Down to the Pit

O Lord, I call to you, come quickly to me. / Hear my voice when I call to you, YHWH. / May my prayer be set before you like incense and flame / As I lift up my hands and I die in Your Name. // Set a guard over my mouth, / keep watch over my lips. / Let my heart not be drawn to evil, / To take part in dark deeds with those who are dead, / Let me not drink the wine from their table. // Now the serpent pursues me and crushes me down, / And my flesh, sinful nature, wallows deep in the ground, / But my spirit cries out beneath the mud and the grit, / “Lord, don’t hide Your face or I’ll fall—down to the pit.” // Let a righteous man strike me, it’s oil on my head / For it’s pride that gives birth to all of my sins, / And I pray ‘gainst dark powers, throw ‘em down from the cliffs. / Show the wicked my words are well spoken. // O my eyes are fixed on You, the Light of the world. / My Rock it’s in You I take refuge. / I’m crying for mercy, Lord, save me from Death. / May Your grace protect me from judgement. // Now the serpent pursues me and crushes me down, / And my flesh, sinful nature, wallows deep in the ground, / But my spirit cries out beneath the mud and the grit, / “Lord, don’t hide Your face or I’ll fall—down to the pit.” // I have often dwelt in dark places, / Traded Truth for illusions of gold, / But Your voice reached my ear, just as Death hovered near. / Now I reach for You out of the cold. // O Ancient of Days, mysterious and vast, / I meditate on all that Your hands have done. / As I mourn for the loss of our innocence, / My soul thirsts for You like the parched desert sands. // Let the morning bring word of Your unfailing love, / For I have put all my trust in Jesus. / Just show me the way, Lord, that You’d have me go. / I’ve surrendered my spirit, now I lift up my soul—to You. // Now the serpent pursues me and crushes me down, / And my flesh, sinful nature, wallows deep in the ground, / But my spirit cries out beneath the mud and the grit, / “Lord, don’t hide Your face or I’ll fall—down to the pit.”