PSALM 5

LORD, listen to my words.  Understand my sadness.

Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God,

because I pray to you.

LORD, every morning you hear my voice.

Every morning, I tell you what I need,

and I wait for your answer.

You are not a God who is pleased with the wicked;

you do not live with those who do evil.

Those people who make fun of you cannot stand before you.

You hate all those who do evil.

You destroy liars;

the LORD hates those who kill and trick others.

Because of your great love, I can come into your Temple.

Because I fear and respect you,

I can worship in your holy Temple.

LORD, since I have many enemies, 

show me the right thing to do.

Show me clearly how you want me to live.

My enemies' mouths do not tell the truth;

in their hearts they want to destroy others.

Their throats are like open graves;

they use their tongues for telling lies.

God, declare them guilty!

Let them fall into their own traps.

Send them away because their sins are many;

they have turned against you.

But let everyone who trusts you be happy;

let them sing glad songs forever.

Protect those who love you

and who are happy because of you.

LORD, you bless those who do what is right;

you protect them like a soldier's shield.

PSALM 4

Answer me when I call to you,

O my righteous God.

Give me relief from my distress;

be merciful to me and hear my prayer.

How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame?

How long will you love delusions and seek false gods?

Selah

Know that the LORD

has set apart the godly for himself;

the LORD hears when I call to him.

In your anger do not sin;

when you are on your beds,

search your hearts and be silent.

Selah

Offer right sacrifices

and trust in the LORD.

Many are asking, “Who can show us any good?”

Let the light of your face shine upon us, O LORD.

You have filled my heart with greater joy

than when their grain and new wine abound.

I will lie down and sleep in peace,

for you alone, O LORD,

make me dwell in safety.

PSALM 3

LORD, how many are my foes!

How many rise up against me!

Many are saying of me,

“God will not deliver him.”

But you, LORD, are a shield around me,

my glory, the one who lifts my head high.

I call out to the LORD,

and he answers me from his holy mountain.

I lie down and sleep;

I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.

I will not fear though tens of thousands

assail me on every side.

Arise, LORD!

Deliver me, my God!

Strike all my enemies on the jaw;

break the teeth of the wicked.

From the LORD comes deliverance.

May your blessing be on your people.

PSALM 2

Why do the nations conspire

and the peoples plot in vain?

The kings of the earth set themselves,

and the rulers take counsel together,

against the LORD and his anointed, saying,

“Let us burst their bonds asunder,

and cast their cords from us.”

He who sits in the heavens laughs;

the LORD has them in derision.

Then he will speak to them in his wrath,

and terrify them in his fury, saying,

“I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.”

I will tell of the decree of the LORD:

He said to me, “You are my son;

today I have begotten you.

Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,

and the ends of the earth your possession.

You shall break them with a rod of iron,

and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

Now therefore, O kings, be wise;

be warned, O rulers of the earth.

Serve the LORD with fear,

with trembling kiss his feet,

or he will be angry, and you will perish in the way;

for his wrath is quickly kindled.

Happy are all who take refuge in him.

PSALM 1

Blessed is the man

who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked

or stand in the way of sinners

or sit in the seat of mockers.

But his delight is in the law of the LORD,

and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water,

which yields its fruit in season

and whose leaf does not wither.

Whatever he does prospers.

Not so the wicked! 

They are like chaff

that the wind blows away.

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, 

nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked will perish.

PSALMS in Block Prints

I began my series of the Psalms in 150 Block-Prints (this being the first 72; Psalms in Block-Prints: Books 1 & 2) in January of 2008, with the intention of finishing it by the end of the year. It was a side project to my other duties – that of making a commercially viable art so as to feed my family and pay the bills. The Psalms proved much more difficult than expected, predominantly because they weren’t narrative in nature like the parables. However, they did offer poetic metaphors and visual language, allowing my imagination to wander. Needless to say, the year came and went, then another, and then another. My discipline on the project waned, but not my desire.

For me, the Psalms, as difficult as they were to read and interpret, became a devotional; my artwork, a prayer. And so I trudged ahead - the project becoming more than the finished end. My initial intention was not just to illustrate the Psalms in historic imagery, but rather, to find aspects of these songs that spoke to me here and now. My love of reading took me through many commentaries, as well as books on Christian signs and symbols. As a result, you will see symbols that have been used in Christian art for centuries, alongside my own visual language. For example, the “eye of God”, which is a part of early Medieval and Renaissance Christian art, is depicted throughout this book, and in fact, becomes a staple suggesting the omnipresence and sovereignty of God. The equilateral triangle represents the Trinity, with the radiating lines suggesting His infinite holiness.  The ever-present gaze of God is stated through the Psalmist’s observation, “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry.”

Likewise, visual metaphors are employed to often mirror the writer’s poetry. For example, Psalm 17 depicts a one-eyed bird with the words, “Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings.” To think that God is a one-eyed bird is rather silly and naïve, and so the viewer must deduce that this visual metaphor stands for certain attributes of God – in this case, that of caretaker and protector.

Another example, the monk, who prays the Psalms seven times a day through what is called the daily office or canonical hours, is depicted as a spiritual seeker of truth and a practicing disciple.  And although the Psalms were written before Christ’s birth, you’ll find him represented throughout in what are known as the prophetic Messianic Psalms – most notably Psalm 22.

Basically, the Psalms in Block-Prints are my own contemporary Psalter or prayer book.  I hope you enjoy them and find meaning and enlightenment through these as you journey onward and upward. Vaya con Dios.