Tell Out My Soul

There’s a beautiful hymn entitled, As the Deer Pants for the Water, and I’d like to us this inspiring song as the theme of my message today.

I remember being at primary school, and it would be lunchtime. We’d all be in the playground, running around like mad playing chasey or skippy, or whatever game we decided. And we’d get so hot, a typical Australian summer; the ground was all asphalt, no grass or trees. We’d get so thirsty, but we wouldn’t stop playing… not until the bell sounded for the end of lunch. We didn’t have a lot of time before we had to line up to go back in, so there would be this mad rush to the drinking troughs in front of the toilet block. 

All the kids, me included, would stampede down there from every corner of the playground as fast as they could to make sure they got a drink. We must have looked like a herd of wildebeest in Africa running down to the water hole. I remember sticking my mouth under the tap and drinking that lovely cool water in huge gulps. It felt so good. It was Adelaide tap water in the sixties so you can imagine how thirsty we were. But we drank it like our lives depended on it.

We were just like the deer in the title of this hymn. Often animals in the wild only drink once a day, usually in the evening, so by the end of the day they’re really really thirsty. They need to gulp down as much water as they can in a short time so that they’re not exposed for very long to predators. All they want at that moment is the water, to sustain their very life. Without this water, they would die. 

This hymn is based on the first verse of Psalm 42: 

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.

The person who wrote this psalm felt the same way as the deer, needing and wanting God so much that he felt that he would die without him. This hymn likens the intensity of our need for God to an actual physical need. It’s just as strong, perhaps even stronger. It expresses a very human response to God’s love.

What is life without water? In the same way, what is our life without God? The song expresses a very deep desire to be united with the source of all love. A desperate need for something vital. “You alone are my heart’s desire, and I long to worship you.” 

It’s so simple… because when we have God, when we truly desire God, we have all we need to keep going. Nothing else in life can compare to this great love, and to this great desire. This image of the deer thirsting after water so perfectly expresses our thirst for God and the living water he provides. Just as water is to the body, so God’s love is to the soul. That’s why I really love this song. 

As the Deer Pants for the Water

As the deer pants for the water,
So my soul longs after You.
You alone are my heart’s desire
And I long to worship You.

You alone are my strength, my shield,
To You alone may my spirit yield.
You alone are my heart’s desire
And I long to worship You.

I want You more than gold or silver,
Only You can satisfy.
You alone are the real joy-giver
And the apple of my eye.

You alone are my strength, my shield,
To You alone may my spirit yield.
You alone are my heart’s desire
And I long to worship You.

You’re my Friend and You are my brother,
Even though You are a King.
I love You more than any other,
So much more than anything.

You alone are my strength, my shield,
To You alone may my spirit yield.
You alone are my heart’s desire
And I long to worship You.