‘As The Deer Pants’. Voice, Sitar and Keyboards – Sanjeeb Sircar

‘As the Deer Pants’ is a well-known praise and worship hymn song by Martin J. Nystrom, a native of Seattle, written in 1984. The scripture reference is from Psalm 42:1 from The Bible.
Sung and played on Sitar by Sanjeeb Sircar with improvisations on a backing track.

Lyrics:
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

You're my friend and You are my brother
Even though You are a King
I love You more then any other
So much more then anything

Origin:
Marty Nystrom related to me the following account of the birth of a favorite worship song. ....
“In 1984 I was a school teacher in Seattle, and since I had the summer off I decided to go back to Bible College, but only for the summer term. I headed for Dallas, Texas and Christ For the Nations Institute. Little did I know what was about to happen to me, especially with all that I would be exposed to and the worship emphasis of the school.”
“I had a roommate at CFNI who was a very vibrant Christian. He challenged me to go on a fast - a period of time when a person refrains from eating solid food in order to give time to the reading of the Bible and to prayer.”
“I took up the challenge, and on the 19th day of the fast I found myself sitting at a piano trying to write a song. I was simply playing chord progressions when I noticed a Bible on the music stand of the piano. It was open to Psalm 42. My eyes fell on the first verse of that chapter... As the hart (deer) panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. After reading the verse I began to sing its message, right off the page. I wrote the first verse and the chorus of a song, pretty much straight through. The whole of the adventure was completed in a matter of minutes. I then repeated the song I had just written. I wanted to seal it in my mind.”
“I had no intention of showing the song to anyone. It was to be for my own devotional time with the Lord. However, before leaving the school to go back to Seattle, I did share it with one person, Dave Butterbaugh. He introduced it to the students of the school and it became a favorite.”
“Since that introduction of the song, it has been translated into several languages and is often sung in other countries. Orchestras have used it. It has been sung in unusually different styles.”
Marty continues to write songs and travel extensively, teaching in worship conferences. In Korea in the 1990s, he attended one such conference and as he walked into the stadium 100,000 Koreans were singing “As the Deer.”
Source: https://www.staugustine.com/living/re...