Theological Commentary: Click Here
Psalm 42 is
not a psalm of David. Once accustomed to
the psalms of David, the psalms that are not of David are noticeable. The psalm may have a similar theme or
teaching, but it gets there a different way.
The vocabulary is different. The
tone is different.
The teaching
in this maskil of the sons of Korah is similar to that which David speaks. This psalm is about the disparity between the
reality of existence and the hopefulness that should be found in God. It opens with the familiar expression, “as
the deer pants for water, so my soul pants for you, God.” The psalmist clearly knows God and knows the
salvation that comes from Him. The
psalmist understands relationship with God and the joy that it brings.
Quickly,
however, the psalm turns to the interrogation of the soul. If we know God, know His salvation, know His redemption,
and know His restoration, then why is the soul downcast? Why is it focused on the enemies and their taunts? Why is the soul unable to look past its
fear? Why is the soul so quick to feel
forgotten by God?
This is one
of the dynamics that is at the core of the human existence. We know the potential that life has! We also know the reality of life when we introduce
our own sinfulness and the sinfulness of others. When we recognize this disparity, we tend to
accuse God for allowing it to exist when we should be turning to Him for
hope. We allow our souls to become
downcast when we should spend our time looking for hope.
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