children, have You taught,

To praise you perfectly,

And through their example they have silenced,

Your enemy and Your adversary.

3 When I look up into the darkening sky,

At moon and stars that were made by Your hand,

4 The attention You pay to a lowly man,

I am scarcely able to understand.

5 Yet You have made man only a little lower,

Than the angels that are in Your domain,

With a crown of glory and of honor,

Set upon his head that you did ordain.

6 You put him in charge of all You have made,

With authority You placed in his hands,

7 Above fowl of the air, fish in the sea,

8 And all the animals across the lands.

9 Jehovah, Lord, all worldly measure,

Would never be able to show Your worth.

The majesty, excellence, and glory of,

Your name Lord has filled all the earth.

PSALM 9

• Authorship of Psalm 9 is accredited to David

• Genre of Psalm 9 is Individual Lament

• This is the first acrostic Psalm

• Superscription: David praises God for Executing Judgement

• To the chief Musician upon Muth-labben

• A Psalm of David

• Psalms 9 and 10 are alphabetic or acrostic poems. Each second verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet

• Acrostic poems are easier to memorize as there were very few written copies at the time

• There are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet

• The first half of the Hebrew alphabet occurs in Psalm 9, the second half in Psalm 10

• When read together, Psalm 9 and Psalm 10 form a careful work of art

• This Psalm might possibly have been for a younger student, perhaps to learn by heart and recite

• Acrostic poems are easier to remember because of the built-in memory aid of letter succession

• Verse 1-2 Aleph The Lord has done much for me

• Verse 3-4 Beth We belong together as one fellowship in God’s covenant love

• Verse 5-6 Gimel Using Semitic hyperbole (not to be taken literally) we learn what God does to the enemies of his grand plan

• The letter Daleth is missing

• Verse 7-8 He The reality of God’s justice. God is in ACTIVE rule, His throne established for justice

A different way of living from the heathen. A way that is just and responsible

• Verse 9-10 Waw God leans over backwards to be both judge and advocate for the oppressed

This is exactly the same message that we need to spread; God does not forsake those who seek Him

PSALM 9

1 Lord, I will praise You with all of my heart,

Your marvelous wonders I will proclaim.

2 I will be glad and be filled with joy,

And I will sing praises unto Your name.

3 My enemies will fall back and perish,

When in Your presence they have stood,

4 You’ve backed my work, and vindicated me,

And declared from Your throne, that which is good.

5 You’ve rebuked the wicked and the heathen,

And the Godless nations You have overthrown.

6 O enemies of mine, you are doomed forever,

You will disappear, as if never known.

7