To the Chief Musician. A Contemplation of the sons of Korah.
Korah was the levitical priest that was killed for rebelling against the Lord. You can read that in Numbers 16. While Korah was judged and killed, his sons escaped Judgment. The sons of Korah became worship leaders in the Sanctuary. This Psalm is very intense and personal as this worship leader deals with the pain of his life.
Psalm 42:1-3
1 As the deer pants for the water brooks,
So pants my soul for You, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?
3 My tears have been my food day and night,
While they continually say to me,
"Where is your God?"
This son of Korah finds himself in the midst of a spiritual drought. You can imagine during the struggles and pain of his life he saw a deer panting for water, working to get to the brooks to satisfy its thirst. And it occurred to him that this was a picture of him, panting and longing, thirsting for God. Who hasn't been there?
Many times for reasons we don't completely comprehend, we find that we are a long way from God. Our prayers seem to be bouncing off the ceiling. Our faith is tested and we are in a low place, reaching up, crying out to God. But we find nothing, it's like our way is blocked. We can't get to that Living water.
The Psalmist was at a low point in his life but he recognized that he had a deep longing for God. He couldn't fulfill this longing with anything else. This could only be satisfied by God. As we study through the Psalms we continually hear of this deep longing for God. In this case is like a deer that pants with a deep thirst, looking for water, stepping to the banks and finding the brook is dry.
There's a similar passage in Joel 1……..
19 O LORD, to You I cry out;
For fire has devoured the open pastures,
And a flame has burned all the trees of the field.
20 The beasts of the field also cry out to You,
For the water brooks are dried up,
And fire has devoured the open pastures.
Joel speaks of judgment and a land laid waste. The animals are dying of thirst with nothing to meet their need. In the same way, the Psalmists is thirsty for God. There is a deep desire in each of us to be with the Living God. We have this longing inside us that is like a thirst. And like the deer searching over the parched land, we will never find our thirst for God satisfied in this sinful, fallen world. In the act of mourning, in living through the harsh things of this world, our tears can ask us that hard question as asked in verse 3. Where is your God? Has your grief ever brought you to the point where in sorrow you say, where are you God? Has your mourning ever brought you to that place? I know it has for some of you and I suspect it will someday for each of us. Very few get through life without standing at least once in that dark pit of despair.
Our Psalmist wanted to return to the temple. He wanted to meet God and lead the people in worship again. But he was separated from the temple for some reason. He was left in a place of longing and deep thirst. He was in a dark place of exile. He was left in tears, asking "Where is God?"
If you don't know the answer to that question before you arrive in that place of exile, it will be very difficult to find it when you get there. Because suddenly, many will agree with you….."Yea, where is your God? How could He let this happen? What kind of God is He anyway?" And the questions go on and on. The world will offer another god, Satan will make another god available to you when you need one. Our nation in particular has gotten very good at that.
God spoke through Jeremiah about his people who chased other Gods. He asked them, can a nation change its God? That's a question each of us should be concerned with as our nation changes its God right before our eyes. God said through Jeremiah………
13 " For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters,
And hewn themselves cisterns-broken cisterns that can hold no water
As we long for God and seek him in our lives, we must be careful where we look. We must be careful not to be deceived. We have to know the answer to the question, where is your God? And it's important to know the answer long before that question is asked in your tears.
Psalm 42:4-5
4 When I remember these things,
I pour out my soul within me.
For I used to go with the multitude;
I went with them to the house of God,
With the voice of joy and praise,
With a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast.
5 Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him
For the help of His countenance.
This almost has the feel of a dirge. It's heavy and mournful, remembering is painful, and by remembering he pours out his soul. He unburdens himself with this heavy load. In seeking the Lord, the Psalmist used to go to the temple in praise and joy with the crowd at the time of the feasts. But now, in this horrible grief, he can't find God. He's in a dark place, maybe even drowning in self pity. When you've sunk that low, only God can pull you from there.
The Psalmist almost rebukes himself. He is filled with despondency. It's like he is yelling Stop!!......I can't sink any lower. He has the answer, he knows the answer. Hope in God because there is a day coming when he would yet praise him. God's face would once again turn to him. But not today……
Psalm 42:6
6 O my God, my soul is cast down within me;
Therefore I will remember You from the land of the
And from the heights of Hermon,
From the Hill Mizar.
The Psalmist was downcast in his soul. These places, Jordon, the heights of Hermon and the hill Mizar are all places of the headwaters. This is a picture of storms, torrents and uncontrollable waters.
Psalm 42:7
7 Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls;
All Your waves and billows have gone over me.
Every depth has come over the Psalmist. His soul is downcast and in the depth of despondence. Yet, that deep calls to all else, everything seems to be moving against him. The Psalmist knows that God is sovereign. He is in charge. These waterfalls of grief keep coming, the waves of pain in this world just keep rolling in, the sea billows of life are relentless. But they are His waterfalls, His waves and billows. God is in sovereign and still in control.
Psalm 42:8
8 The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime,
And in the night His song shall be with me-
A prayer to the God of my life.
In the middle of the trials and torment the Psalmist once again remembers that he has the answer. In spite of all that happens, the Lord will command His lovingkindness. In the night His song will be with us and it will be a prayer to the God of my life.
He is the God of your life. Regardless of where you are, that's the answer. We can't forget that because a time will come when that won't feel like the answer.
Psalm 42:9-10
9 I will say to God my Rock,
"Why have You forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?"
10 As with a breaking of my bones,
My enemies reproach me,
While they say to me all day long,
"Where is your God?"
We are oppressed by our enemy. And we say, God, my Rock, have you forgotten me? The enemy will mock us, break our bones and reproach us in every way. As the enemy oppresses us, he says, Where is your God? This brings to mind the words of the chief priests, scribes and elders mocking Jesus while he was on the cross….. they said,
42 "He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. 43 He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, 'I am the Son of God.'"……….Matthew 27
The enemy said, where is your God? But the fools were asking their God the question. They should have been asking, "Why is my God on a cross?" I say, we say, that was my God on that cross. I mourn over my sin but I'm thankful he didn't come down. That's the answer we need to never forget. That was our God on the cross.
Psalm 42:11
11 Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God;
For I shall yet praise Him,
The help of my countenance and my God.
And once again, the Psalmist gives himself the answer, hope in God. There is another day coming when I shall yet praise Him. There is no reason to be cast down. We have the answer.
Where is your God? He's not on the cross, the work was done there, once and for all ….. it is finished. He's not in the grave, because God received him as the sacrifice, He overcame death, He rose again.
Where is your God? Paul put it this way in Ephesians.
He wants us to know ……..His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.
22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
That's the answer we need to have today so when we find ourselves in the dark time in our life. We have that hope and assurance when our tears assault us, when the enemy assaults us and asks us, Where is your God? Each of us must be sure we can say, My God is Jesus Christ. He is seated at the right hand of God the Father. God, the Holy Spirit is right here with me. I have that comfort and assurance, no matter what happens in my life. No matter what tears are shed. No matter what pain or heartache. He is always right here with me. He will never leave us or forsake us.
This will get tested in every life. You have to have a doctrine of suffering, because you will suffer. When the suffering comes in your life, will you remember the answer?
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