Psalm:Speak

Introduction

Sometimes participants of Bible study groups, when reading the Book of Psalms, will attempt to write a psalm, often one based on the well-known Twenty-Third Psalm. A particularly enthusiastic student might undertake the composition of 150 psalms, the number of psalms in the Book of Psalms.

In this collection of 150 original psalms, I have presented content relevant to today’s world, while drawing inspiration from the biblical psalms. As I composed, I posted my psalms in progress in chronological order, along with my nature photography, to my blog, titled, PsalmSpeak.
http://psalmspeak.blogspot.com/
http://psalmspeak.wordpress.com/

The final manuscript, titled, A Crown of Psalms: 150 Poetic Meditations, is categorized into three main sections:
“A Peal of Psalms,” a children’s book (psalms 17 through 9, 17 being the first);
“Psalms on Our Lips,” a selection of psalms on spiritual themes;
“Psalms in Plain Sight,” a selection of psalms on religious themes from my personal Baha’i perspective.

To readers who may identify some inconsistency in capitalization of sacred names, I offer the explanation that my method involves a degree of poetic license, using Baha’i conventions as a rule, but observing the style of the King James version of the Bible at times for effect.

These psalms are simple expressions. I regard them to be a kind of folk art, possibly evolving as they are shared. In the case of the biblical psalms, we have lost their melodies; perhaps the psalms in this collection will be modified if music is added. It is my hope that they will be uplifting suggestions for the reader’s consideration.

One-Third Mark

Dear Friends,

I've reached the one-third mark. I've posted 50 psalms. The project is to compose 150 psalms, the number in the biblical Book of Psalms. Others have taken on this challenge. My goal is to offer the Baha’i perspective. The Baha’i Faith is the most recent of the divinely-revealed religions, bringing the urgently-needed principles of justice among the nations of the world. I hope you will follow the links to the Baha’i websites which I’ve posted. Thanks to those who have visited. I always welcome your comments along this journey which is at once an ancient path and a timely message.

I’ve taken inspiration from these words written by Baha’u’llah (1817-1892), Founder of the Baha’i Faith: “Through the movement of Our Pen of glory We have, at the bidding of the omnipotent Ordainer, breathed a new life into every human frame, and instilled into every word a fresh potency.” Thank you for joining me on this journey of personal renewal.

Loving greetings,
Marley

Psalm:Speak

Comment

I'd like to thank Anonymous, for visiting. S/he makes the point that my blog is not scripture, though it is religious in content. This is true, and I am glad to see that Anonymous understands this distinction. My blog presents original poetry written in the psalm genre of poetry which has a traditional structure and content, the way a haiku generally has a syllabic structure and usually nature as its content.

Some may not realize psalms are not confined to the 150 psalms of the Old Testament. I’ve read many beautiful psalms on the Internet that convey New Testament Christian themes. My psalms are written from a Baha’i perspective. I have included links to official Baha’i sites, so the reader can find an introduction to the Baha’i Faith. Thank you, Anonymous, for your interest in distinguishing between original and biblical psalms. My goal is to compose 150 psalms, as others have done.

For anyone interested in matters pertaining to this blog, please see entries tagged "psalmspeak" which is the title of the blog. One entry includes a short definition of the term, psalm.

What is a Psalm?

The word psalm comes from the Greek word, psalmoi, a song sung to a harp, originally derived from psallein, to play on a stringed instrument. The Book of Psalms consists of 150 of these lyrical poems.

The main characteristic of this Hebrew poetic form is parallelism, a balanced thought usually presented in two parts. The first part states a thesis and the second part reflects the thesis, usually in one of three ways: repeating the idea, adding to the idea, or opposing the idea.

(Example Psalm 121:6 "The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.")

PsalmSpeak

~~ psalms from a Baha'i perspective


Welcome to my journey.
Join me as I compose
150 psalms of today's world.