(Worship leader: Use a soulful sax on this one. A David psalm.)
I need you to hear me, Yahweh.
I need you to hear me out.
You’re my King,
So hear my plea for help.
You’re my God,
So hear my pleading prayer.
The first thing I do each day
Is fill your ears with my voice, Yahweh.
I lay out my requests on the table
And watch,
Waiting to see what you’ll do with them.
I know you’re not happy
With the tearing down and tearing apart
People do to each other.
“Not in my house,” you say.
Those who smirk at their sins
Get ushered out of your throne room.
The way they hurt others
Has you knotted up with fury;
Their lies
Deserve a fist in the mouth.
Their violence and deceit
Make you want to puke, Yahweh.
But your immense love
Draws me in,
Making me at home in your house.
In praise,
I orient my whole life toward you.
My compass needle points to your temple,
For you are my True North.
So, lead me, Yahweh.
Send me down the right road.
With enemies on either side,
Let me pass right through them
On your straight and narrow path.
I can’t trust them.
Their malicious hearts
Make for horror movie mouths,
Sucking people into open graves
With their lies.
Slam the gavel down!
Render a guilty verdict, God,
For they’ve been caught
In a web of their own weaving.
Kick them out for good
For persistently rejecting your kingship.
But let there be brimming hearts
And never-stopping songs of joy
Among all who turn toward you,
Among all who find a safe place in you.
Shield them.
They love to hear your name,
For you are the Source of their great joy.
I can count on this:
You, Yahweh, guarantee goodness
To those who pattern their lives after you.
They stand in the very center
Of your heart,
Loved at every angle.