Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The Psalmist isn't just describing a storm; he's showing how one overwhelming crisis calls out to another, like a cascade of roaring waterfalls that pull him under. This isn't just about bad luck piling up; it's a profound sense of being utterly consumed by a relentless series of troubles.
Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The psalmist is in deep distress, feeling utterly overwhelmed and abandoned by God. He's lamenting his current exile and separation from worship in Jerusalem, comparing his overwhelming troubles to a relentless, crashing sea. This verse comes in the midst of his cries for God's presence, highlighting the immense, cascading nature of his suffering and his feeling of being submerged by it.
Ever felt like one bad thing just barely finishes before the next one starts? The Psalmist knew that feeling all too well.
The phrase 'deep calls to deep' paints a powerful picture of overwhelming trouble. It's not just one storm, but a series of them, each one seeming to summon the next.
The Cumulative Weight of Trouble
Imagine standing on the shore as a storm rolls in. First, a small wave hits, then a bigger one, and soon, massive breakers are crashing over you. The Psalmist uses this imagery to show how his troubles weren't isolated incidents. One crisis seemed to draw another, creating a relentless onslaught.
This isn't just about bad luck; it's about the sheer accumulation of suffering that can feel like an endless cycle. It's the feeling of being battered, not by a single blow, but by a relentless succession of them.
The Psalmist doesn't just see storms; he sees God's power behind them. How does that change things?
The verse speaks of 'the roar of your waterfalls' or 'breakers and waves.' While this imagery vividly describes the destructive force of the Psalmist's troubles, it's crucial to see that he attributes them to God.
God's Sovereignty in Suffering
This isn't about God causing evil in a malicious way, but about acknowledging His ultimate sovereignty. Even in the midst of immense pain and confusion, the Psalmist recognizes that God is the one whose 'waterspouts' (a powerful, often terrifying natural phenomenon) are in motion. This means that the deepest struggles are not random, but occur within the framework of God's overarching power and plan.
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This can be a difficult concept, but it offers a unique perspective: if God is in control, then even these overwhelming waves are not outside His reach. This knowledge, though painful, can become a foundation for trust.
This psalm's powerful imagery of overwhelming waves and crashing waters is deeply rooted in the psalmist's experience of personal crisis, likely David's flight from Absalom. It vividly portrays a state of being utterly swamped by successive calamities, far from the place of worship and security.
c. 1000 BC— this verse
David's Flight from Absalom
The Psalms are traditionally attributed to David, and many scholars believe Psalm 42 was written during his desperate flight from his rebellious son, Absalom. This context suggests the psalmist is deeply distressed and far from Jerusalem.
c. 1000 BC
Exile in Transjordan
David fled across the Jordan River, a region known for its dramatic terrain and powerful water features. The imagery of 'waterspouts' and 'waves' could reflect the actual dangers of this landscape, including sudden storms and the roaring Jordan River.
c. 1000 BC
Loss of Temple Access
As an exile, David was cut off from the Temple in Jerusalem, the place of worship and God's perceived presence. This physical separation intensified his spiritual anguish and longing for God.
~2nd Century BC onwards
Development of Jewish Exile Traditions
Later Jewish tradition would associate the 'exile' imagery with the Babylonian exile and other periods of national distress. While Psalm 42 likely predates these, the theme of exile resonated deeply throughout Jewish history.
Jonah describes a similar overwhelming experience of being submerged in the depths, echoing the psalmist's feeling of being completely covered by God's waves and billows.
Lamentations 3:2This passage speaks of being plunged into darkness and "depths," directly paralleling the feeling of descending into an abyss of suffering described in Psalms 42:7.
2 Samuel 5:8The mention of 'water spouts' (or 'water-courses' in some translations) here connects to the imagery in Psalms 42:7, suggesting a powerful, forceful flow of water that can overwhelm.
Matthew 8:24Jesus calming the storm at sea provides a contrast to the psalmist's experience, highlighting the immense power of natural forces and the vulnerability of those caught in them, even as God's power can bring peace.
Job 38:25God challenges Job by asking who has created the channels for the rain and the thunderbolts, pointing to His sovereignty over the very forces of nature that the psalmist feels are overwhelming him.
pulpitPsalms 42:7: "Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me."
Verse 7. - Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts. Blow follows blow. Misfortunes "come not in single file, but in battalions." The imagery may be taken from the local storms that visit the Trans-Jordanic territory (see Lynch, 'Expedition to the Jordan and the Dead Sea;' and Wilson, 'Negeb,' pp. 26, 27). All thy waves and thy billows are gone over me (comp. Psal…
poolePsalms 42:7: "Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me."
Deep calleth unto deep, i.e. one affliction comes immediately after another, as if it were called for and invited by the former; which he expresseth by a metaphor taken either, 1. From the old flood, when the upper deep , or abyss of waters , (in the clouds,) called the lower deep , or abyss of waters in the sea and rivers , that both might unite their forces together to drown…
The Psalmist isn't just describing a storm; he's showing how one overwhelming crisis calls out to another, like a cascade of roaring waterfalls that pull him under. This isn't just about bad luck piling up; it's a profound sense of being utterly consumed by a relentless series of troubles.
The psalmist is in deep distress, feeling utterly overwhelmed and abandoned by God. He's lamenting his current exile and separation from worship in Jerusalem, comparing his overwhelming troubles to a relentless, crashing sea. This verse comes in the midst of his cries for God's presence, highlighting the immense, cascading nature of his suffering and his feeling of being submerged by it.
The psalmist is in deep distress, feeling utterly overwhelmed and abandoned by God. He's lamenting his current exile and separation from worship in Jerusalem, comparing his overwhelming troubles to a relentless, crashing sea. This verse comes in the midst of his cries for God's presence, highlighting the immense, cascading nature of his suffering and his feeling of being submerged by it.
"Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me." — The Psalmist isn't just describing a storm; he's showing how one overwhelming crisis calls out to another, like a cascade of roaring waterfalls that pull him under. This isn't just about bad luck pil…
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Last reviewed October 2026