Psalms 42

A believer far from the house of God is spiritually thirsty and heartsick. Enemies mock him, and waves of trouble sweep over him. He talks honestly to God and then talks to his own soul, telling it to hope in God, who will yet be his Savior.

Psalms 42:1

The psalmist pictures a deer in dry country, panting for running water. His need for God is that urgent and that basic. The thirst is not for gifts or relief but for God Himself, and it is the cry of a living soul.

BSA: pants (“longs intensely, yearns”): The word carries the sound of heavy breathing, so his longing is something he feels in his body. soul (“inner being, spirit”): He means his whole inner life, not just a part of him, reaching out for God.

Hebrew: תַּעֲרֹג (ta‘arog, H6165) — “pants, cries out for.” The Hebrew word is used of animals gasping for water in a drought. The picture is of desperate need, not mild wishing.

Psalms 42:2

His thirst is for the living God, not for an idea or a religion. He longs to come and stand before God’s face, most likely at the temple. Only a God who is alive can satisfy a thirst like this.

BSA: living (“eternal, self-existent”): God is not a lifeless idol; He has life in Himself and gives life to others. presence (“before His face”): He wants more than a place of worship; he wants to meet God face to face.

See also: Psalm 63:1; John 4:14.

Psalms 42:3

Grief has taken away his appetite, and tears have taken the place of meals. Those around him add to the pain by mocking him: where is your God? Silence from heaven can feel like proof to onlookers. His own faith is wounded by the taunt.

BSA: food (“meat, nourishment”): His weeping has become his daily nourishment, so constant that it fills the place of bread.

See also: Psalm 80:5.

Psalms 42:4

When he pours out his heart, memory comes first. He recalls leading a joyful crowd up to God’s house on feast days, full of shouts and thanksgiving. Remembering old joy hurts now, but it also reminds him what he is longing for.

BSA: procession (“a festive crowd, a joyful gathering”): Worship in Israel was shared and festive, so he misses the company as well as the place. pour out (“with deep emotion, inwardly”): His prayer is a spilling out of the heart, held back no longer.

See also: Psalm 122:1.

Psalms 42:5

Now he speaks to himself. He questions his own sinking soul, then gives it an order: hope in God. His feelings are real, but they do not get the last word. He is sure he will praise God again, because God’s presence itself saves.

BSA: downcast (“cast down, disheartened”): The word pictures a person bowed low, with the spirit sagging under its load. hope (“trust, confidence”): Hope here is a settled waiting on God, not a wish.

See also: Psalm 43:5.

Psalms 42:6

He admits that despair is within him, yet it leads him to remember God. He is far from Jerusalem, in the northern land near the Jordan’s source, among the heights of Hermon. Even in that distant, lonely place, he turns his thoughts to God.

BSA: despairs (“is cast down, bowed”): His soul is bent low, but the bending drives him to prayer instead of silence. remember (“with gratitude, from the heart”): His remembering is a deliberate turning of the heart toward God.

Psalms 42:7

The roar of mountain waterfalls becomes a picture of his trouble. One deep seems to call to another, and wave after wave rolls over him. Yet he calls them Your waterfalls and Your breakers. Even the flood belongs to God.

BSA: waterfalls (“waterspouts, cataracts”): The image is of water crashing down from above, relentless and overwhelming. rolled (“swept, gone over”): The waves do not just touch him; they pass right over his head.

See also: Jonah 2:3; Psalm 69:2.

Psalms 42:8

In the middle of the storm, hope breaks through. By day the LORD commands His loving devotion toward him, and at night he has a song and a prayer. God’s covenant love is the steady thing under the waves.

BSA: loving devotion (“faithful love, kindness”): This is God’s loyal, covenant love, which does not quit when feelings do. decrees (“commands, ordains”): God’s love is not left to chance; He sends it out as a command, as a king would.

Hebrew: חַסְדּוֹ (chasdo, H2617) — “his steadfast, loyal love.” This is the Old Testament word for love that keeps a promise. It is God’s faithfulness to those He has bound Himself to.

See also: Lamentations 3:22-23.

Psalms 42:9

He calls God his Rock, the One who is firm and safe, and in the same breath asks why God has forgotten him. Faith and complaint sit side by side. Honest questions like this are welcome in prayer, and God lets us speak them.

BSA: Rock (“my Strength”): God is the solid ground and strength he still clings to while asking his hard question. forgotten (“seemingly”): It only seems to him that God has forgotten; he is speaking from how it feels.

See also: Psalm 13:1.

Psalms 42:10

The mockery of his enemies feels like a physical blow, as though his bones were being broken. They repeat the same taunt: where is your God? Doubt from outside presses on doubt inside, and the pain goes deep.

BSA: taunt (“reproach, mock”): The word means scorn that shames a person, and he hears it every day. crushing (“with a sword, as with a crushing weight”): Their words land with the force of a killing wound.

Psalms 42:11

The refrain returns. He again asks his soul why it is so low, and again tells it to hope in God. He has not solved his problems, but he has chosen where to rest. God is his Savior and his God, and that is enough to praise Him again.

BSA: Savior (“the one who saves me”): God is personally the one who rescues him, not just a rescuer in general. downcast (“crushed, disheartened”): He names his low state honestly before answering it with hope.

See also: Psalm 43:5; Lamentations 3:21-24.