Rearranging the psalm doesn't make it say anything different than it did before. It does, however, emphasize certain points in my spirit. I won't elaborate on the realizations I had when I did this exercise with Psalm 55. I'll simply copy it below, and let you come to your own conclusions. I hope you'll consider this as a spiritual exercise for yourself. Just take any psalm, and give it a try. See how you perceive the scripture differently when you experience it in this way.
Here's an example of the way I've rearranged Psalm 55 (ESV):
Give ear to my prayer,
O God,
And
hide not yourself
From
my plea
For
mercy.
Attend to me,
And answer
me;
I
am restless
In
my complaint
And
I moan,
Because of the noise
Of the
enemy,
Because of the oppression
Of the
wicked.
For they drop trouble upon me,
And in
anger
They
bear a grudge
Against
me.
My heart is in anguish within me;
The terrors
of death
have
fallen upon me.
Fear and trembling come
upon me,
and
horror
overwhelms
me.
And I say,
“Oh, that I
had wings
like
a dove!
I
would fly away
And
be at rest;
Yes, I would wander
Far away;
I would lodge
In the
wilderness;
Selah
I would hurry
To find a
shelter
From
the raging wind
And
tempest.”
Destroy, O Lord,
Divide their
tongues;
For
I see violence
And
strife in the city.
Day and night
They go
around it
On
its walls,
And iniquity
And trouble
Are
within it;
Ruin in its midst;
Oppression
And
fraud
Do
not depart
From
its marketplace.
For it is not an enemy
Who taunts
me—
Then
I could bear it;
It is not an adversary
Who deals
insolently with me—
Then
I could hide from him.
But it is you,
A man,
My
equal,
My
companion,
My
familiar friend.
We used to take sweet counsel together.
Within God’s
house
We
walked
In
the throng.
Let death
Steal over
them;
Let
them go down to Sheol alive;
For evil
Is in their
dwelling place
And
in their heart.
But I call
To God,
And
the Lord will save me.
Evening
And morning
And
at noon
I
will utter my complaint
And
moan,
And He hears my voice.
He redeems my soul
In safety
From
the battle
That
I wage,
For many are arrayed
Against me.
God will give ear
And humble
them,
He
who is enthroned
From
of old,
Selah.
Because they do not change
And do not
fear god.
My companion stretched out his hand
Against his
friends.
He
violated his covenant.
His speech was smooth
As butter,
Yet war was in his heart;
His words were softer than oil,
Yet they
were drawn swords.
Cast your burden on the Lord,
And He will
sustain you;
He will never permit
The
righteous
To
be moved.
But you,
O God,
Will
cast them down
Into
the pit of destruction;
Men of blood
And treachery
Shall
not live out half their days.
But I will trust in you.
