Episode Transcript
Psalm 42 (NIV)
1 As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, my God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?
3 My tears have been my food
day and night,
while people say to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
4 These things I remember
as I pour out my soul:
how I used to go to the house of God
under the protection of the Mighty One
with shouts of joy and praise
among the festive throng.
5 Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
...
9 I say to God my Rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about mourning,
oppressed by the enemy?”
10 My bones suffer mortal agony
as my foes taunt me,
saying to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
11 Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
Psalm 43 (NIV)
1 Vindicate me, my God,
and plead my cause
against an unfaithful nation.
Rescue me from those who are
deceitful and wicked.
2 You are God my stronghold.
Why have you rejected me?
Why must I go about mourning,
oppressed by the enemy?
3 Send me your light and your faithful care,
let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell.
4 Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God, my joy and my delight.
I will praise you with the lyre,
O God, my God.
5 Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
CONSIDER THIS
Today’s post is from A Meditative Journey Through the Psalms by Timothy and Julie Tennent. He holds the Methodist Chair of Divinity at Beeson Divinity School and served as president of Asbury Theological Seminary for fifteen years. She is a gifted musician and was one of the driving forces that helped bring to fruition the Seedbed hymnal, Our Great Redeemer’s Praise. We will share some of their writing on the Psalms on Sundays.
Psalm 42 begins a collection of psalms from the Sons of Korah. This family had experienced the judgment of God because of their role in the rebellion against the leadership of Moses and Aaron (Numbers 16). Yet, by the grace of God, the descendants grew in their devotion to God until they were named doorkeepers of the tabernacle and, eventually, worship leaders under King David. It is in this capacity that they wrote psalms, eleven of which appear in the book of Psalms. Their psalms, quite expectedly, tend to reflect their appreciation for taking the long view and trusting in God’s grace over time to bring us to that place where we need to be. Psalms 42 and 43 (which in many Hebrew manuscripts constitute one psalm) are no exception, as they reflect classic themes in the psalms written by the sons of Korah.
The psalmist declares, “Tears have been my food day and night” (v. 3). His enemies say, “Where is your God?” (v. 3). He is feeling depressed and downcast (v. 5). He asks his own soul, “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me?” (v. 5). Then, suddenly, hope for God’s deliverance emerges out of the anguish of tears. Somewhere in the midst of this, he hears that deep call to put his hope in God: “Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” This becomes the refrain for both Psalms 42 and 43 (42:5; 42:11; 43:5).
Later, in Romans 5, Paul develops this movement from suffering and anguish to hope in God when he, reflecting the experience of the sons of Korah, says we “rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us” (Rom. 5:3–5). So, do not lose hope. Hope in God, for you will yet praise him.
You may have things in your past that embarrass you and make you think that you are not eligible to serve the Lord. Through these psalms, the sons of Korah remind us to trust God to do his work. In the aftermath of Korah’s rebellion, very few would have believed that one day their family would be appointed to lead worship for all of God’s people. Moses, a murderer, becomes God’s great deliverer of Israel. Jonah, who ran from God, becomes a preacher. Peter, who denied Christ three times, becomes a leader of the early church. Saul of Tarsus, the persecutor, becomes an apostle. There is a pattern here. Jesus himself reflected on this to the Pharisee who was scandalized that Jesus would allow a prostitute into his presence: “Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much” (Luke 7:47).
Psalm 43 is a song for refugees and for any who have been the recipients of injustice or who feel forgotten by God. There is mourning, and oppression of wicked people, and even the sense of God’s rejection. There is a cry for vindication, for justice, and most of all, for God to make sense of suffering, to bring rescue, and to restore hope. “Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me” (v. 3). What a tremendous prayer in the midst of hopelessness—that God’s light and truth would lead us to “the place where you dwell” (v. 3). For the psalmist, the place where God dwelt meant the place of his presence, and so this psalm is the plaintive cry to be in the presence of God. Then, he would go to the altar of God—to God, his exceeding joy. Then, he would again praise, and then, he could again hope.
Refugees are those without a place. This is why compassion for refugees is so central to biblical ethics. Jesus’ earliest memories as a child would have been as a refugee when his parents were forced to flee to Egypt to escape the sword of Herod (Matt. 2:13–15). However, biblically speaking, we are all refugees in the sense that we all should have a sense of displacement, a longing for the only true place where we are at home: the presence of God.
In Christ, the presence of God has come to us, even in the midst of injustice and suffering. Christ is the altar of God, the meeting place of God’s presence, and the source of exceeding joy. When the psalmist ends his song with the same refrain found twice in Psalm 42, he has journeyed to a new place because of having discovered boundless joy in the presence of God. While the refrain in Psalm 42 was more of an admonition to his soul of a hope not yet attained, this time it resounds with a different orchestration—a resounding certainty of the hope found at the altar in the presence of God.
For the Awakening,
Timothy and Julie Tennent
THE HYMN
Sing Psalm 42 and Psalm 43 with the Seedbed Psalter today. There are many well-known tunes that these psalms can be sung with. (Find them here and here.) However, today we will sing to the tune SALZBURG composed by Michael Haydn. For your convenience, the words from the Psalter are printed below.
1 As the deer pants for water clear, so my soul thirsts for You;
2 My soul thirsts for the living God; when can I meet with You?
3 My tears have been my food all day, and also through the night;
While men mock me and say all day, “Where is your God of might?”
4 These things I do remember well, as I pour out my soul:
How I went with the multitude into the house of God.
I led the great procession with a shout of joy and song,
With thanks and praise I went among the festive, joyful throng.
5 Why are you so downcast, my soul? Why so disturbed in me?
Put hope in God—I’ll praise Him yet; my Savior God is He!
6 My soul is downcast within me, so I remember You,
From land along the Jordan, heights of Hermon, Mizar, too.
7 Deep calls to deep within the roar of Your great waterfalls;
Your waves and breakers swept o’er me; they flooded without pause.
8 By day the Lord directs His love, His steadfast love to me;
At night His song is with me still—my prayer to God will be.
9 I say to God my Rock, “O why have You forgotten me?
Why must I mourn all day oppressed by the vile enemy?”
10 My bones do suffer mortal pain; my foes taunt me all day.
“Where is your God?” they mock with scorn, “Where is your God?” they say.
11 Why are you so downcast, my soul? Why so disturbed in me?
Put hope in God—I’ll praise Him yet; my Savior God is He!
1 O vindicate and plead my cause, O God, against my foe;
Come rescue me from wicked men, a nation vile and low.
2 You are my stronghold and my God; why do You reject me?
Why must I mourn all day oppressed by the vile enemy?
3 Send forth Your light and send Your truth, and let them guide me well.
O let them bring me to Your mount, the place where You do dwell.
4 Then I’ll go to God’s altar—God, my joy and my delight;
And I will praise You with the harp, O God, my God and light.
5 Why are you so downcast, my soul? Why so disturbed in me?
Put hope in God—I’ll praise Him yet; my Savior God is He!
