Jason Smith serves on the board of An Unexpected Journal, as a strategist for the C. S. Lewis Foundation, and as the senior editor for acquisitions and development at Wootton Major Publishing. In his spare time, he works a day job as a marketing director for a medical device engineering firm, where he writes about fun things like FDA regulations and embedded cybersecurity. As J. Aleksandr Wootton, he is the pseudonymous author of the much-loved young adult fantasy series Fayborn and reviews every book he reads at www.goodreads.com/mrwootton.

When I Cried Out (Psalm 40)

by Matthew Clark

When I cried out from the pit that I had dug

His song burst past the dead end grave

Isaiah’s burning ember came and kissed me on the mouth

And I knew there was still music to be made

CHORUS

After all that I’ve seen, I cannot seal my lips

Even when my heart fails within me, 

For the Lord did not hide, no, he listened in his mercy

And his song of lovingkindness still persists 

Though I do not understand it, I am standing on this 

All my troubles when they swelled into a crowd 

The shame of failures too many to count 

Then I whispered through the tangle, and you looked me in the eyes

I found quiet that sang louder than those lies 

CHORUS

BRIDGE

I thought I had to climb that holy hill to twist your arm 

But when you bent to wash my feet,  I knew that I’d been wrong 

CHORUS 

© 2023 Matthew Clark, Path in the Pines Music (ASCAP)