My Psalm of Praise

I will sing about you and to you, Yahweh, 
worshiping you in good times and hard times.
When I tell others how you have acted on my behalf,
may those with little hope be encouraged to trust you.
May their faces light up with hope and joy!

So come, friends! Let’s lift him up in praise, let’s sing!
He has paid attention to my cries for help— 
he is my constant Rescuer, always with me.
I’ve been scared, in deep despair, emotionally injured.
When I told him about it, he healed my heart.

He rescued me from war, from distractions,
from deadly sickness, from intense conflicts.
If you run to him for help you will experience this too!
Open your soul, your heart! Look to him!
Run with relief into his arms of infinite love!

His essence is goodness. He feeds your soul
with all that strengthens your life and health.
He takes care of his own, provides what they need.
Let me underline this: if you want true life,
follow him, respect him, do what he says!

Make your words compatible with his values:
justice, honesty, encouragement and peace—
no pretense or rudeness, only what he wants you to say!
Make sure that all you do aligns with his love.
You will have trouble, but he will hold you.

Pour out your heart to him when in distress!
He will hear you, he will listen and respond.
He only turns away from those opposed to him.
There is no moment when he is not watching over you;
he is always and forever your one safe place!

This is my personal rendering of Psalm 34, expressing my own experience of rescue and my own words of praise. It was written at a women’s prayer retreat last Saturday at my church (GraceWay Bible Church), when we were given three psalms to choose from for contemplation. One application that they encouraged us to do was to write a personal version of that psalm, and I was delighted when I saw that the third one was Psalm 34. If you’ve been following my blog, you know that I’ve been contemplating this psalm this month, ever since it was a worship song for the choir that I sing in. The Lord knows how to underline a theme for us to digest and apply—I am so grateful to him!