“Lord, From Sorrows Deep I Call”
As a deer pants for flowing streams,
so pants my soul for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?
My tears have been my food
day and night,
while they say to me all the day long,
“Where is your God?”
These things I remember,
as I pour out my soul:
how I would go with the throng
and lead them in procession to the house of God
with glad shouts and songs of praise,
a multitude keeping festival.
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.
– Psalm 42:1–6a (ESV)
The more years lived as a follower of Christ, the more we realize the need to sing songs that anchor our souls to the deep truths of the Word of God. Very often in our corporate singing, churches sing little of our lament, fear, and confession of our deepest struggles. And yet, the Psalms are full of these expressions to God. Psalm 42 is a model of how we are to view and respond to God, even in the midst of suffering. As songwriter Matt Boswell once emphasized, “Sing not around our sorrows but through them. We are the only religion that has the answers for the world’s pain.”
We must, by our singing together, prepare for future suffering by the songs we sing today. This will teach us how to deal with life’s greatest challenges when they come.
“Lord, From Sorrows Deep I Call”, a summarizing of Psalm 42, gives us a voice to sing of our lament, sorrow, and yet immeasurable hope found in God alone.
“As Christians we know that God who sees us is great enough to handle our hearts, and offers us hope if we trust Him, which is the direction of the song: ‘O my soul – put your Hope in God.’” – Matt Papa & Matt Boswell
Lord, from sorrows deep I call
When my hope is shaken;
Torn and ruined from the fall,
Hear my desperation.
For so long I’ve pled and prayed,
“God, come to my rescue!”
Even so, the thorn remains;
Still my heart will praise You.
Storms within my troubled soul,
Questions without answers;
On my faith these billows roll
God be now my shelter.
Why are you cast down my soul?
Hope in Him who saves you.
When the fires have all grown cold,
Cause this heart to praise You.
Should my life be torn from me,
Every worldly pleasure;
When all I possess is grief,
God be then my treasure.
Be my vision in the night;
Be my hope and refuge.
’Til my faith is turned to sight,
Lord, my heart will praise You.
(Chorus)
Oh, my soul, put your hope in God,
My help, my Rock, I will praise Him.
Sing, oh sing, through the raging storm;
You’re still my God, my salvation.
– Words & Music by Matt Papa & Matt Boswell © 2018 Getty Music Hymns and Songs, Love Your Enemies Publishing, Messenger Hymns