Psalm 42

Notice who this Psalm is attributed to:

To the Chief Musician, Maschil, for the sons of Korah

This Psalm is an honest prayer from a discouraged saint!  Not some saint who is very happy at all.  In fact he is in the pit of despair.  And he wants his words set to music - the reference to the Chief Musician indicates he has handed these words over for this very purpose.  The term Maschil refers to a melody that requires great skill in execution - no much wonder because there is nothing upbeat here, it is all very depressing

The sons of Korah - a reference to the Levites from the family of Kohath found in 2 Chronicles 20 verse 19.  They had the specific task of singing and putting music to these words - I do not envy their task with these words!

As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee O God.

My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God, when shall I come and appear before God?

My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?

Can you feel the deep need of the Psalmist in these words?  There is despair, discouragement and a feeling of distance from God's house.  The image is one of a deer longing to receive water.  Perhaps there has been a time of drought or maybe he is being pursued.  The Psalmist here longs to know God's presence in his life.  He needs God.  Sometimes in those moments when we feel everything is against us ... do we really want God to know about it?  What a lesson to learn from these words - this is the time we need God most!  From these verses we can see that the Psalmist really poured out his soul to God - not just once but over a prolonged period of time.  And as he poured out his soul he wept.  Even in those times of longing he realised that other people were mocking him.  They had good intentions in what they said, because they told him he needed to cling to God more but in the same breath they were questioning why he was not feeling God's nearness.  Perhaps they questioned his faith in God.

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.

Painful memories bring further discouragement to the Psalmist.  He looked back to the times when he was able to go to God's house with great joy and happiness in his soul.  That made him pour out his soul to God even more.

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.

Now the Psalmist speaks to himself.  He questions the feelings he has.  He tells himself to hope in God but also to thank God for his presence even in this the lowest of times.   Three times these words are repeated not only in this Psalm but in the one following.  It feels like it is a chorus, a repetition to show what is going on deep down in the soul.

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.

Now we see the Psalmist bringing the need to God.  We see that the Psalmist is actually far from God's house at this moment in time.  He is trying to encourage himself to remember God even though he is not able to go into God's house at this moment in his life.  There is such a depth of longing in these verses.

Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts, all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.

Such depth of sorrow is described in these words.  The trials of life to the Psamist are like the waves of the sea washing over him and he is desperately crying out for help.  In verse 1 we see the image of the deer looking for water and compared that with the Psalmist longing for God's presence in his life at this moment in time.  Now it seems as if he was plunging deep very quickly and could not lift himself up again.  He had a feeling of drowning in all this despair

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.

Notice the repetition in this Psalm.  Just as his tears were all he knew both day and night now he says God's songs are with him in those times too.  That little word "yet" is a turning point.  Suddenly we see the Psalmist recognising and acknowledging God's goodness to him.

I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God?

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.

For the Psalmist it felt as though God was taking his time, he was acting too slowly.  Gradually we see him returning to confidence - challenging himself and refocusing on God to help in this time of need.

But what happened?  This Psalm does not end with a "happy ever after", we don't know whether the Psalmist came back from this pit of despair - even the following Psalm continues in this same feeling of discouragement.  How can I apply these words to my life today?

I have been reading this book It's Ok to be Not Ok by Federico G Villanueva and he uses this Psalm in the opening couple of chapters.  He shows that sometimes we do have negative emotions as Christians.  He points out that a person who is close to God is not necessarily always joyful.  Sometimes a Christian cries.  Sometimes a Christian is downcast but ... we need to be honest and open with God in those times.  The Psalmist in these words is showing that he feels as though God has forgotten him.  That God has abandoned him but still he comes near to God.

In those times when it feels as though heaven is silent, that God is far away, we need to reassure ourselves that he is right there.  But it is important to tell God how we feel and to express our feelings of abandonment and hopelessness.  We need to be open and honest.  And it is in those times that we will feel God is nearer than he has ever been before.