Common Ground Song 10 ‘As the deer longs’
Words / Music: Bob Hurd © OCp Publications
YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-LMy1NqqGo
Featured image: ‘Fallow Buck at Swinton’ © Andy Stephenson cc-by-sa-2.0

When I saw the title, I thought ‘I know that song well’. No, this is a different one with the same first line. That’s not surprising because it is a setting of Psalm 42, one of the best known of all psalms. This image of a deer finding rest and cooling water after being unsuccessfully hunted has inspired many a songwriter and poet. This particular version is from the USA.

Psalms 42 and 43 are actually a single composition (and appear as such in Catholic bibles), as can be seen from the refrain found in both of them: “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God.”  The writer remembers times when he could praise God with joy, be satisfied with his presence, and take part in celebrations. But now he is feeling despondent and unable to take part meaningfully in worship. 

Many people of faith have experienced this longing for God’s presence, especially when they have once known it and no longer do so, and described it in terms of other human appetites – desire, hunger or thirst. It is only human, and no sin, to feel unable to join in corporate worship joyfully when life’s circumstances make you feel sad or lonely.

If you have been following my blog the last couple of months, you will know I am going through the ups and downs of bereavement. Sometimes I do indeed feel that the ‘mighty waters are sweeping over me’ as another wave of emptiness, or nostalgia, sweeps over me. The more I enjoy myself, the greater the pain of not being able to share that joyful experience with my beloved. And as she was a committed a Christian as I am, many a hymn or Bible verse reminds me of some moment or aspect of our relationship.

The good news is that God does provide the refreshing waters, the place of refreshment, and after that a place to rest from the stress of loss, as the deer rests after the stress of the chase. The time will come again for joyful praise. Until then, God is present in my silence and tears, and accepts my quiet trust in him as worship.