Available now at Westbow Press! https://www.westbowpress.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails
New book on the Psalms!
The Complete Psalms in Meter is a modern rendering of the Psalms in metric, rhyming verse with bullet-point commentary.
Psalm 1 from the book
Psalm 1 in metric, rhyming verse
1 Oh, the joy of those that do not follow
After the wicked man's advice,
For they gather not with the sinners,
Or to their council listen twice
2 In laws of the Lord they place their thought,
Forever taking much delight,
They are meditating always,
Throughout the day and by the night.
3 Like trees along a riverbank,
Bearing luscious fruit each season,
Their leaves shall never come to wither,
Prospering, against all earthly reason.
4 But for sinners what a different story,
They are like chaff before the wind,
5 They are not safe of Judgement Day,
Or with the Godly in the end.
6 For the Lord watches over all the plans,
And the paths of Godly men,
But the path of the ungodly leads to doom,
And it is the path of sin.
Convenient Bullet-Point Commentary Adjacent To Each Chapter
PSALM 1
· Authorship of Psalm 1 is Anonymous
· Genre of Psalm 1 is Torah (Torah means “teaching”)
· Superscription: Happiness of the Godly; Misery of the Wicked
· Psalm 1 of Book 1
· Mathew placed the beatitudes at the beginning of Jesus’s teachings for much the same reason that the editor of the Psalms placed Psalm 1 at the head of the collection of the 150 Psalms. As if to say: “Read all of the rest of the Psalms in the light of this first Psalm
· The real way to life is in fellowship with God and humble obedience to Him
· Micah 6:8 says much the same thing: What does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God
· The word “law” is the Hebrew word “Torah”. Torah means both teaching and revelation
· Torah is the name given to the first five books of the Old Testament
· Chaff is of no use in feeding the hungry!
· God does not have to destroy sinners. Their way of life destroys them. They just blow away.
Hardcover Book Available Through Westbow Press Bookstore @ $24.95
About the Author
Author Ryan L. Stewart began working on his version of the Psalms in meter in 1996, after the passing of his grandmother Mable (Stewart) Anderson. He was inspired by a book his grandfather carried everywhere: a 1911 printing of the 1650 Scottish Psalter, one of the earliest versions of the Psalms in meter, and took on the task of creating a more modern version.
Written over the course of sixteen years and refined in the spring of 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic that shut down the world for many months, The Complete Psalms in Meter presents a modern rendering of the Psalms in metric verse. It also offers bullet-point commentary for each chapter intended to help you better understand the Psalms, providing interesting facts and additional insight into the verses. Stewart’s sincere hope is that others enjoy the work and perhaps learn something new of our loving God in the process.
Uplifting and accessible, this collection offers a modern rendering of the Psalms in metric verse, supplemented by commentary and interesting facts about this important part of the Bible.
Ryan L. Stewart is a now retired Boeing 787 captain for United Airlines and a glider tow pilot at the US Air Force Academy. He fills in on guitar or bass guitar occasionally with his church’s praise and worship band. A father of five and grandfather of three, he lives with his wife, Kathy at Stearman Field, northeast of Wichita, Kansas.