Psalm 42
A note of
reflection is due as we begin Psalm 42.
In many Hebrew texts, Psalm 42 and Psalm 43 comprise a single
psalm. So, just to be clear, my psalm
ends after the 11th verse. If you have
another 5 verses to Psalm 42 than I do, I’ll be talking about those verses
tomorrow and calling them Psalm 43.
I hope as
you began this psalm you were mindful of the old familiar song that borrows
these words. “As the deer pants for the
water, so my soul longs after you.” This
got me thinking. What exactly is a deer
panting for water? Being a dog owner, I
have this mental image for panting that involves breathing in and out of one’s
mouth in an attempt to cool oneself down.
But this is not at all what it means.
Another use of the verb “to pant” is “to yearn for.” I think we all probably knew that, but I just
wanted to make it really clear.
That also
got me thinking about the history of the Hebrew people we spent a good part of
last year reading. God called
Abraham. He followed God, but his kids and
the generations after them followed less and less until they found themselves
in bondage in Egypt. Then they realized
just how much they needed God. So they
were brought out of Egypt and in a last great rebellious act God let the
generation wander in the wilderness until they were dead. But there was a remnant in the next
generation that took God seriously. They
became devoted to God and God led them into the Promised Land. They were faithful for a while, but soon the
Hebrew people had forgotten God again.
They fell away in faith and eventually fell once more into oppression
under the Assyrians and Babylonians. But
there was that faithful generation that God restored. God restored a remnant out of captivity that
desired His Word. Then the people fell
away again. From a Christian
perspective, God then sent His Son as His people were falling away and Jesus
took the small faithful remnant and once more empowered them.
Each of those
small glimmers of faith in the history of the Hebrew people is the equivalent
of panting. Those moments where we need
relief so much that we actually yearn for it.
And yes, I absolutely mean to phrase it in those terms. As human beings, we aren’t very good about
genuinely yearning for God, God’s Word, and God’s ways until we have fallen
pretty hard. Yes, we give God great lip
service. But do we really yearn for
Him? Just like the moments of communal
faith are rare in the history of God’s own chosen people, so are the moments of
genuinely panting for God rare in the life of the individual.
I’m not
trying to say any of us are pretend Christians. That’s for God to decide. But I am saying that I could do a better job
at genuinely “panting” after God’s Word and God’s ways and God’s presence. I could do a better job and having my soul
genuinely desire Him.
The
remainder of the psalm focuses on the psalmist genuinely asking a question of
himself. “Why are you downcast, oh my
soul?” In other words, what reason do
you have to be downcast?
This is
actually a really great question – especially if you happen to be a person like
me who suffers from the occasional bout of depression. Sometimes I am just sad … and I don’t know
why. There are days when I am just sad
without explanation. I’m willing to bet
that while we may not all share the same frequency of sad days – we all know
what it is like to have the occasional day where we just feel sad for whatever
reason. It is on those days that this
psalm can be important. “Why are you
downcast, oh my soul?”
The truth
is we really don’t have any reason to be downcast. God loves us.
God knows we are not perfect and He has provided a way for us to be
imperfect yet still be found in His love.
God has given us the ability to draw breath each and every day of our
life. God has given us a beautiful
creation to enjoy. And He has given us
one another to enjoy it with Him!
Why are
you downcast, oh my soul? With God,
there is no good reason to be downcast.
God can work through everything to His glory. We can be a part of that.
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