Psalm 42

Psalm 42 KJV (WS)

1 To the chief Musician, Maschil, for the sons of Korah. As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. 2 My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? 3 My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God? 4 When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday. 5 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance. 6 O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar. 7 Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me. 8 Yet the Lord will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life. 9 I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? 10 As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God? 11 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

Introduction

As we start the 2nd book of Psalms, we are going to see a theme that runs throughout.

The 2nd book of Psalms consists exclusively of Elohim psalms.

Elohim occurs 164x.

The second thing that I want to point out before we get started is that Psalms 42 and 43 work together to form a single song.

What do these Psalms communicate though?

One author states “Evidently the experience of David during his exile.”

But you will notice that David is not mentioned in the heading of this psalm as he is in others.

Instead we see this mention of the sons of Korah.

The sons of Korah were a levitical family of singers.

Korah, one of Aaron’s sons had been killed by divine judgment during the Exodus, but his sons had not. (Numbers 26:11 “11 Notwithstanding the children of Korah died not.”)

Some have said that the Korahites may have been more performers than authors.

That may be, any time the sons of Korah are mentioned, the individual author is never mentioned.

Some have even suggested that the Korahites may have had their own book of songs.

It’s possible that this psalm was written by a Korahite levite who accompanied David into exile.

That is the approach that I will take as I work through the passage today.

This is a very intimate Psalm.

50 personal pronouns in this psalm.

Let’s get into it and see what God has for us today.

The Psalmist begins by expressing his longing for God. vss 1-5

He uses this well known illustration of a depleted deer. vss 1-3

We are brought into the psalmist’s world as he thinks about a deer panting after water.

He does not tell us whether the hart pants due to flight from an enemy or from drought.

If we think of this levite accompanying David in exile, it’s probably appropriate to assume that both are applicable.

The deer is experiencing more than a quiet languishing.

He feels a strong thirst.

He pants because of his overwhelming sense of want.

He let’s that be known through the noises that he makes.

The psalmist relates that the deer pines for the water brooks are springs that flow continually.

He cannot wait to get to the place where he can quench his thirst.

Until he can, he will be unfulfilled.

The psalmist immediately pivots from the parched deer to his parched soul.

No man is made to be satisfied from himself.

The author longs for the chance to stand before God.

This is specifically a reference to standing before God in the sanctuary.

Where God meets with His people.

Where God’s people gather to worship together.

The author knows how to relate to God personally.

He is so dependent on the communal times of worship that he feels parched when he is unable to assemble with the faithful.

Look at the distress this has caused him.

Instead of eating, the psalmist has wept.

Morning and night he suffers from the feeling of separation.

This exile is made worse by the fact that he is surrounded by pagans that mock him in his situation.

As a Jew, this man was known to the world for his belief in Yawheh .

The psalmists enemies declare that God has forsaken him.

As many do, the author, escapes his current situation by recalling happier times.

A remembrance of the good times. vs 4

The psalmist is separated from his home.

We’ll talk about this more in a moment.

He is in exile.

He is unable to gather at the place of worship

He must, instead, rely upon his memory of what that is like.

As a Korahite, He is a worship leader.

He would typically lead pilgrims to Jerusalem.

Perhaps, it was the time of year for a journey.

He cannot go and partake.

Instead he remembers fondly the joy and praise that he was accustomed to.

He thinks of the people that he used to see at the holy day celebrations.

It is his inability to worship with the assembly that has led him to this state of dryness.

Corporate worship has always been essential for a fulfilling religious life

He needs this direct recollection of God, His work, and their relationship.

If our ability to worship together was taken away, would we expereince grief?

He did, but he also had hope.

A conversation within. vs 5

He addresses his fear as if it is another person.

Cast down = bow very low, to sit on the ground like a mourner.

He instructs himself to hope in God’s help.

He believes, though it doesn’t always show, that God will bring him home.

He will have a chance to praise Him again.

This ends the first stanza.

The psalmist feels parched because he is in exile and cannot assemble for corporate worship.

In the 2nd stanza, the Psalmist reiterates with more detail the effects of his exile. vss 6-11

In the first stanza he views corporate religion as the antidote for his present condition.

In the second stanza, we see his personal in the forefront.

The location of his exile affects his demeanor. vs 6-10

When David fled Absalom, he headed for the east side of Jordan.

The levite author finds himself in unfamiliar territory.

He is among the mountain range that houses Mt. Hermon.

This is enemy territory.

The place where they are hiding is quite a departure from the royal city.

Mizar means little.

It may be the unknown hill where they found refuge.

It could be a description of the humble nature of their dwelling.

David’s camp was surrounded by mountain lakes and waterfalls.

Water spout means gutter.

It’s a reference to a waterfall.

Waterfalls have a typically soothing sound

The levite may have been thinking about the hasty crossing of the Jordan which could be quite dangerous.

The thought of water drives him to thinking of the pulsing trials that characterize life.

God is the only source of help in the midst of life’s troubled seas.

It’s kind of crazy that drought at the beginning of the psalm has been replaced with drowning.

As an exile, day and night spent in the elements.

The author is convinced that God has not forsaken him, though.

Yahweh, here, instead of Elohim.

In the day, he looks for the lovingkindness of God.

We’ve talked about this word before.

It’s a Hebrew word for which there is no sufficient English word.

It’s a word meant to describe the totality of all God’s goodness.

At night, the author, a worship leader, has God’s song to comfort him.

He also addresses his prayer to the God of his life.

The next verse gives us a glimpse as to the content of his prayer.

The mountains affect his communication to God.

He knows God is his rock.

As he lives on Mizar, has he become too little for God to consider him?

Has God bigger things to deal with than this lone psalmist?

Is that why he spends his days in exile mourning among the enemies of his people?

He and the other exiles are surrounded by gentiles.

The Moabites cannot help but add insult to injury.

Absalom shoved the knife in.

The Moabites are twisting it.

The gentiles all around them keep asking, “Where is your God now?”

A conversation within. vs 11

Why are you so low?

Why are you unsettled?

Hope in God.

I will yet praise him.

He is the health of my face.

How do you relate to this Psalmist?

Are you cast down this morning?

Do you feel like an exile?

Maybe not from your home, but from the life you once had?

Maybe you feel like an exile from the life you wanted.

Psalm 42 gives us two treatments for a heavy soul.

These are to be taken together.

They work best when combined.

As a believer, you should have a desire to worship God among the assembly.

As a believer, you should experience the ministry of God even when you are not surrounded by the faithful.