There is already a book which arranges Swedenborg passages into free verse, by Leon C. Le Van, published by the Swedenborg Foundation in 1987. It works rather well, and surprisingly mostly keeps to the text.
The Scottish metrical Psalter of 1635 was a rhyming setting of all the Psalms in order for them to be sung, learned and remembered by worshipping people. “The Lord’s my Shepherd, I’ll not want” is one such setting.
But can we do this with the Heavenly Doctrines and might we then sing them – and then remember them through verse and rhyme? Here is one take, using Divine Love and Wisdom paragraphs 1 – 4.
1. Love is what makes us who we are, love is our life and soul,
It warms our hearts and minds and deeds, it’s our eternal whole.
2. The way we think and what we do are not the first of things,
It’s love that prompts them as they come, their place in us love brings.
3. Just as the sun warms up the world, and plants spring up and flower,
Love, like the sun, enlivens us, and stirs us with its power.
4. For God the Lord is Love itself, the source of all that is,
And we are made the cups of God, receiving what is his.
5. All people and all angels have God’s life and love, his gift,
Then let us serve and work for him, to God our hearts we lift.
