Psalms 42-43

Psalms 42-43

I was just reading Psalms 42 and 43, and was thinking how they so much addressed the troubles a believer can face, and the exhortation to look up to the Lord for the help and comfort needed. Here are some thoughts on these 2 chapters:

Psalms 42:1 (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.

Do you long for God? When you are troubled and discouraged, is the Lord the one you cry out to and desire? In this life with its trials and sorrows, do you thirst for fellowship with your Heavenly Father, as a hart pants after water in a dry, barren wilderness?

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

Does your soul long for continual fellowship with your Saviour? Are you grieved when your sins cast a cloud between you? When life seems to overwhelm you, do you thirst for God as the Psalmist does? Do you thirst for God's Word to quicken you and draw you even closer to Jesus day by day?

Psalms 119:20 My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times.

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

4 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.

Do you remind yourself of past times of fellowship with the Lord and other believers, when times were sweet? When you worshipped and served the Lord together? When you sought the Lord and His Word in His house that met together in His name?

5 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.

6 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.

One thing I love about the Psalms, is that they express all the emotions and situations we will ever encounter. They may start on a plaintive note - but they always end positively, with a call to look up to the Lord. Jesus is the only place of security and comfort - He is our Haven of Rest in our troubled lives!

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

This is what I preached on Friday, May 13th - Waves and Billows. When life overwhelms you, all strength is gone, and you are sinking fast, where do you look for help? Cry out to God and He will lift you up out of the miry clay and set your feet upon the Rock - the only solid ground in this life!

Psalms 61:2 From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

Notice it is God's waves and billows that are in your life (See also Jonah 2) - He is the one that allows or causes all that the believer experiences in his or her life. He is in complete control, He has a purpose for all your trials, and He is working out all things for your good. Why not trust Him? Learn from what He has to teach you through this trial.

8 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.

The Psalmist knew who was in control in his life, he knew who to seek (in prayer), to praise (His song), and to remember (His lovingkindness)!

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

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

11 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.

Let the world and your enemies say what they will - and just cling to the Lord during this trial. No trouble or temptation is too bleak or hard to endure when we place our eyes solidly on our Saviour! Our trial will end on a note of praise - and those who mocked and scorned will one day have to admit that the Lord stood by His child, and there was nothing the enemy of our souls could ever do separate us from His love!

Psalms 43:1 Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man.

2 For thou art the God of my strength: why dost thou cast me off? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

We may not know the "why of the trials" - BUT WE CAN TRUST!

"It is not for us to know; it is ours to trust."

"It is not the part of faith to question, but to obey." - A.B. Simpson.

When the waves and billows overwhelm, just cling to the Master of the waves - and in His good time He Himself will calm the sea, and you will enter the safe haven He has prepared for you. (See Psalm 107:23-32)

3 O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.

When the way is dark, let the Word of God light up your path. There are hundreds upon hundreds of promises to claim, myriads of passages to learn about God's working in the lives of His children, and much comfort for the troubled soul. For starters, study out Romans 5:3-5. In each new trial, remember how the Lord has worked in your life in the past! He is still the same loving God, and He will never leave you, nor forsake you. This trial is for His glory, to do His work in your life.

4 Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God my God.

Ah, the sound of praise amidst the storms of life! Is that your song of faith in your night of trial?

5 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

Hope in God - and praise Him who loves you with an everlasting love! Lean on the Lord in all your trials - He will undertake for you (See Isaiah 38:14) - and HE WILL CARRY YOU THROUGH!

 

May 26th/05
Jerry Bouey

For more studies that use passages in the Psalms as the springboard:

Psalms Series