A Psalm

Let us praise You, Lord, with abandon, and let us not restrain our voices,
For You are a walking Truth and a sounding Love,
And You search out Your children without rest.

For I left your ways and said to my heart,
"I am well without Him,"
And I turned from Your voice and said to my soul,
"I am satisfied."
Yet my heart grew callous and firm,
And from my soul there came an arid wind,
And all I believed myself to be withered before it.

Praise to the God of the weak and the ignorant,
For though we do not know our needs, You rescue us,
And You come when we do not know to call.
We praise You, God of the only joy, God in the face of the cynic,
For though you have the strength to bend the knees of the strong-willed,
You use instead a Love more powerful than all force.

For I had sunk deep within myself, and stopped my ears to Your guiding heart-beat,
And though I felt Your germ within, I pressed it down
And streched over it the web of my concerns.
I lived, but sank to dust; I laughed, but my mirth rang hollow.

We will yet praise You, Lord, for You will not be buried;
You will not remain in the tombs we create for You.
For You will resurrect the Christ within us,
And put to death our flesh;
You will stamp the lingering flames of our own will
And rob us of ourselves, leaving only You.

Lord, hear our praise:
You are the path-finding Truth-God, redeeming Jacob to Israel,
And You are the Love-burst of Righteousness,
Who draws the suffering thief to Paradise.
Great is Your name, and forever to be praised.