Psalm 40.1.2 – a devotional, deconstructive rewrite of Psalm 40

Psalm 40.1.2                   by Mark Nielsen (July/Aug 2012)

I waited patiently for the Lord,
And I waited. And waited.
I wasn’t sure how He would respond,
But I knew that He was listening.
I was in a slimy, desperate pit–
That same one that our friend David was in,
The one he climbed out of, in fact.
And then the Lord made him a king.
So I knew I was never alone in my wandering.

I was trying to learn a brilliant new song,
But it seemed I was constantly off-key,
And I couldn’t get the tempo right, you see?
So I kept going back to my own same old song
Instead of listening to Him, to get strong.
I was content to just trudge along,
But then He asked me to dance.

Blessed are we who make the Lord our trust,
We are granted the strength to do what we must,
And still more strength, to do more than we thought
Would ever be done by clutzes like us.

Many, O Lord, are the wonders you’ve done
The things that you’ve planned, I confess have me stumped.
You don’t want all my stuff, only my pure heart.
I am seeking Your will, but sometimes it’s hard.

I tell all these people how great You are,
But the lengths that You go to stretch me so far.
I speak of your faithfulness and face the truth,
Which sometimes leaves me gasping for breath.

Do not withhold Your mercy from us,
Confuse everyone who would steer us wrong.
We are poor and needy in ways we forget.
We await Your word, please don’t make us wait long.