Say “Thank you, Yahweh!”
He’s so good.
His mercy-love never, ever quits.
Everyone rescued by Yahweh
Should have this on tips of their tongues.
He pulls us out of adversity.
No matter where on the globe we are,
He goes and gets us.
Some of you got lost,
Wandering in the desert
With no city in site.
Stomaches empty.
Throats parched.
Souls wilting.
But then you prayed to Yahweh
In your terrible trouble,
And he delivered you from your distress.
He took you on the most direct route
To the nearest city to settle.
So, what should you do?
Thank Yahweh
For his relentless mercy-love,
Making miracles for his dear children.
He knows what the soul needs
Yes, he satisfies the hungry soul
With only the best.
Some of you sat in cells,
Gloomy inside and out,
A death sentence hanging over your heads.
You knew God’s Word
And did the opposite,
Rolling your eyes
At the wisdom of the Great One.
So, he let a severe sentence
Humble your hearts.
When you fell down,
No one was there to help you up.
But then you prayed to Yahweh
In your terrible trouble,
And he delivered you from your distress.
He threw open your cell door,
Light streaming in,
Death sentence lifted,
Chains removed.
So, what should you do?
Thank Yahweh
For his relentless mercy-love,
Making miracles for his dear children.
He breaks down prison doors,
Demolishes prison walls.
Some of you stopped thinking clearly
Because sin darkened your minds.
Some of you sinned
And your bodies fell apart.
You couldn’t keep down anything you ate.
You looked like death.
But then you prayed to Yahweh
In your terrible trouble,
And he delivered you from your distress.
He spoke.
You survived,
Saving your funeral for some other day.
So, what should you do?
Thank Yahweh
For his relentless mercy-love,
Making miracles for his dear children.
Yes, get busy thanking Yahweh,
Singing his goodness.
Some of you sailed the seas,
The oceans were your livelihood,
Yahweh’s power and creativity
Evident in the wind-battered waves
And watery world below.
At his Voice,
Hurricanes howled
And the waves went wild.
You were tossed like a toy
Atop a mountain of water
And then dropped down
Into the trough below.
You were panic-stricken.
You couldn’t keep your feet beneath you
Like a man staggering from a bar —
And just as witless.
But then you prayed to Yahweh
In your terrible trouble,
And he delivered you from your distress.
He stilled the storm,
Mellowed out those wild waves.
You sighed in the silence.
And he brought you safely
To your desired port.
So, what should you do?
Thank Yahweh
For his relentless mercy-love,
Making miracles for his dear children.
Tell everyone back at home what he did.
Let your business partners know
It was God who got you through.
God turns things upside-down.
Rivers become deserts.
Wells run dry.
Fertile fields become lifeless.
All this because of their evil owners.
But he also turns things rightside-up.
Arid wastelands become lakes.
Deserts spring with water.
He does this s the hungry can gather there,
Building a city to call home.
They plant fields and vineyards
And each crop exceeds the ones before it.
They live the good life,
Have lots of kids,
And become financially stable.
When hard times do come their way
And they sorrow
Because of the bulldozer practices
Of self-interested people,
God will upend those power brokers,
Leaving them homeless,
Lost.
The needy will be lifted out of their trouble,
Their families cared for
Like a well-tended flock.
Good-hearted people will see this
And smile.
The self-centered and sinful
Will be speechless,
Stupefied.
If you have any sense at all,
You’ll see these things happen
And think long
On the mercy-love of Yahweh.