Blogging the Psalms

Blogging the Psalms -- Psalm 42

Psalm 42

In this psalm, the psalmist speaks about his desire for the living God. Some folks are satisfied with religion and the little aesthetics touch them or the rules. But there are some who reach a place where they thirst for a living god who can be spoken to and whose love can be felt.

Christmas is the Season of Hope for many Christians. As Easter and Passover represent the faith that God has removed Sin’s power over His people, so the Christmas Season represents the hope that God understands us, that God is with us. Because Jesus Christ came into the world as a poor child who later became a refugee, God understands the life of those who are outcasts and poor. 

“Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God. I will praise Him again-- My Savior and My God.” Psalm 42:11

Hope is an essential and deeply needed part of human life, and it is not an easy virtue. It is often linked with faith and faith is compared to a race and a fight. One is called to hope, and to fight the good fight -- the fight to believe in the goodness of God. Sometimes the faith-filled life can be such a hard race that Christians begin to think of “surrendering their hope.” Here is a link on an online Bible site to the varied places where the word was used in the Bible. http://bible.cc/search.php?q=surrender  It’s clear that the Christian Church idea of “surrender” as giving up one’s hopes, dreams, and aspirations is wrong. One can surrender to God by giving up one’s sins, perhaps, but, in the Bible, “surrender” is never used to mean giving in to sorrows or dying to self. Yet, when some Christians find themselves waiting a long time for a dream -- the right job, a good Church, Christian friends, the right spouse, a healing-- they beat themselves up with the non-Biblical idea that God wants them to surrender their hopes. 

True, there are times when a Christian will be called to sacrifice. A sacrifice means giving up something less for a higher, greater good. When a person loses hope  they often find themselves feeling that God is somehow behind their troubles. But the Bible indicates that troubles can be caused by God, by the devil, by circumstances in the world, of by our own choices. The Christian God is a God of hope who believes that good can triumph no matter how bad the situation -- or the person. This is the reason why Christians have created missions around the world and regularly aims to help the poor.  

The Christian God is a God who understands hope. God even calls Himself our Hope. Despair, doubt, and discouragement rarely are linked with surrender. True surrender for God’s people always has a hope to it. It is sad to imagine anyone living without hopes and dreams, and thinking that they are surrendering to Christ. Surrendering to Christ means being willing to set those dreams aside if He seems to be calling us elsewhere but God’s will for us is not always clear and our hopes and dreams, if we are living in His will, will coincide with His goals. Perhaps His timing is not ours and perhaps we might be confused about the direction we might take. But God never calls us to live in discouragement.  

Christmas is a time for giving and for hoping. Often Christians give in order to bring hope to others. Donations of a good meal, clean clothes, and even the donation of a smile to someone who has only seen indifferent, uncaring smiles will plant a seed of encouragement and hope that might blossom into a healed life.

The psalm speaks of the multitudes who keep holy day and yet do they really seek the living God?

In this psalm the psalmist is saying to his soul: “Why are you cast down?” He’s been weepy, but bad enough he has folks around who don’t help matters. In this state, deep calls to deep. Something deep within him calls out for the deep things of God.

In this psalm, the psalmist thirsts for God’s help. He thirsts for justice and seeks a time, as someone would hope for an appointment, with an important and powerful advocate and judge. His relationship with God now is full of grief. This hurts his heart because there was a time when his voice was full of joy instead of weeping. He reminds his soul to hope in God. There is a hope he will see God’s face again. As he is wont to do, David thinks back upon those moments when God was with him. And yet, what are all these past glories to him? His enemies are continually taunting him: Where is your God? What are past glories if God seems absent from the present?

But he will continue to trust in his God despite his enemies’ taunts. 

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.

2My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?

3My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?

4When 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.

5Why 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.

6O 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.

7Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.

8Yet 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.

9I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

10As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God?

11Why 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