I Pray Thee, Lord, My Soul to Take by Mary McReynolds

When now I lay me down to death,

I seek no other epitaph

but that I took God at His Word,

and let His mighty, living Sword

cleave my sin away in Blood

offered to redeem the flood.

When now I lay me down to death,

let prayers ride on my final breath,

and wrap my soul in God's great love

until the angel trumpets move

to split the earth and sky above

where comes

the Lord,

His cross,

and Dove.

Mary McReynolds, author of Wells of Glory, Crossway Books, 1996. BA English, MA Creative Studies, University of Central Oklahoma. Other books in print include Redeeming Love: The Legacy of the Deaconess Ladies, The Tapeworm Emails, What the Seven Thuinders Uttered, and Seeds and Stems, A Poetic Collection. McReynolds lives in northwest Arkansas with her husband of 44 years, James McReynolds, retired journalist (The Oklahoman newspaper).