Pt 426/Ps 116 I Love the Lord

1 I 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.

2 The 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.

3 I 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.

4 The 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.

5 Thou, 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.

6 I 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.

7 What 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.

8 Before 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.

9 I 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.

10 Jerusalem! 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!