From my first listen I was totally captivated by the studio album Response by Woodside Worship, a ministry of Woodside Bible Church in the Detroit, Michigan area. The opening track "Can't Be Broken" by Jonathan Seller has a worshipful alt-rock vibe which captures the enthusiastic and worshipful tone of this solid debut worship album, all centered on response to and adoration of God.
 
"Psalm 130 (My Soul Waits)" by Cathryn Mankiewicz is a gorgeous offering to God, confessing "Out of the depths I cry to You, Lord, hear my voice, Lord, turn Your ear toward me, I'm full of sin, but You are mercy." I had the chance to speak with Cathryn about her song "Psalm 130 (My Soul Waits)."
 
Please tell me the personal story behind this song.

I wrote this song a couple of years ago. It wasn't from a major experience I had or sitting down trying to write a song, but it came out of my need to get back into God's Word. I feel like everybody ebbs and flows with reading the Bible. There are some periods in your life where you are reading it every day, but then you hit busy periods where you go a week and realize that you barely touched the Bible. I was in a season where I recognized that I wasn't in the Word as much as I needed and wanted to be, and I needed to sit down and open the Bible and take it in.
 
I'm not much of a reader in general, as I'd rather listen to something, but I sat down and started reading. I know that there is power in reading the Word. I opened up to the Psalms because I knew they were short, and I wanted to see what I would learn from them. I had read about ten or twelve psalms and got to Psalm 130.
 
As I was reading them, I saw that some said they were written by David, or were Psalms of Ascent. We know that they were the songs of that day, but they aren't the way we are used to hearing songs with a verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge. I got to Psalm 130, and it struck me that it sounded like a natural song for today. For whatever reason it stood out to me how certain lines ended in similar ways, and what really tipped it for me was when I got to verse 6: "more than the watchman waits for the morning." Then it repeats itself word for word twice in a row, which reminded me of what we do with a lot of choruses in songs.
 
This whole psalm struck me as a song, and I wondered what it would sound like. I sat down at my piano with my Bible and started playing random chords on the spot and sang whatever melody came to my head, and God honestly brought this song in like a whirlwind. The first time I sang it through, the verses fell directly into place. I sang it again, and the chorus fell into place. It took just a few times of singing through it, and out of the air it seemed, this song came together. It took me aback and I was really excited. I quickly recorded the piano part and then played my guitar along with the recording of my singing and playing the piano. I shared the song with my family, and we all really liked it. Then it sat for a while.
 
Which Bible verses connect to the message of the song?

Psalm 130 (NLV): O Lord, I have cried to You out of the deep places. Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears hear the voice of my prayers.  If You, Lord, should write down our sins, O Lord, who could stand? But You are the One Who forgives, so You are honored with fear. I wait for the Lord. My soul waits and I hope in His Word.  My soul waits for the Lord more than one who watches for the morning; yes, more than one who watches for the morning.  O Israel, hope in the Lord! For there is loving-kindness with the Lord. With Him we are saved for sure. And He will save Israel from all their sins.
 
What is the takeaway message?
I started going to Woodside Bible Church, and it was amazing how God brought me to the church and then somehow I got involved in writing songs for this album, our first one, which I love to do. I had this song in my head and I shared it, and the group felt it was catchy and ready to go.
 
I have people come up to me and talk about how this song speaks to them. It is cool how this song is speaking to people and how God prepared the timing of it all. A lot of songs come out of an experience and what God is teaching in that moment. With this song, it wasn't as much from an experience, as for an experience. God was preparing my heart and reinforcing the concept of waiting on His timing. Not for a season I was in, but for seasons that will come and go in the course of all of our lives. This song prepares our hearts to wait on the Lord rather than expecting in the moment.
 
What's really awesome about this song is that it was directly written from Psalm 130. The song puts the Word of God directly in the mouths of worshippers, and they can respond. The song really helps put a prayer of David that God put on his heart in our hearts, so that we can have this promise ready for our own cries to God, saying "my soul waits for You."
 
Crying out from the depths is where we are supposed to be. We don't need to be on a mountaintop to cry out to God or have our lives together. Imperfection is human, and God is God and we have a need for Him. Crying out from the depths is preferable because it shows our need for Him. It's okay to be in that place, and even David, a man after God's own heart, was in that place many times.
 
If the Lord kept a record of sins, who could stand? But we can have hope in Him and His forgiveness. God's faithfulness is guaranteed. Like David, we can wait on God's timing. That shifts the focus of our confidence from our circumstance to God's faithfulness.
 
Lyrics:
Out of the depths I cry to You
Lord, hear my voice
Lord, turn Your ear toward me
I'm full of sin, but You are mercy

If The Lord kept a record of sins
Tell me who could stand?
But with Him there's forgiveness
And therefore He is feared

I will wait on the Lord
My soul waits. My soul waits on You
In your Word I have hope
My soul waits. My soul waits on You

I will wait on the Lord
My soul waits. My soul waits on You
In Your Word I have hope
My soul waits. My soul waits on You
More than the watchman waits for the morning
More than the watchman waits for the morning light
I will wait on the Lord. My soul waits. My soul waits on You

Unfailing love...full of redemption
He will redeem us...He will redeem us


These excellent studio recordings on Response are all prayers and personal confessions of submission to God. These are great songs to pray along with these anointed worship leaders to express your own yearnings for holiness and God's presence. A sincere desire for the presence of God and to see His Kingdom on earth is found in every song. These are truly fresh and catchy songs of adoration for the Church.
 
"Psalm 130 (My Soul Waits)" reminds me of songs like "Strong God" and "Not for a Moment (After All)" by Meredith Andrews. You can sincerely pray these biblical and prayerful words along with Cathryn and cling to the truth: "In Your Word I have hope, My soul waits. My soul waits on You, More than a watchman waits for the morning, I will wait on the Lord, My soul waits, My soul waits on You."
 
This song is a wonderful way to prepare our hearts for Easter. The song proclaims "In Your Word I have hope." Those lyrics in this song make my heart sing. It is the cry of my heart to hear God's Word sung in a fresh, catchy and memorable way that can also lead others to the Lord. The Word of the Lord doesn't return void, and this song puts God's Word directly in the mouths of believers, reminding them of the truth of God's promises: "Unfailing Love, full of redemption, He will redeem us." Amen to that!
 
(Listen to the song here.)