Combined with the lyrical air, “The Banks of Claudy,” this beautiful psalm professes faith in a God who knits us together and knows us intimately.

You Have Searched Me (Psalm 139)

Tune: The Banks of Claudy

Words: Kiran Young Wimberly © 2015

You have searched me and known me, Holy Lord
Know when I sit and rise
You’re acquainted with my ways
Where I go and where I lie

You know each word completely
before I speak it, Lord
You lay your hand upon me
hem me in behind, before

Where can I flee from your spirit
Or from your presence go?
If I rise up to the heavens
Or descend to the depths below

If I take the wings of the dawn to
the far side of the sea
Even there, your hand will hold me fast
your right hand will guide me

For you formed my inmost being
within my mother’s womb
When I dwelt within that secret place
I was not hid from you

You ordained that the days before me
be filled with love and grace
Made me beautiful and wonderful
for this I give you praise

How precious is your every thought
how vast the sum of them
Though I try to count them
they are more than every grain of sand

O that you would pull down the ones who
do harm and seek to gain
My heart is heavy and I long
for goodness and love to reign

Search me, O God, and know my heart
know every anxious thought
And lead me on the path of
your everlasting way

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This psalm – and also the song by Ian Sinclair, “The King’s Shilling” to which it is set – begins with battle but leads to a call for peace.

Come, Spirit, Come (Psalm 144)

Tune: The King’s Shilling (Ian Sinclair)

Words: Kiran Young Wimberly © 2015

Come, Spirit, come
Rescue us, we pray
Shield us and save us, and come down to stay

Blessed be the Lord, my Rock and Shield
My hands are ready for the battlefield
O be my fortress, Deliverer
My shield and refuge
My shield and refuge as I fight this day.

Lord, what are humans that you think of them
Or mortals that you care for them?
Their days pass by like shadows grey
They’re a breath of wind on
They’re a breath of wind on a winter’s day

Come, Spirit, come
Rescue us, we pray
Shield us and save us, and come down to stay

Tear apart your heavens and come down to stay
Stretch out your hand now and rescue me
The lightning flashes and the arrows soar
And the mighty waters
And the mighty waters they are drowning me

I’ll take my harp and to you I’ll sing
Yours is the victory, O King of Kings
Deliver me from the cruel sword
From all who harm me
From all who harm me and the ones I love

Come, Spirit, come
Rescue us, we pray
Shield us and save us, and come down to stay

May our sons be strong as trees full grown
May our daughters stand as pillars firm
May our barns be filled with all we need
May there be no sorrow
May there be no sorrow on our streets today

Come, Spirit, come
Rescue us, we pray
Shield us and save us, and come down to stay

Blessed are the ones on whom such goodness flows
Blessed are the ones who trust the Lord
For God requires nothing more
Than to love each other
Than to love each other and to love the Lord

Come, Spirit, come
Rescue us, we pray
Shield us and save us, and come down to stay

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In this psalm, all creation praises the God who heals the broken-hearted. It is combined here with words from the Doxology and the rousing melody, “Mo Ghile Mear.”

Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow (Psalm 147)

Tune: Mo Ghile Mear

Words: Kiran Young Wimberly © 2015

Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise the healer of our souls
Earth and moon and stars above sing
Praise to you, O God of love

How good it is to sing our praise
God’s grace extends through all our days
God brings the outcasts home to rest
And builds a new Jerusalem

Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise the healer of our souls
Earth and moon and stars above sing
Praise to you, O God of love

God will heal the brokenhearted ones
Bind up and heal their every wound
God counts the number of the stars
And gives a name to one and all

Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise the healer of our souls
Earth and moon and stars above sing
Praise to you, O God of love

We will sing to God with joy and praise
With melody and thankfulness,
The clouds may pass before the sky
But rain will make the flowers thrive

Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise God, all creatures here below
Grant us your peace in home and hearth
And send your love through all the earth

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