Ps. 42:1-5

This past week was a difficult one for a variety of reasons. With this recent ice storm, so many people lost the essentials for everyday living, such as heat, lighting and even water itself. We all possibly lost electricity and power in our homes. When, the lights went out, and the power went off in your home, what went through your mind? For me, all I could consider in those dark moments, was how I under appreciate the precious blessings light, heat and water because I am so use to having theses gifts in my life. And because I am so accustomed to having these luxuries at my disposal, It sometimes slips my mind.

Then, as i studied to prepare this lesson, i thought to myself, how often do i under appreciate the presence of God in my life? Reluctantly, sadly and unfortunately I would have to say yes, I often take the presence of the Lord in my life for granted. Which leads me to my question, do you take God’s presence in your life for granted. In this Psalm 42:1-4, we are dealing with a man that can’t under appreciate the Lord, because God’s presence is no longer available to him. Please turn your Bible’s to Psalms ch. 42, and we will focus on the 1st 4 verses.

Prior to our reading, above verse one of Psalm 42,You may notice the words “To the choirmaster. A Maskil of the sons of Korah.” Now, you were the sons of Korah, you may be asking. The sons of Korah were a group from the tribe of Levi who were charged with the ministry of singing. In Second Chronicles 20:19 their described in action as men who “stood up to praise the LORD, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.” In 1 Chronicles 6:31-32, describes men whom David appointed for control of singing in the house of the Lord where the ark rested. 32 They were ministers of song with song before the tabernacle of the tent of assembly until Solomon built the temple of LORD in Jerusalem.

Now The word maskil, which is also in the heading of Psalm 42, is possibly a musical term which implies that this particular Psalm was meant to be sung by the sons of Korah in public worship. As i read through the first for verses i want you to imagine you singing this psalm at Sunday morning worship. Feel the words of this song and pay attention to the the words being expressed, that reflect the emotional state of God’s people.. Psalm 42:1-4 reads like this

42 As a deer longs for streams of water, so my soul longs for you, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? 3 My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” 4 These I remember and I pour out my soul within me: that I would go with the multitude; I led them in procession to the house of God, with a voice of rejoicing and thanksgiving, a crowd celebrating a festival.

With my first initial reading of the text, this is song is extremely depressing. It is not something that i would personally sing in worship because it would bring me down more than anything. This was no song of rejoicing or praise, but rather a song of brokenness and lament. In fact, it sounds like something you would sing at a funeral. But when you understand the context of this psalm, it makes sense. This Psalm is believed to be written at a time in Israel’s history when the when God’s King David & God’s people were on the run do to either Saul persecuting them, or due to the rebellion of David’s son against the Kingdom. Whatever the cause, because God’s people were exiled from Jerusalem, they were prevented from worshiping Jehovah in the temple. The access road to the Lord was closed!!

With that being in mind, i realized that this was a funeral song, because the people were dying to see the Lord, dying to worship in His presence. Listen to verse 2. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?

In the Christian dispensation, i know the words, “When shall i come before God,” is a strange statement for us. Because we know that we are intimately & eternally connected with the Lord, through the presence of His indwelling Spirit. We are literally the house of God, His temple. And the Spirit that’s present within us, is a delightful stream of water that sustains our soul. And just as a deer must be sustained by wilderness stream, our soul is sustained by the living God.

But what happens when that stream is abruptly cut off? What then? What happens is the Psalmist grieves. Let us read verse 3 again. 3 My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” Tears becomes his diet as he longs for the streams of water that represent God. Instead of enjoying the delightful taste of the living waters, he had to endure the the taste of his depressing, salty tears. What a terrible trade off, salty tearful water, instead of the sweet taste of God.

On top of that, his faith was constantly being taunted. People were knocking at his door pestering him “Where is this God of yours?”

He was completely separated from his the formal place of worship, and the only blessing to sustain him through the difficult times, were his memories. read vs 4 with me, 4 These I remember and I pour out my soul within me: that I would go with the multitude; I led them in procession to the house of God, with a voice of rejoicing and thanksgiving, a crowd celebrating a festival.

He remembers his joys of celebrating God in the community. He recalls the religious high points in the Jewish calendar (perhaps Passover, Booths, or Pentecost) when people would enter Jerusalem and the sanctuary to pour out joy towards God. Unfortunately, the Psalmist was only left with his memories, but thankfully that’s not the case for Christians today.

Application/Conclusion: Earlier I mentioned that the word Maskil, in the heading of this Psalm, is a musical note which indicates this Psalm was to be sung in cooperate worship. But what i did not mention was that the root word of Maskil, is considered to mean, “To make someone wise, to give instruction.” Which means that this Psalm wasn't only meant to be sung, but it was meant to instruct and make wise, those who were listening.

So, what should we be instructed to do?? I’m calling you to never take the presence of the Lord for granted. Seek God’s face in every facet of your life, recognizing how fortunate of a people you are. God bless.