Notes

Psalm 42 contains the well-known refrain " Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. " Psalm 43 also closes with this refrain ( Psalm 43:5 ), and as Psalm 43 does not have a title it has been suggested that the two Psalms go together. I have therefore included Psalm 43 in this study. W hat can we learn from the psalmist about dealing with being downcast? In the midst of his distress the psalmist: earnestly desires God and pours out his heart with tears to God ( Psalm 42:1-3); remembers before God his previous experiences of worshiping God among His people, and even leading the people in this (Psalm 42:4); reflects on God's sovereign hand and the crashing waves of life (that God controls) that have knocked him off his feet (Psalm 42:6-7); affirms his trust in God's steadfast love, while also voicing his perplexity that God has allowed his enemies to cause him such pain (Psalm 42:8-9); and asks that, because he has taken refuge in God, God would defend him against his ungodly adversaries (Psalm 43:1-2). All of these, however, seem to be precursors to his ultimate two-fold prayer: that God would send out his light and his truth and, that these things would lead him to God, (Psalms 43:3). The downcast one, most of all, needs to hear and comprehend God's truth, and for God to apply this truth to his or her heart and mind such that they are brought into renewed fellowship with Him and see Him as their abounding joy (Psalms 43:4). For the psalmist, God is not a concept, but He is the living God (Psalms 42:2). Some other observations: I found no other occasion in the Old or New Testament where light and truth are mentioned alongside each other however light and truth are both used by John to describe Jesus (John 1:14; John 1:5; John 1:9; John 14:6). And Peter describes the ultimate reason that Jesus came, that he might bring us to God (1 Peter 3:18 c.f. Psalms 43:3). God has sent out his light and truth in the person of His Son, who suffered and bore our sin that He might bring us to God. What of the psalmist's questions, ...“ Why have you forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy ?” ( Psalms 42:9 )? The questions don't appear to be answered in this psalm, but we find Jesus expressing a similar lament (compare Psalms 42:5 and John 12:27a , Matthew 26:38 ). We do suffer and we will suffer, for all variety of reasons, but we know that our Lord Jesus also suffered to become our salvation ( Hebrews 5:7-9 ). And he is our God ( John 20:28 ), and we shall see him again ( Rev 1:7 ). Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. (Psalms 43:5 ESV) Note: 1. In relation to verse 2c, n ote Psalms 84:7. Psalms 84, like Psalms 42, is also of the sons of Korah. We read that there are some who 'go from strength to strength', to ultimately appear before God. I wonder if Ps 84 was written after Ps 42, and the outcome of applying the prescription of Psalm 42 (hope in God ...) was that they went from strength to strength.

notes

Arc

OT

Psalms 42:1-43:5

esv

mine

t As a deer pants for flowing streams,

As a deer pants for fresh water

so pants my soul for you, O God.

likewise , my inner man longs for you, O God.

comparison

u My soul thirsts for God,

That is , my soul longs for God,

for v the living God.

that is, [my soul longs] for the living God.

ideaexplanation

When shall I come and w appear before God? 1

That is , I long to see God face to face.

My tears have been my food day and night,

Because tears of sorrow have been with me day and night

while they say to me all the day long,

and they [my adversairies] say to me continually

“Where is your God?”

"Where is this God of yours??"

series

ground

These things I remember,

That is, these things I remember

as I pour out my soul:

while I pour out my soul (with tears, 3a)

temporal

a how I would go b with the throng

I would go with the multitude

and lead them in procession to the house of God

moreover, I would lead them to the house of God

with glad shouts and songs of praise, c a multitude keeping festival.

with joyful shouts and songs of praise, that is, [we were] many, worshiping God.

actionmanner

d Why are you cast down, O my soul,

Explaining , You are troubled, O my soul,

and why are you in turmoil within me?

that is, you are distress within me.

f Hope in God ;

Yet, [I say to myself] hope in God

for I shall again praise him,

Because I will praise him once again

my salvation 1 and my God.

for he is my salvation and my God.

concessive

My soul is cast down within me;

Furthermore , My soul is still cast down within me.

therefore I g remember you

Therefore I remember you (God)

h from the land of Jordan and of i Hermon, from Mount Mizar.

when I am separated from your presence and your people

inference

Deep calls to deep

Explaining , my soul calls to you,

at the roar of your waterfalls;

while in life's turbulence (you are sovereign over the turbulence)

j all your breakers and your k waves have gone over me.

that is, I have been knocked off my feet and taken under by your crashing waves

By day the LORD l commands his steadfast love,

Yet I know that each day Yahweh commands his everlasting love

and at m night his song is with me,

and at night his song is in my heart,

a prayer to the God of my life.

that is, a prayer to the God of my life.

I say to God, n my rock:

And yet , I say to God, my rock

“Why have you forgotten me?

I don't understand why you've forgotten me

o Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”

that is, I don't understand why I must suffer under the hand of my enemies

As with a deadly wound in my bones,

That is, like a deadly wound in my bones

my adversaries taunt me,

my opponents taunt me

p while they say to me all the day long, “Where is your God?”

in that they say to be all day long, "Where is your God??"

q Why are you cast down, O my soul,

You are troubled my soul

and why are you in turmoil within me?

you are downcast within me.

Hope in God;

Yet [I say to myself again] look to God

for I shall again praise him,

because I will praise him once again

my salvation and my God.

because he is my salvation and my God.

r Vindicate me, O God,

Therefore judge in my favor, O God

and s defend my cause against an ungodly people,

That is, work for my cause against those who hate you,

from t the deceitful and unjust man deliver me!

that is, rescue me from the deceitful and unjust man!

For you are u the God in whom I take refuge;

Because you are the God in whom I take refuge

why have you v rejected me?

Yet, I don't understand why you have rejected me.

Why do I w go about mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

That is, I don't understand why you allow me to suffer under my enemy's heavy hand.

x Send out your light and your truth;

Nevertheless , send out your light and your truth

let them lead me;

so that they may show me the way

let them bring me to your y holy hill and to your z dwelling!

that is, let them bring me to your holy and into your presence,

progression

Then I will go to the altar of God,

As a result, I will go to the place of sacrifice of God,

to God my exceeding joy,

to God, who is my overflowing joy!

and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.

and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.

actionresult

a Why are you cast down, O my soul,

You are cast down, my soul

and why are you in turmoil within me?

that is, you are in turmoil within me

b Hope in God ;

Yet hope in God

for I shall again praise him,

because I will praise him again,

my salvation and my God.

because he is my salvation and my God.

Do we know what is causing the distress? I'm not sure, but we do know how he is exhorting himself to respond.

He longs to actually be with God, to be done with the distress, because of his suffering and distress.

Do I sometimes think of God as a concept, a vague idea. The psalmist knew Him as the living God.

The psalmist longs for the living God, yet he is in great distress. He is not commended for being in such a state. The deer pants for streams of living water because it has not been able to get to the water for an extended period. It has been chased and in danger. While a person might stop to grab a quick drink while being chased, the deer (so I have read) will not stop until all is calm and any sense of danger has passed. What has caused the psalmist to be 'on the run' and therefore unable to commune with God? Though he is not the author, is this a picture of David on the run from Absalom (2 Samuel 15).

Do these questions get answered? If not, can we infer an answer? What benefit was there in Jesus being made perfect through suffering? (Hebrews 5:7-9) What benefit is there in Christians enduring through various trials? (1 Peter 5:10)

You, the living God, are the one in whom I take refuge.

There is a path to joy for the downcast.

Is his soul still downcast? Is the situation completely resolved? Not necessarily. What will win the day? His circumstances, or, through the power of God's word, his joy in God.

Question to ponder: The psalmist longs for God. To what degree do I identify with this longing? How is a longing for God effected by a love for the pleasures of the world? 1 John 2:15-16.

The psalmist's adversaries noted his trust in God. God is not meeting their expectations.

He had a history of praising God among the people. The psalmist remembers this. Cf. Hebrews 6:10 . God is faithful.

Note the intimacy and trust. Is this the fruit of quiet endurance and trust in the midst of unspeakable difficulties? Is this evidence that he is on the road to gaining a sense of perspective?

I was not sure if Id/Exp or G is more appropriate here? Is ' [he is] my salvation and my God ' explaining who God is, or is it giving the reason for why the psalmist will praise God again? The former would be true. But we can also say that because they are true he will praise him again. By 'again' he might be referring to 'in this life' and/or the resurrection. cf. Job 19:26.

I think this is not so much about the locations, except that they are distant from Jerusalem, and so he remembers God when he is separated from God's presence (God's house) and God's people. Note the importance of the people of God. We rejoice in God with the people of God when we are able - this was an encouragement to the psalmist when he was separated.

God is not envisaged as a concept, but as living.

I was not sure about this relationship, but thought Csv, in the sense that, even though he is exhorting himself to hope, yet still he feels troubled.

John 12:27; Matthew 26:38

The ultimate request : that God would send out his light and truth, and that these unchanging realities would lead the psalmist into thankful and joyful communion with God. The psalmist previously experienced joyful communion with God however that joy was disrupted by the various trials of life. The circumstances are not entirely clear, but the psalmist acknowledges God's sovereignty. Whatever the cause, he now desires above all that God's sure word would lead him back to God.

The tense is interesting in verse 3 and 4. In verse 3 he says 'let them lead me' rather than 'I will follow them.' Is this an acknowledgement of his own weakness and his desire that God's word would take hold of him and lead him? And yet in verse 4 he seems more determined: 'Then I will go ...'

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