the long-awaited verse 5 + 6, 7, & 8

NIV

5 Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and
6 my God.
My [c] soul is downcast within me;
therefore I will remember you
from the land of the Jordan,
the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.

7 Deep calls to deep
in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers
have swept over me.

8 By day the LORD directs his love,
at night his song is with me—
a prayer to the God of my life.

The Message

5Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul?
Why are you crying the blues?
Fix my eyes on God--
soon I'll be praising again.
He puts a smile on my face.
He's my God.

6 When my soul is in the dumps, I rehearse
everything I know of you,
From Jordan depths to Hermon heights,
including Mount Mizar.

7 Chaos calls to chaos,
to the tune of whitewater rapids.
Your breaking surf, your thundering breakers
crash and crush me.

8 Then GOD promises to love me all day,
sing songs all through the night!
My life is God's prayer.

When my life is a wreck and my heart is heavy, reading this forces me to remember who God is and all He has done for me. I remember all the times I have been "downcast" & my soul has been "disturbed within me" and I come through it and can praise again. There is always a hope at the end of the tunnel. No matter what happens, there is always an end and "He puts a smile on my face. He's my God." That's just what he does, as long as I stay faithful. When I'm depressed, this Psalm forces me to count my blessings...to remember all the times he has been faithful. For the Israelites, God was faithful in helping them leave Egypt, conquer the Promise Land, and stand against their enemies. Everywhere they went, they had the Lord's promise of faithfulness, even in the rough times. I love the poetry in verse seven...being covered and swept over by his Spirit...seeing his amazing creation.
Through the day, his love is my hope & joy. When true love is hard to find and superficial pleasure is sought by many around you, the fact that I am his daughter and His love remains steadfast is my comfort and lessens the sense of loneliness which can be created.

"By day the Lords directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life." I sing 24/7...songs to Him is what I love to sing the most...some of my favorite prayers are those that I can sing...

the Message seems to take a different spin...

"Then GOD promises to love me all day, sing songs all through the night!
My life is God's prayer."

the thought that He sings about me...that as I sing & praise Him, he is constantly singing his love over me...that is amazing...
"My life is God's prayer." God's cry is my life...he longs for me to serve him, to love him, to have my all....

interesting...i wonder what interpretation was actually meant here...maybe neither of those...
what do you think? or what do you know? any scholars out there to shed some light? =)