Write Your own Psalm

(From Worship on Earth as it is in Heaven by Rory Noland)

Ever wanted to write your own Psalm? You can! Your original psalm doesn’t have to be wordy or eloquent; or even have to rhyme! You just have to be honest with your feelings toward God. You may want to set your psalm to music, or to a dance, or paint a picture to go with it; whatever will enrich your private worship experience.
Biblical Psalms can be roughly divided into three basic categories: songs of lament, hymns of thanksgiving, and hymns of praise. Should you choose to compose your own Psalm keep in mind these simply guidelines.

Hymns of Thanksgiving

Hymns of thanksgiving express gratitude for who God is and/or something God has done in the life of the writer. A thanksgiving psalm refers to a specific experience and gives witness to how God intervened. So the overall tone is joyful, with a deep awareness of God’s unmerited favor and blessing. Psalms 9 and 30 are good examples of thanksgiving hymns, as are salvation testimonies and stories about answered prayer. Characteristically, hymns of thanksgiving include these three factors:

They describe a past problem.
They recount how God intervened.
They express thanksgiving for God’s grace.

Hymns of Praise

Hymns of praise call God’s people to respect, admire, and revere God’s attributes and mighty deeds. They may not refer to a specific experience because hymns of praise begin with the premise that God is worthy of praise simply because he is God. As a result, such psalms highlight various names or attributes of God. Psalms 8, 93, and 145 are perfect examples. Thus, hymns of praise follow three principles:

Generally start by calling God’s people to worship.
State specific reasons to worship God.
Cite specific names or attributes of God.

Songs of Lament

Songs of lament are expressions of deep grief, anger, or sorrow related to personal hardship and crisis. They reflect an honest struggle to make sense of the pain of this world. Amid great adversity, the writer turns to God, knowing that God is the only one who can rescue, vindicate, and make things right. Songs of lament typically move from desperation to hope. Examples include Psalms 12 and 13. In writing a song of lament, keep in mind the following guidelines. Generally, songs of lament include three statements:

They are addressed to God.
They state a personal problem or crisis.
The eventually affirm hope and trust in God.


As you write your psalm, remember, you don’t have to write a literary masterpiece for God in order for it to be worship. Unless you decide to share it with others it can always remain between you and God.

Wide Road

Psalm 119:44-45 "I will keep your law continually forever and ever, and I shall walk in a wide place, for I have sought your precepts."

We often see God's road, or way for our life, as narrow and restricted. This isn't wrong for Christ himself tells us to "enter by the narrow gate for...the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few." (Matthew 7:13-14) So why does the Psalmist in Psalm 119 say that by keeping God's law continually he walks "in a wide place"? Because he has discovered the truth that when we follow God's way for our life we find freedom. It is "for freedom that Christ has set us free." (Galatians 5:1) God's plan was never to restrict our lives, but to free them from sin to live in the abundant "wide road" that he originally intended for us! Once we secure ourselves on God's road we find that it is wide and flat and free. God is ruler over all the world and, in Him, we find that all the world is ours as well, through what Jesus Christ did on the cross, which brought us in the family of God. The life God has for us is intended to be a life of freedom, you can walk, you can run freely, not worrying for as Proverbs 4:12 tells us "your step will not be hampered, and if you run, you will not stumble" because we have kept the way of righteousness, the way of God.

Let us not forget that the gate is narrow that leads to life, but once we have found it, once we are walking in His way, let us not keep looking back at the narrow opening but look forward into the wide lush road of freedom that lies ahead. God is a good, and his goodness never ends!

God Who Loves

I have come to know and believe this Love that God poured out for me
And for all who will believe in the One that sets us free
So with every breath that comes, I'll make known this God who loves.

So let us lift our broken hands and bring strength to our weakened knees
That we may run to the God who loves and brings everlasting peace

Your love sings over us
Your love reigns victorious
Your love brings glory to Your Name in all the earth

Your love pours unendingly
Your love shines for it is Holy
Your love never fails to lift me up though I have fallen to the ground

Your love brings peace to all
Your love it saves my soul
Yes it broke the chains that bound me
I was lost, but Your love found me
I pour Your love on those around me
For my God is God who loves.

You are my All in All

Jesus You heal my soul
Raised me up and made me whole
I called, Your answer gives me strength
In weakness Your power goes the length
No height, no depth can separate
All that You've done, I do give thanks
To You alone all glory given
For You were dead but now You are risen!
Your perfect love, shown on the cross
Has cast my fear, Lord I am lost
For words to say how much You've done
Transformed my death to life, I've come
To tell You know, here on my knees,
You are my all, my everything
No rocks will cry, no trees will ring
In my place, it's for your grace I sing...