Psalm 15

As I was looking at what lyrics to do for this very short psalm, I loved how it was basically spelling out how a righteous man should be living. Instead of wording it exactly as the psalmist, I wanted to personalize it and make it the prayer for my own life. Again, just me and my acoustic with a little harmony.

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Lyrics:

Verse 1: May my walk be blameless
May I do what's right
May I speak the truth from my heart
Pure and holy in Your sight

Verse 2: May I flee slander
And to my neighbor do no wrong
May I use my words to lift him up
And bring him along

Verse 3: May I hate evil
And honor those who fear the Lord
May I keep my word when it hurts
And give to the poor

Ending: May I never be shaken
May I never be shaken
May I never be shaken

Psalm 15:2-5: "He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman, who despises a vile man but honors those who fear the LORD, who keeps his oath even when it hurts, who lends his money without usury and does not accept a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken."

Psalm 14

I think this one feels a lot like a Mazzy Starr song called "Into Dust". This is the first song I've gotten to break out my new toy as well. It's called an E-bow and uses magnets to vibrate the strings instead of strumming them which makes it sound like they are being bowed. You'll hear it on the solo lines.

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Lyrics:

Verse 1: The Lord looks down from heav'n
To see if any understand
Are there any who seek
Among the sons of men?
All have turned aside
To the sin inside

Verse 2: There they are overwhelmed
There they are undone
He is refuge to the poor
He is present with His sons
Oh that salvation come
Oh that the Lord would come

Psalm 14:2-3, 5 & 7: "The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. There they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the righteous. Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!"

Psalm 16

Merry Christmas to all. I hope you all have a wonderful time with family remembering why we get to celebrate. Nothing too different with this song. A bit of a country swing added in for something new.

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Lyrics:

Verse 1: Keep me safe, my God, for in You I
In You I take my refuge
I say to You, You are my Lord
Apart from You I have no good thing
I have no good thing

Chorus: Lord, You alone, my portion and my cup
Lord, You alone, my portion and my cup
My lot secure, in You I trust

Verse 2: I will praise the Lord who teaches me
At night my heart instructs me
I keep my eyes always on You Lord
With You I'll not be shaken
I'll not be shaken

Verse 3: Therefore, my heart is glad, my tongue rejoices
My body rests secure
You never let me go, You give me life
You fill me up with Your joy
The joy of Your presence

Psalm 16:1-2, 5 & 7-11: "Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge. I said to the LORD, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.."

Psalm 12

This one is not meant to sing along to as the majority of mine are. Instead, it's meant to encourage the realization of how much we need our God. A very slow, plaintive guitar to accompany this pleading psalm.

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Lyrics:

Help Lord, help me Lord
For the godly are no more
The faithful disappear
From among the souls of men

You Lord, You will keep us safe
Protect us evermore
You Lord, You will keep us safe
Protect us evermore

Help Lord, help me Lord
Help me Lord

Psalm 12:1 & 7: "Help, Lord, for the godly are no more; the faithful have vanished from among men. O Lord, you will keep us safe and protect us from such people forever."

Psalm 6

One of my favorite songs to play (Katie will even tell you that she's heard way too much of this one). I finished this song while sitting by myself on a beach in Mexico so I'll always have that memory with this one. Just a little acoustic guitar song with a great promise.

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Lyrics:
Verse 1: Be gracious to me for I am weak
Heal me Jehovah
For my bones are tired, my soul is weak
How long, how long

Chorus: Return to me, merciful God
Heal me by Your love
Return to me, merciful God
How long, how long

Verse 2: I am worn out from the pain of this world
I cry in my bed at night
My eyes grow tired from sorrow and grief
How long, how long

Verse 3: Depart from me iniquity
The Lord heard my crying
He's answered my prayer, He's given me hope
He's heard, He's heard

Psalm 6:2-4 & 6-9: "Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am faint; O LORD, heal me, for my bones are in agony. My soul is in anguish. How long, O LORD, how long? Turn, O LORD, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love. I am worn out from groaning; all night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears. My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes. Away from me, all you who do evil, for the LORD has heard my weeping. The LORD has heard my cry for mercy; the LORD accepts my prayer."

Psalm 1

A couple of years ago, I started a project to write a song for every Psalm. While I know this will be a long (probably lifetime?) goal, I hope it is one that I someday am able to accomplish. On some psalms I go word for word from Scripture and on some I do a little paraphrasing from the Hoss Standard Version (HSV...a little joke for Pastor Ron). This was the very first one that started it all. A little piano number with simple lyrics and some harmony.

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Lyrics:

His delight is in the law of the Lord

His delight is in the law
And in His law he meditates day and night

He'll be like a tree firmly planted by the streams of water

Psalm 1:2-3: "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."

Welcome To My Blog

I have been writing praise & worship songs for a few years now and wanted to have an outlet online where I could compile them all. I hope that you enjoy the songs that I will be posting on here from time to time. It has been fulfilling writing them and hearing from people that have been able to worship God through them. Feel free to e-mail me at hosshughes@hotmail.com if you have any questions for me. Also, if you happen to live in the Tucson area, we would love to have you join us at El Camino Baptist Church for services Sunday morning.