where lyrics come from

When I read the Psalms, I often don't identify with the words. The war imagery, the persecution, the seemingly endless lists of enemies, the troubles of the time I don't encounter.

At other times, it's like I wrote them myself.

Words harness the great power to build up or tear down. "From the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way," James 3:10 warns us.

We all identify with those words.

And I find the lyrics come alive at the strongest times, of desperation, of elevation, in midnight hours and restless mornings. I even go to sleep, and when I wake, the lyrics are still there.

Finally, I pick up the instrument, and it's like it plays itself.

The words fit, matching the melody.

It's another Psalm for another day.