Like as the hart desireth the waterbrooks,
so longeth my soul after thee, O God.
My soul is athirst for God,
yea, even for the living God.
When shall I come to appear before the presence of God?
My tears have been my meat day and night,
while they daily say unto me,
“Where is now thy God?”
so longeth my soul after thee, O God.
My soul is athirst for God,
yea, even for the living God.
When shall I come to appear before the presence of God?
My tears have been my meat day and night,
while they daily say unto me,
“Where is now thy God?”
(Based on Psalm 42.1-3)
The yearning spirit
Longing,
intense longing. A cri de cœur
from an individual longing for God in times of hardship, made all the sharper
by the apparent absence of God. A longing that is compared to a deer thirsting
for water.
These
verses have been set to music most hauntingly by the English composer, Herbert
Howells. His anthem, “Like as the hart desireth the waterbrooks”, was
written in a single day in early 1941 as one of a set of anthems, “In time of
War”.
The
musical climax of this piece comes with the taunt of enemies, “Where is now thy
God?”. Yet, in its searing conclusion, the singer continues to seek God in his
Temple, asking, “When shall I come to appear before the presence of God?”, his
ardent yearning unabated.
What
is it that sustains him? “Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help
and my God.” I find it encouraging that in a dark and hostile world, where
there is a continual need to sound the voice of praise, this psalm can be heard
echoing almost daily somewhere in the Anglican realm.
Espérance en
Dieu
Comme une biche
soupire après des courants d’eau,
Ainsi mon âme soupire après toi, ô Dieu !
Mon âme a soif de Dieu, du Dieu vivant :
Quand irai-je et paraîtrai-je devant la face de Dieu ?
Ainsi mon âme soupire après toi, ô Dieu !
Mon âme a soif de Dieu, du Dieu vivant :
Quand irai-je et paraîtrai-je devant la face de Dieu ?
Mes larmes sont
ma nourriture jour et nuit,
Pendant qu’on me dit sans cesse :
Où est ton Dieu ?
Pendant qu’on me dit sans cesse :
Où est ton Dieu ?
(Psaumes 42.2-4, Nouvelle Edition de Genève)
Jonathan
Halliwell
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