Psalm 116 reimagined

1. I dote on the Lord because he / she pays attention to my thoughts and to my appeal for clemency.
2. I will talk to him / her as long as I am able to speak because he / she listens so carefully.
3. My life was slipping away, and I was in a panic about what was to come.  Suffering and grief seemed to be the future.
4. So, I cried to the person I trust, “Lord, please deliver me.”
5. The Lord is compassionate and reliable.  Our Creator is tender-hearted and forgiving.  
6. The Lord safeguards those with a simple dependence on him / her – death seemed inevitable, but he / she rescued me.
7. My inner being knows his / her deep calm, for I have benefitted from the Lord’s generosity.
8. He / she delivered me when I feared the end.  He /she dried my tears and made sure that I did not fall.
9. I have made it my aim in the rest of my life to keep in step with the Lord.  
10. I have full confidence in you and so I told you straight, “I am distraught.”
11. In my distress I shouted out to you “The comfort these people offer is all lies.”
12. How can I show my gratitude to the Lord, the one who has made me who I am?
13. I will accept his / her offer of liberation and will let everyone know that I adore the Lord.
14. I will promise to give myself to serve the Lord who released me, and everyone will know how grateful I am.

15. The Lord feels fully responsible when death comes to those he / she loves.
16. Lord, I am committed to work entirely for you and your purpose; I was born to parents who served you and that was my future.  You have adopted me into your family.
17. I will devote myself to thanking you for all you have done for me and will always call myself the Lord’s.  
18. I will keep my promises to follow the Lord right where everyone can see
19. In his / her church and in the heart of this city.  Acclaim the Lord.

© 2021 Andrew W. Kearns  All Rights Reserved