SONGWRITING
DEEP CALLS TO DEEP | Kevin MacDougall
I was thinking recently about the most evocative and poetic verses found in scriptures of worship and prayer , and I remembered the colorful phrase “ deep calls to deep .” Like the depths of one source of water crying out to another . It comes from Psalm 42:7 .
“ Deep calls to deep in the roar of Your waterfalls ; all Your breakers and Your billows have swept over me .”
And then I started thinking about how many detached biblical phrases like that float around in my head . Probably yours too . I thought about how I know them for their color more often than I know them for their context . I know them for their poetry more often than what produced it .
“ As deep calls to deep …” Generally , when this phrase is mentioned , it ’ s used more broadly to evoke the depth of experiencing God . That ’ s nice , but is it what the psalm is referring to ? Yeah . Or sort of . Maybe . But how it ’ s getting there is far more intriguing than most usages of the phrase ever indicate . The path to those words could be called scandalous even — especially coming from a psalm of the Korahites . A psalm intended for corporate worship and meditation .
Something brought that psalm to verse 7 . Some flow of ideas led to “ deep calling to deep .”
Despite at least four songs I ’ m familiar with camping on that phrase , I couldn ’ t remember what motivates it in the psalm . So , I opened up the chapter and looked at verse 7 . Then I backed up a verse to see what precedes it . Why does deep call to deep in the roar ( thunder , noise , cacophonous sound ) of your waterfalls ( torrents , wells , springs )? In verse 6 , the reason is given .
“… My soul is cast down within me .”
In modern language and in some modern translations , that might be rendered , “ I am deeply depressed .” A valid translation . The deepest core of my being is sinking . So again , what led to deep calling out to deep ? “ My soul is cast down / I am deeply depressed .” And then verse 6 says ,
“ Therefore , I remember you …”
Excellent ! So , this feeling of depression , of the soul being cast down , led the writer to remember God . But then , why is the writer ’ s soul cast down ? If we back up a bit more , verse 5 asks that same question , and also provides the refrain / chorus of the psalm ( which is repeated again in verse 11 ).
“ Why are you so cast down , O my soul , and why are you so discouraged within me ? Hope in God , for I shall again praise him , my help and my God .”
Interesting . So , it asks the same question I was asking , but doesn ’ t answer it . Perhaps more interesting , verse 5 indicates the writer is having difficulty praising God currently but has an abiding sense that genuine praise will come again . That ’ s a raw and honest thing to say as a congregational writer of lyrics and music , isn ’ t it ? How often do we hear modern songs express such honesty ? “ I ’ m sure I ’ ll get back there at some point , but now I don ’ t feel like worshiping or singing .” Can you imagine those lyrics in your church ?
Let ’ s peel back another layer : how does verse 4 inform 5 ? “ These things I remember , as I pour out my soul : how I went with the throng , and led them in procession to the house of God , with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving , a multitude keeping festival .”
It ’ s about remembering again . In this case , the writer is recalling a former time of exuberance in leading the people that has slipped away . The writer is expressing a feeling of remembering something they have lost touch with . The history is known , but the person who took part in it might as well be someone else . Perhaps you ’ ve had that experience before — like you don ’ t remember what it feels like to be the person you used to be . I wonder if you ’ ve felt at liberty to share it in song .
Continuing our journey backwards , verse 3 describes anguish and sorrow .
“ My tears have been my food , sustaining me day and night , While they say to me all day long , ‘ Where is your God ?’”
There ’ s sadness here wrapped in shame . The inability to move on . The feeling of being isolated by grief and overwhelmed to the point of losing an appetite for anything else . ( Verses 9 and 10 will return to this theme later .) Once again , this was written for the congregation . It ’ s incredibly honest and raw testimony for any child of God to give , let alone a worship leader who is writing for public use and assuming it can resonate with the assembly as Psalm 42 assumes . Fascinating . Such incredibly vulnerable space being held here . Such a lack of pretense or a need to maintain appearances from this writer . Real . True . Beautiful .
Continuing backwards , we finally reach verses 1 and 2 . You might not know this yet , but this is the most well-known portion of the psalm . And if this is the only part of the psalm you know well , it might surprise you to have just grappled with all that came after it .
“ As a deer longs for streams of water , so I long for You , God . I thirst for God , the living God .