A prayer to the God of my life
Psalms 42:7-8 - A confident and upbeat response to God’s gift!
“Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life.”
Psalms 42:7-8 NIV
Of all of the Old Testament books, I have to admit that Psalms and Proverbs are my favorites. The Psalms are quite poetic and beautiful, while the Proverbs are condensed wisdom. On Wednesday, God gave us Proverbs 14:12 as a lesson, and today He gives us this beautiful set of verses from Psalms.
David is credited with the majority of the Psalms through chapter 41, but this particular chapter begins with a credit to the “Sons of Korah”. These were Levites from the family of Kohath who served as musicians for the temple. Whoever the specific psalmist was in this case, he definitely leaned toward the poetic.
I’m sure we’ve all stood near a tall waterfall at some point in our lives, watching the water thunder into a deep pool at the bottom. Here, the psalmist likens being buried in sorrow and troubles to the turbulent deep at the base of the waterfall. This commentary from Enduring Word elaborates on this:
i. The psalmist knew, “I’m in deep trouble on the outside and I’m in deep trouble on the inside.” These two depths seemed to collide in him, sending him deeper still. It is a powerful and poetic description of despair.
I hear the constant noise of the waterfalls; it never stops.
I fell from a previous height.
I plunged down quickly, and was taken down deep.
I feel buried under all of this.
I feel like I’m drowning.
ii. Even in this, there are points of light, giving hope.
I am deep; but You are also — so Your depths call unto me in my depths.
The waterfalls are Yours; if I am plunged under, then You are with me.
The waves and billows are Yours; You have measured all this.
Cited in the Enduring Word commentary, 19th century British theologian Adam Clarke made this point about the beginning of the first verse:
iv. Deep calls unto deep: “One wave of sorrow rolls on me, impelled by another. There is something dismal in the sound of the original [Hebrew].” (Clarke)
That original Hebrew is תְּהוֹם־אֶל־תְּהוֹם קוֹרֵא, roughly “tᵊhôm ēl tᵊhôm qārā” (“deep to deep calls”). “Tᵊhôm” (or teh-home) almost sounds to me like “tomb”, not exactly an upbeat word, so I can understand Clarke’s thoughts on this phrase.
From GotQuestions.org, there is this descriptive explanation of “deep calls to deep”:
The songwriter portrays his distress figuratively: it’s as if waves and breakers are sweeping over him. Trouble was surging, with one overwhelming swell coming after another. The “deep” trials he faced kept coming, wave-like—deep after deep.
Enduring Word goes on to quote British pastor F.B. Meyer about the meaning of the phrase:
v. F.B. Meyer thought of this as the depths of God answering to the depths of human need. “Whatever depths there are in God, they appeal to corresponding depths in us. And whatever the depths of our sorrow, desire, or necessity, there are correspondences in God from which full supplies may be obtained.” (Meyer)
“The deep of divine redemption calls to the deep of human need.” (Meyer)
“The deep of Christ’s wealth calls to the deep of the saint’s poverty.” (Meyer)
“The deep of the Holy Spirit’s intercession calls to the deep of the Church’s prayer.” (Meyer)
The last verse is a beautiful statement of confidence in God’s love and goodness, available to believers in both the brightness of day and the darkness of night. The Hebrew name for God used here is יְהֹוָה — Yᵊhōvâ — is the covenant name of God. It’s rarely used in this part of Psalms, being replaced frequently with אֱלֹהִים ('ĕlōhîm), so this is indicating the sovereign power of God.
God is “directing” His love (His song) to the psalmist, a royal decree or command that is best described as His grace — a free gift to the unworthy. The song from God is answered as a prayer to God; not just a prayer, but a “prayer to the God of my life”. What a confident and upbeat response to God’s gift!
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Gracious and loving God, as deep waters call to one another, let my soul seek You. In the warmth of the day, may Your light guide my steps. In the quiet and darkness of the night, let Your song be my refuge to soothe my heart. All of my thanks I give to You, the maker of heaven and earth. AMEN.