Psalm 42 - A Soulful Groan!!!
Most days are hard…
Then come days when your world seems to collapse. Days when events crash upon you like a rogue wave on the shore, and threaten to drown you. Days that just bring you to your knees and are so bad your soul actually hurts.
Those days are tough to endure, and they are hard to get over - typically because what has just happened has a significant impact on your life, and the lives of those around you.
Recently, I’ve had one of those days (in fact it was more like a week) in what seemed like an already tumultuous year. It hurt, and it hurt bad…and it still hurts. It is something that is partly my own making, and partly not. But the end point is entirely distressing.
So, what do I do in this situation??? What do you do???
The only solution is to draw close to God and call upon his name.
In Romans 12:12 the Apostle Paul exhorts us to… “ Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.”
(artwork by SCHISM)
Hundreds of years before Paul was providing the church in Rome with his wisdom about how to righteously endure our sufferings in this life, some of the authors of the Psalms shared similar pieces of wisdom.
In Psalm 42, the ‘Sons of Korah’ wrote a beautiful psalm that highlights our need to draw close to God (Yahweh), as well as the fragility of the human condition while experiencing very difficult times. The ‘Sons of Korah’ were part of a priestly line that were the worship leaders of the nation.
Psalm 42 says…
Verses 1-3: “As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go and stand before him? Day and night I have only tears for food, while my enemies continually taunt me, saying, “Where is this God of yours?”
These opening verses of Psalm 42 are some of the most beautiful, yet also heartbreaking in the whole Bible.
Firstly, the beautiful imagery used to describe how the writer truly longs for God - “Like a deer longing for a stream” - in some places around the world this may not fully make sense because deer are in heavily forested areas with many streams, so they wouldn’t seen thirsty. But you have to remember that this was being written in the land of Israel - which is predominantly desert conditions. So really, the writer is saying “I thirst after God like an animal that is dying of dehydration thrusts for water” - How many of us (myself included) can actually say we long for the Lord to that extent??? It is a question we probably should ask ourselves more often.
Then comes a question, and a question that many of us have asked in our prayers too - “When can I go and stand before him?” - That is a heartfelt cry that dreams out “I’m done God…I want out of this life!”. I can guarantee that many of us have thought those same things.
Then come the reason for the heartbreak and the despair. The writer tells us that every day they are in emotional turmoil - why? - because there are unbelievers out there actively coming against them and are belittling them and God.
We face times when the unrighteous act against us - either in the background and we feel the effects of their actions, or they do it directly towards us and we see the evil and what impact it has on us and those around us.
Verse 4: “My heart is breaking as I remember how it used to be: I walked among the crowds of worshipers, leading a great procession to the house of God, singing for joy and giving thanks amid the sound of a great celebration!”
Part of their emotional turmoil is that they remember how life used to be, they remember a time when joy was part of their lives. When times were good. We all know how that feels, especially when we have endured so much pain and turmoil in our lives over extended periods of time.
In context, the writer is lamenting that there are no longer throngs of people coming to worship at the Temple in Jerusalem.
Lack of worship of God almost always leads to waywardness in individuals, in groups, in organisations and in nations.
Verses 5-8: “Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again — my Saviour and my God! Now I am deeply discouraged, but I will remember you — even from distant Mount Hermon, the source of the Jordan, from the land of Mount Mizar. I hear the tumult of the raging seas as your waves and surging tides sweep over me. But each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me, and through each night I sing his songs, praying to God who gives me life.”
These verses speak of a person who is going through a deeply troubling time. They use common imagery that we can identify with when it talks about the surging tides and waves sweeping over us threatening to consume us.
The key point is that even in the midst of that turmoil and that the writer of Psalm 42 was experiencing he still found the place and the strength to lay it all down at the feet of God in prayer, and acknowledges that God is with him with HIS unfailing love.
Verse 9-10: “O God my rock,” I cry, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I wander around in grief, oppressed by my enemies?” Their taunts break my bones. They scoff, “Where is this God of yours?”
The writer starts to circle back on the points that he has already raised.
It is a common practice amongst the writers of the psalms (and Jewish poets/prophets to start and finish on the same (or similar) points.
The writer of this psalm returns to his lament and cry to God (Yahweh) - he plainly asks “God where are you? Why aren’t you helping me in this situation?” - It is a cry that we all have given to God at some point in our lives and our relationship with God.
It’s an honest cry of the heart, but we need to watch our attitudes because it can lead to bitterness if we allow it. We can get so angry at God because things aren’t happening in our timeframe, or how we expected it to happen - and that leads to bitterness in our hearts, which then impacts on our relationship to God.
In this case, how the writer of Psalm 42 has presented it - it’s a valid and honest way of presenting our hurts and disappointments to God.
Verse 11: “Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again— my Saviour and my God!”
Psalm 42 ends as it started - with honour and praise and authority being given to God - despite the inner turmoil that the writer was obviously facing.
This serves as encouragement and a model for our own lives. Where we can be honest with God about how we feel and how we are struggling, yet still honour HIM as our Lord, our Saviour, and our God.
I truly pray that if you are going through some very turbulent times that Psalm 42 encourages you, and gives you peace that you are not alone in what you are experiencing or that God has somehow vanished from your side. God is there with you, whether you feel HIS presence or not.