Stephen Mitchell - A Book of Psalms: Selections Adapted From the Hebrew

The Hebrew word for psalm is mizmr , which means a hymn sung to the accompaniment of a lyre. But when the ancient rabbis named the anthology that we know as the Book of Psalms, they called it sfer tehillm , the Book of Praises. That is the dominant theme of the greatest of the Psalms: a rapturous praise, a deep, exuberant gratitude for being here. The mind in harmony with the way things are sees that this is a good world, that life is good and death is good. It feels the joy that all creatures express by their very being, and finds its own music in accompanying the universal rapture. Let the heavens and the earth rejoice, let the waves of the ocean roar, let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains rumble with joy, let the meadows sing out together, let the trees of the forest exult.

Thus the Psalmists, in the ardor of their praise, enter the sabbath mind and stand at the center of creation, saying, Behold, it is very good. This is the poet's essential role, as Rilke wrote in a late poem; when the public wonders, But all the violence and horror in the worldhow can you accept it? Rilke's poet says simply, I praise. The praise is addressed to whom? to what? When gratitude wells up through our whole body, we don't even ask. Words such as God and Tao and Buddha-nature only point to the reality that is the source and essence of all things, the luminous intelligence that shines from the depths of the human heart: the vital, immanent, subtle, radiant X. The ancient Jews named this unnamable reality yhvh , that which causes [everything] to exist, or, even more insightfully, ehyh , I am. Yet God is neither here nor there, neither before nor after, neither outside nor inside.

As soon as we say that God is anything, we are a billion light-years away. How supremely silly, then, to say that God is a he or a she. But because English lacks a personal pronoun to express what includes and transcends both genders, even those who know better may refer to God as he. (Lao-tzu, wonderfully, calls him it: There was something formless and perfect before the universe was born. It is serene. Solitary. Solitary.

Unchanging. Infinite. Eternally present. It is the mother of the universe. For lack of a better name, I call it the Tao.) In the following adaptations, I have called God him for lack of a better pronoun. You should, of course, feel free to substitute her if you wish.

Sing to the Lord a new song. My primary allegiance in these psalms was not to the Hebrew text but to my own sense of the genuine. I have translated fairly closely where that has been possible; but I have also paraphrased, expanded, contracted, deleted, shuffled the order of verses, and freely improvised on the themes of the originals. When I disregarded the letter entirely, it was so that I could follow the spirit, wherever it wanted to take me, into a language that felt genuine and alive. The Psalms speak as both poetry and prayer. Some of them are very great poems.

But as prayer, even the greatest poems are inadequate. Pure prayer begins at the threshold of silence. It says nothing, asks for nothing. It is a kind of listening. The deeper the listening, the less we listen for, until silence itself becomes the voice of God.

Blessed are the man and the woman who have grown beyond their greed and have put an end to their hatred and no longer nourish illusions.

But they delight in the way things are and keep their hearts open, day and night. They are like trees planted near flowing rivers, which bear fruit when they are ready. Their leaves will not fall or wither. Everything they do will succeed.

Unnamable God, how measureless is your power on all the earth and how radiant in the sky! When I look up at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the multitude of stars, what is man, that you love him, and woman, that you gladden her heart? Yet you made us almost like the angels and crowned us with understanding. You put us in charge of all creatures and placed your whole earth in our hands: all animals, tame and wild, all forests, fields, and deserts, even the pure air of the sky, even the depths of the ocean.

Unnamable God, how terrible is our power on all the earth!

Lord, who can be trusted with power, and who may act in your place? Those with a passion for justice, who speak the truth from their hearts; who have let go of selfish interests and grown beyond their own lives; who see the wretched as their family and the poor as their flesh and blood.

They alone are impartial and worthy of the people's trust. Their compassion lights up the whole earth, and their kindness endures forever.

Unnamable God, I feel you with me at every moment. You are my food, my drink, my sunlight, and the air I breathe. You are the ground I have built on and the beauty that rejoices my heart. I give thanks to you at all times for lifting me from my confusion, for teaching me in the dark and showing me the path of life.

I have come to the center of the universe; I rest in your perfect love. In your presence there is fullness of joy and blessedness forever and ever.

Lord, listen to my prayer; hear me in my hour of need. I am overwhelmed by my troubles and terrified by my thoughts. Guide my feet on your path; don't let me stop or falter. Teach me how powerful your love is and how insubstantial my fears.

Like the pupil of the eye protect me; hide me in the shadow of your wings. Cover me with your mercy; rock me to sleep in the dark. And let me, when I awaken, see nothing but the light of your face.

The heavens declare God's grandeur and the radiance from which they arise. Each dawn tells of his beauty; each night shines with his grace. Their testimony speaks to the whole world and reaches to the ends of the earth.

In them is a path for the sun, who steps forth handsome as a bridegroom and rejoices like an athlete as he runs. He starts at one end of the heavens and circles to the other end, and nothing can hide from his heat. God's universe is perfect, awing the mind. God's truth is subtle, baffling the intellect. God's law is total, quickening the breath. God's compassion is fathomless, refreshing the soul.

God's justice is absolute, lighting up the eyes. God's love is radiant, rejoicing the heart, more precious than the finest gold, sweeter than honey from the comb. Help me to be aware of my selfishness, but without undue shame or self-judgment. Let me know that you are always present, in every atom of my life. Let me keep surrendering my self until I am utterly transparent.

The Lord is my shepherd: I have everything that I need.

The Lord is my shepherd: I have everything that I need.

He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside the still waters; he refreshes my soul. He guides me on the paths of righteousness, so that I may serve him with love. Though I walk through the darkest valley or stand in the shadow of death, I am not afraid, for I know you are always with me. You spread a full table before me, even in times of great pain; you feast me with your abundance and honor me like a king, anointing my head with sweet oil, filling my cup to the brim. Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will live in God's radiance forever and ever.