Out of the Deep

This past Sunday I had the privilege of singing a piece of John Rutter's "Requiem" with my church choir. The scripture that morning was the story of Lazarus' death and Jesus bringing him back to life. The part of the Requiem that we sang was John Rutter's interpretation of Psalm 130, "Out of the Deep."

This song is filled musically with all the longing that Psalm 130 verbalizes. It starts with a cello intro in a soulful melody and continues that theme throughout the piece. As the psalmist places his trust in the Lord, the music is lifted and hopeful. We were blessed to have one of the best young cellists in our area play for us and that brought the choir's "game" up another level.

The words to the song begin, "Out of the deep have I called unto you O Lord. Lord, hear my voice." How many times have I said that? And this got me thinking about how much my journey of faith has changed.

It used to be that I would only call to God for help when I was in distress. Having no where else to turn, from the depths of my despair I would cry out for help wanting instant relief from my misery. I wanted to get lifted out of the deep and have this crisis over.

One of the hardest things to do is to be thankful in times of trouble. When I am struggling with something or feeling hurt or deceived, the thanks I offer up to God leaves a bitter taste on my tongue. I literally struggle to physically speak the words. It is one of the hardest lesson I have learned over the years.

But why is it that we tend to think about God more when we are in distress than when we are joyful?

As people of faith, we are not just to look to God in times of distress but in times of happiness as well. As a parent, I love seeing my child happy and love hearing him thank me for the good times of his life. Why wouldn't God feel the same way? After all, we are the children of God.

I've said it before and I will probably say it again: in all things we need to be thankful. Good times and bad, joy and despair, hope and distress. In that way we keep God in the center of our lives, which makes even the really bad times seem not so bad.

Here's the Cambridge Singers, conducted by John Rutter himself, performing "Requiem II: Out of the Deep" by John Rutter: