Then I will praise you

‘Why am I so sad? Why am I so troubled?
I will put my hope in God, and once again I will praise him,
my saviour and my God’.
                        (Ps 42:11, Ps 43:5 Good News Bible)

The Good News Bible titles Psalms 42 & 43 ‘The Prayer of a Man in Exile’. They’re combined in the Jerusalem Bible with the title ‘Lament of a Levite in Exile’.

‘Why have you abandoned me?’
‘Why must I go on suffering?’
 ‘My enemies ask me, “Where is your God?”’

With such laments, it was hardly surprising that I started a song based on these Psalms with ‘When I feel miserable, down and depressed’.  We don’t need to be far away from home to be exiled. We can be exiled from hope, from friends, from happiness. Sometimes what started as exciting and promising becomes a disaster. Accident or sickness, to us or to a friend or family member, can completely derail our lives. It’s good that the psalms have prayers for any situation – good, bad, joyful, sorrowful.

1.       When I feel miserable, down and depressed,
worthless, I feel that I've never been blessed,
You hold me gently with your unseen hands.
Later I'll see you, my friend.

Then I will praise you, God, I will praise you.
Then I will praise you, my saviour, again.

2.   You seem so far away, you, and your light;
darkness has covered me, thick as the night;
I've lost direction, I can't find my way.
God, bring this night to an end!

3.   Send out your light and truth, they'll be my guide.
Where there's your light and truth, troubles subside.
Fill me with wonder, surprise me with joy.
Only on you I depend.

                                               Robin Mann © 1990

We sang this as the first song last Sunday. It’s not a bad intro to a time of confession.