Drowning - A Gospel Rap Song: Rescued From Deep Waters
About Drowning
Drowning is a scripture-rooted gospel rap song by Malachi Ben-David — a first-person testimonial cry from Malachi when he was drowning in life, surrounded yet alone. Rooted in scripture songs, it pictures a lifetime of real hardship as deep water closing overhead: a hard childhood, the isolation of being on the spectrum, military years, jobs that crumbled, every human fix that never healed. And then the turn — a gentle word through the tempest, the waters dividing, and a man who was waving helpless stepping onto the sand. It's a gospel rap song for anyone who has prayed until their voice broke and needs to hear "rise up."
Lyrics for Drowning
DROWNING Malachi Ben-David
[Verse 1] A tin roof rattling in the winter's cruel bite Hunger days stretching in the endless night Overheated summers, no escape from the burn Clothes outgrown before the seasons could turn Parents there in body, ghosts in every way Drama and trauma the price we had to pay Watched families gather, travel, laugh, and thrive While I sank in silence, barely staying alive On the spectrum, hard to find my place Invisible waves crashing over my face
[Chorus] Drowning at sea, surrounded yet alone Waves roaring louder than any cry I've known Prayed till my voice broke dry, tried every path to mend Self-help shelves and programs, still no win But You drew the line the enemy could not breach Holy Spirit speaking peace within my reach Rise up, rise up, the waters now divide I'm swimming toward the shore with You by my side
[Verse 2] Military boots on ground yet heart still adrift Church doors open wide but no gift to lift Jobs crumbling under lies or simply not fitting in Friends who ghosted, betrayed, or let the distance win Wife and children my raft, my deepest grace Grateful every moment for their warm embrace Yet even love's anchor felt the leak begin Despair whispering softly from within Doctors offered answers that never truly healed Therapists mapped the hurt but the wounds they concealed Hundreds of books read, programs joined, steps retraced Cycle repeating, hope always displaced Nights of weeping, silent prayers until dawn Feeling forsaken yet never fully gone
[Verse 3] Then dreams arrived like lanterns in the black Showing every close call, every line You held back You revealed the barriers pain was barred to cross Protection woven through every heavy loss Trauma refined, isolation drew me near In the depths I learned Your voice is crystal clear The raft was failing, air escaping slow Then Your gentle word through the tempest flow Rise up, oh rise up, drowning at sea But now the storm subsides Burden lifts so lightly, no more frantic tides
[Verse 4] From afar they seem joyful, carefree in the sun But closer now I see their battles just begun Hidden tales behind the smiles, quiet pain I carry what they need, a story they'll reframe The Savior who rescues, who says "no further" still Redeeming every wave, fulfilling every will
[Final Chorus] Rise up from the deep, the shore is in my sight Waves that once consumed now part before the light No longer waving helpless, strength renewed in grace Testimony rising from this sacred place Through every trial You have brought the purpose deep Holy Spirit guiding, promises to keep Rise up, rise up, I'm stepping on the sand All glory to the One who holds me in His hand Oh, rise up, rise up, I'm rising
Behind the Song
Most rescue songs start after the rescue. Drowning starts underwater.
The whole song lives inside one sustained image — a man going under at sea — and it refuses to rush to shore. The first verse is the water closing in, and it's drawn from a real life, not a metaphor: "a tin roof rattling in the winter's cruel bite, hunger days stretching in the endless night." Then the line that names the deepest isolation plainly — "on the spectrum, hard to find my place, invisible waves crashing over my face." The drowning isn't dramatic. It's quiet. It's watching everyone else "gather, travel, laugh, and thrive" while you "sank in silence, barely staying alive." Anyone who's felt alone in a crowded room knows exactly which wave that is.
What makes the song honest is that it lets every human lifeline fail first. The chorus is a catalog of everything he tried before God: "prayed till my voice broke dry, tried every path to mend, self-help shelves and programs, still no win." The second verse keeps going — military service, open church doors, jobs, friendships, doctors, therapists, "hundreds of books read, programs joined, steps retraced" — and every one of them leaks. Even the truest earthly gift, "wife and children my raft, my deepest grace," can't fully stop the water: "even love's anchor felt the leak begin." The song is brave enough to admit that the people you love most can be a genuine grace and still not be able to save you.
Then the rescue comes, and it comes in the strangest, most specific way: through dreams. "Then dreams arrived like lanterns in the black, showing every close call, every line You held back." This is the theological heart of the song — the realization, looking back, that he was protected the whole time he thought he was alone. "You revealed the barriers pain was barred to cross, protection woven through every heavy loss." The hedge was there all along; he just couldn't see it from underwater. That's Job 1, where the enemy complains that God has fenced Job in — turned into a man discovering his own hedge in hindsight.
The turn is deliberately gentle, not loud. After all that roaring, the deliverance is "Your gentle word through the tempest flow" — the same still, small voice that calmed the sea with "peace, be still." And the moment the storm subsides, the song does something generous: it looks outward. "From afar they seem joyful, carefree in the sun, but closer now I see their battles just begun." The rescued man immediately becomes the rescuer's helper — "I carry what they need, a story they'll reframe." The pain wasn't wasted; it became something he can hand to the next person drowning. That's 2 Corinthians 1 — comforted so we can comfort others — landed without preaching it.
By the final chorus he's out of the water: "no longer waving helpless, strength renewed in grace… rise up, rise up, I'm stepping on the sand." The song that began with a man going under ends with two feet on solid ground and every bit of credit sent upward: "all glory to the One who holds me in His hand."
The gospel-rap setting is what makes a story this dense possible. The genre's room for detail lets a whole life fit inside three and a half minutes — the tin roof, the spectrum, the military boots, the failing raft — without flattening any of it, while the R&B-tinged hook carries the "rise up" refrain like a lifeline you can grab onto. It's a rescue song that respects how long the drowning actually lasts.
Biblical Background
Drowning reads a real season of despair through Scripture's deep-water language of trouble and rescue. The opening descent echoes the psalmist's cry, "save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul… I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me" (Psalm 69:1–2, 14–15), and the prolonged darkness of Psalm 88, the lament of a soul that feels cut off and "free among the dead." Beneath it runs the promise that "the Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart" (Psalm 34:18).
The chorus turns on protection and deliverance. "You drew the line the enemy could not breach" is the hedge God placed around Job that Satan could not cross (Job 1:10; Job 2), and "the waters now divide" is the Red Sea parting on dry ground in Exodus 14:21–22. The weakness that persists even after rescue is met by "my grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9–10), and the cry of feeling forsaken yet never abandoned echoes Christ's own "my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46).
The revelation-through-dreams verse rests on Psalm 91:1–11, where God gives His angels charge "to keep thee in all thy ways," and on Romans 8:28, that "all things work together for good," turning "trauma refined" into purpose. The gentle word that stills the sea is Christ calming the storm in Mark 4:39, and the storm subsiding recalls Psalm 107:23–30, where God "maketh the storm a calm" and brings sailors "unto their desired haven." The outward turn — carrying others' hidden pain — is the comfort of 2 Corinthians 1:3–4, that we are comforted so we may comfort others. The rescue itself is Isaiah 43:1–2, "when thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee," and Psalm 18:16, "he sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters." The song lands on Psalm 40:1–3, God drawing the psalmist "out of an horrible pit… and set my feet upon a rock," and 1 Peter 5:10, the God of all grace who restores after suffering. Every reference is listed below in the order the song travels through it.
Scripture References
Psalm 69:1–2, 14–15 — "the waters are come in unto my soul… the floods overflow me"; "Drowning at sea, surrounded yet alone" (Verse 1 / Chorus)
Psalm 88 — the lament of one who feels cut off in the depths; "sank in silence, barely staying alive" (Verse 1)
Psalm 34:18 — the Lord is nigh unto the brokenhearted; "invisible waves crashing over my face" (Verse 1)
Job 1:10; Job 2 — the hedge of protection the enemy could not cross; "You drew the line the enemy could not breach" (Chorus)
Exodus 14:21–22 — the sea parts on dry ground; "the waters now divide" (Chorus)
2 Corinthians 12:9–10 — grace sufficient, strength perfected in weakness; "even love's anchor felt the leak begin" (Verse 2)
Matthew 27:46 — "why hast thou forsaken me?"; "Feeling forsaken yet never fully gone" (Verse 2)
Psalm 91:1–11 — angels charged to keep thee in all thy ways; "every close call, every line You held back" (Verse 3)
Romans 8:28 — all things work together for good; "Trauma refined… brought the purpose deep" (Verse 3)
Mark 4:39 — Christ calms the storm with a word; "Your gentle word through the tempest flow" (Verse 3)
Psalm 107:23–30 — He makes the storm a calm and brings them to their haven; "now the storm subsides" (Verse 3)
2 Corinthians 1:3–4 — comforted so we may comfort others; "I carry what they need" (Verse 4)
Isaiah 43:1–2 — "when thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee"; "Redeeming every wave" (Verse 4)
Psalm 18:16 — "he drew me out of many waters"; "The Savior who rescues" (Verse 4)
Psalm 40:1–3 — drawn from the pit, feet set on a rock, a new song; "stepping on the sand" (Final Chorus)
1 Peter 5:10 — after suffering, the God of all grace restores and strengthens; "strength renewed in grace" (Final Chorus)
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the song "Drowning" about? "Drowning" is a gospel rap song told in the first person — a man going under at sea, surrounded yet alone, picturing a lifetime of real hardship as deep water closing overhead. It moves from that despair, through the failure of every human fix, to a gentle word from God that parts the waters, and ends with the man "stepping on the sand," rescued.
Why does "Drowning" use so much water and drowning imagery? The deep-water image runs straight through Scripture as a picture of overwhelming trouble and God's rescue — from "the waters are come in unto my soul" in Psalm 69 to God parting the Red Sea in Exodus 14 and drawing the psalmist "out of many waters" in Psalm 18:16. The song sustains that one image so the rescue at the end lands as deliverance, not just relief.
What scriptures inspired "Drowning"? The song draws on Psalm 69, 88, 34:18, 91, 107, 40, and 18:16; Job 1–2; Exodus 14; Mark 4:39; Isaiah 43:1–2; Romans 8:28; 2 Corinthians 1:3–4 and 12:9–10; and 1 Peter 5:10. The full list appears on this page in song order.
Is "Drowning" based on the Bible? Yes. Every image is anchored to Scripture — from the deep waters of Psalm 69 and the hedge of protection in Job 1 to the parted sea of Exodus 14 and the rescue of Psalm 18:16, "he drew me out of many waters." The full reference list is included on this page in song order.
What genre is "Drowning"? "Drowning" is gospel rap and Christian rap with a trap gospel and R&B feel — a dense, first-person, scripture-driven track built around a "rise up" refrain.
Where can I listen to "Drowning"? You can stream "Drowning" on Spotify, Apple Music, and Audiomack, and watch the lyric video on YouTube.