Is her experience
in writing this song perhaps the preferred method? Was that maybe what Australian
Darlene Zschech concluded after she wrote and “Shout(ed) to the Lord” in 1993?
She might also say that an ancient anonymous songwriter deserved some of the credit
for what she composed. Darlene was probably in Sydney (see an historic picture
of it here), and pretty far geographically from the origin of the Psalm that
she read that day, but she was surely closer to that writer and to the Creator
whom he extolled when she was finished with her poem. Her experience is an
object lesson for anyone who is feeling stressed-out and wondering if her life
is going to be overcome by finances and family responsibilities. Cling to Him,
call out to Him with a shout, a yell filled with trust. That was her therapy for
one tension-filled day.
Darlene Zschech
was having a rough day. Maybe it was one or the combination of her kids’ needs
and the anxiety over money that she feared might not stretch far enough.
Sometime during the day, Darlene had had enough, and she sounded retreat. At
least for a little while, she needed a respite inside a space where she would
not have pressing needs demanding her time. A small room that happened to have
a piano was her refuge, where she opened a bible and read one of the Psalms. She
didn’t even know this particular Psalm’s author’s identity (Psalm 96, sometimes
called one of the ‘orphan’ psalms), but that didn’t matter. This centuries-old
poet said something she needed. If all the earth could be coaxed to praise the
Creator, Darlene did not want to miss out on that experience. The seas, the
fields, and the trees, and indeed all the families of nations were entreated to
give God a joyful response to His being. He brings salvation, and isn’t that
enough? But, there’s so much more to Him, according to this unidentified poet.
Maybe it was the mounting items that Darlene ticked off as she read verse after
verse, but she says her despair lifted bit by bit, and she wanted to shout. So,
she did, with her own pen. And, with the help of the keyboard nearby, she composed
her response to the psalmist. She ultimately decided that at the end of the
day, ‘nothing compares to the promise I have in You’, perhaps as the anxious
thoughts she had earlier tried to reassert themselves. She must have felt a weight
come off of her shoulders, because she mentioned the episode to a minister at
the church. Hearing that a song had emerged, he wanted to hear it. This is part
2 of the story…
Darlene
was frankly a very uneasy when the minister (with a friend, reportedly also
present) came by the house to hear the product of her epiphany. ‘Stand way over
there, and turn around’, was more or less what she told them, because she didn’t
want to see the pained expressions on their faces. Every few seconds, she
stopped to see if their indulgence of her musical expression had worn thin. But
no, they were excited about Darlene’s song, and wanted to use it at the church.
Perhaps it was the circumstances of its gestation and emergence into this tense
woman’s world that captured the imagination of those who first heard it. Can
you hear others saying ‘Darlene sounds like me!’ It is true isn’t it? I have
anxious times in my life, and really breathe uneasy wondering about the future sometimes.
Is that you too? Darlene says ‘me too’. Life happens, but God is. He’s the I
Am. Jump and shout about that!
See a
brief version of the song story in this source: The Complete Book of
Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs by William J.
Petersen and Ardythe Petersen, Tyndale House Publishers, 2006.
Also see this link that also tells a broader version of the
song story: https://www.songfacts.com/facts/darlene-zschech/shout-to-the-lord
See also here, for a very short version of the story: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shout_to_the_Lord
Read about the author-composer here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darlene_Zschech
The author-composer’s official website: https://www.darlenezschech.com/about
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