Mention Psalm 13 in most places and people will think first of the Old Testament passage penned by David; but mention “Psalm 13” to a Lipscomb student, and most will think first of a much newer song.
However, although many Lipscomb students know of “Psalm 13” (the song), there are still many who don’t know anything about the song’s origin, or why they just can’t seem to find it on iTunes.
Some might be surprised to learn that “Psalm 13” was not written by a recognized name in contemporary Christian music, but by Lipscomb alum Nathan Hale.
A Time of Questioning
In 2004, Nathan Hale was a freshman at Lipscomb struggling through an extremely difficult time of life. Many struggles and outside forces were leading Nathan to question God and begin to lose hope that God was listening.
It was from this state of mind that Hale turned to the Psalms for comfort. After a night at church Hale connected with Psalm 13, and he immediately returned to the High Rise computer lab where he studied the psalm further in several different translations.
After printing out different translations of the text, Hale made his way to the music department practice rooms in McQuiddy, at the time, where the song began to take shape.
“When I wrote it, it was one of the scariest things that had ever happened to me. I had never put words and music together that quickly, words and chords together. I just remember screaming out the chorus and tearing up all alone there in that room,” Hale said.
“After I had written it down and put the pen down I got chilled and it just scared me because I could feel God in the room and it was so unsettling, ” Hale said. “I had never felt God so powerfully before.
“I just sat in silence and cried because I didn’t know what to do. I know I wrote the song, but I literally felt like God opened my mouth and it came spilling out, and I just happened to overhear it and write it down.”
Doubt
But even a short time after writing the song Hale had still not overcome the doubts and struggles he had been facing in the previous weeks.
“I remember one Sunday in my college class at church we were talking about how you can discern God’s will for your life, and I told the class, ‘I’m crying out to God and he’s not responding to me. I can’t tell if He has a direction for me or not,” Hale said.
The class ended without Hale’s questions being fully answered, but the group’s leader promised to continue the conversation the next Sunday.
The next day, Hale approached a friend, Cheana Tagatac, who was involved in Sanctuary, a worship service that had been meeting regularly on Thursday nights. Hale asked Tagatac to co-write a female echo part to the song, and Tagatac, a Lipscomb graduate who is still involved with Sanctuary today, jumped at the opportunity to help.
“When he showed it to me the song itself really caught me,” Tagatac said. “When I first heard it I knew it would be a great song. I could hear people singing it.”
That same day, the two worked together on putting the final touches on the song, and just like the day before, things came together quickly.
“The thought that keeps popping into mind is a feeling of inadequacy when we were trying to write the song,” Tagatac said. “We knew we were a part of something much bigger than ourselves.”
From Doubt Springs Opportunity
At the end of the writing session Tagatac asked Hale if he would be willing to introduce the new song to the other members of the Sanctuary band the next day.
Wednesday, the next day, Hale sat down with the members of the Sanctuary band and introduced them to a song its future members would be playing for years to come. The band was so taken with the song they invited Hale to teach the song at Sanctuary the next night.
That Thursday’s Sanctuary was one that many in attendance, like Lipscomb graduate Jessica Buckley, would remember for years to come.
“I only remember about three sanctuaries in my whole life, and besides the first one I ever went to that one is still the most vivid,” Buckley said. “I remember the mood of the room shifting and people were crying and people were happy. It was an amazing moment.”
After leading “Psalm 13” for the first time that Thursday night, Hale knew he had given the song its proper stage, but it wasn’t until the next Sunday that he fully realized where the week had taken him.
The next Sunday, in the same college class in which he found himself the week before questioning God, Hale saw the beauty of what had unfolded that week.
“Sunday I called God out for not listening, Monday finished writing it with Cheana, Tuesday I showed it to the guys in Sanctuary, and Thursday I led it at Sanctuary,” Hale said. “I didn’t even realize during the week that God was listening and answering my prayer all along, but the next Sunday the response was like a punch in the face.”
From Inspiration to Phenomenon
From the first time Hale shared the song, “Psalm 13” quickly became the most requested song at Sanctuary, and remains so to this day.
Many share stories and memories associated with “Psalm 13,” and have deep-rooted connections to the song through past experiences and struggles through which the song has helped them, just as it helped Hale through his own.
Tagatac pointed out that the song is able to have such a profound impact because of its ancient roots.
“I’ve heard great stories of it being meaningful,” Tagatac said. “It’s not just like he had this thought and wrote a song, he took the words of Scripture and put them to music.
“Just like the psalms express so many emotions, the capability is there to say powerful things that we need in prayer, and that’s why it can be so personal to so many people.”
The personal impact of the song is displayed in just how quickly it has become a local and even worldwide phenomenon as Buckley noted that Lipscomb students, alumni, and others who attend Sanctuary have taken the song with them wherever they may go.
“Because Lipscomb is so worldwide and alumni who have been touched by the song end up in so many places, its neat to know how many people all across the world know about it,” Buckley said.
Hale gets reminders often of the impact that this song has made on the church both near and abroad.
“I get random emails and messages on Facebook from friends here and there that tell me the song is being taught in churches and schools from Maine, to California, Texas, North Carolina, and even France and Australia,” Hale said.
Continuing into Tomorrow
According to Tagatac, the song remains the most requested song Sanctuary plays, and with a constantly updating rotation of songs, that is simply unprecedented five years later.
People often approach Tagatac, or other members of the Sanctuary band, asking for details on why they are unable to find the song online and what artist originally played it, but it all comes back to a tough time in a young man’s life where he didn’t see direction.
As of today, Hale has yet to sell rights to the song or even professionally record it to be sold under his own name. However, he is certainly open to the idea.
“‘Psalm 13’ has always been bigger than me and had a life of its own,” Hale said. “I know there may be money to be made from it, but that is all secondary to the mission of the song and the ministries that money would go to support.”
Buckley echoed Hale’s sentiment and reflected on the omnipotence of God’s works.
“It’s really humbling that God still uses Scripture still illuminate his power and glory,” Buckley said.”And ‘Psalm 13’ is bigger than Nathan, it’s bigger than Sanctuary, and it’s bigger than you and me–that’s why it has done what it has.”
Because Hale views the song as a ministry in-and-of itself, if Hale is able to sell the song, he intends to use the profits to invest in community by building urban gardens and other more extensive, sustainable ministries to extend the blessings the song has already bestowed.
“This song has taken me places, allowed me to meet amazing people, and taught me things about myself,” Hale said. “But the story of ‘Psalm 13’ is really just beginning.
“There is so much more good to come, and I can’t wait to see where it goes next.”
Update (4/9/10): Nathan Hale and friends have finished a studio recording of “Psalm 13,” and it will be made available online within the next few weeks.
Hale will also be a featured artist at the next Tokens Show, “Back to Green,” on April 13th. To find his other music, updates, and more information, check here.