Pt 426/Ps 116 I Love the Lord

1I love the Lord, the fount of life and grace;
He hears my voice, my cry and supplication,
Inclines His ear, gives strength and consolation;
In life, in death, my heart will seek His face.

2The cords of death held me in deep despair;
The pangs of hell, like waves by tempest driven,
Rolled o'er my soul; by grief and sorrow riven,
I turned in my distress to God in prayer.

3I cried, Deliver Thou my soul, O Lord!
Jehovah heard. I pledge Him my devotion.
The Lord is just, His grace wide as the ocean;
In boundless mercy He fulfils His word.

4The Lord preserves the meek most tenderly;
Brought nigh to death, in Him I found salvation.
Come, thou my soul, relieved from agitation,
Turn to thy rest; the Lord has favored thee.

5Thou, O Jehovah, in Thy sovereign grace,
Hast saved my soul from death and woe appalling,
Dried all my tears, secured my feet from falling.
Lo, I shall live and walk before Thy face.

6I have believed, and therefore did I speak
When I was made to suffer tribulation;
I said in haste and bitter desperation:
All men are false, 'tis nought but lies they speak.

7What shall I render to Jehovah now
For all the riches of His consolation?
With joy I'll take the cup of His salvation,
And call upon His Name with thankful vow.

8Before His saints I'll pay my vows to God;
E'en in death's vale He keepeth me from evil;
How dear to God the dying of His people!
Praise Him, ye saints, and sound His Name abroad.

9I am, O Lord, Thy servant, bound yet free,
Thy handmaid's son, whose shackles Thou hast broken;
Redeemed by grace, I'll render as a token
Of gratitude my constant praise to Thee.

10Jerusalem! Within thy courts I'll praise
Jehovah's Name; and with a spirit lowly
Pay all my vows, O Zion, fair and holy,
Come join with me and bless Him all thy days!