Psalm 42
By Pastor David Groendyk

Psalm 42 and Psalm 43 actually go together to form one single song and/or prayer. If you look carefully, the psalmist actually never makes a request to God in Psalm 42! All the requests come in Psalm 43. Psalm 42 is merely the occasion and situation that the psalmist finds himself in. And that occasion is certainly a dark one. This chapter divides nicely into two sections, and the commentator Derek Kidner gives each section poignant titles.

The drought (vv. 1–5). The psalmist is experiencing a spiritual drought. He is separated from God and from his temple, and he longs to be back with God even as he is being taunted by his enemies. Not everyone may experience this sort of deep, heart-rending separation from God, but everyone should have this deep, heart-felt yearning for God. We should long to be with him in a close, personal relationship. We should long to be with him in the midst of the congregation when he comes to meet with us in corporate worship. We should long to be with him in heaven eternally. As another writer comments, only a soul who is indwelt by the Holy Spirit and is loved by God could possibly pant for God in this way. So it stings even more sharply when he is far away and we are kept from him, especially if it is for a long time.

The depths (vv. 6–11). Now we know how deep the pain goes. Not only is he separated from God, but he feels as though God has forgotten him. God is causing his own breakers and waves to crash over the psalmist. Jonah picks up the same language as he is in the belly of the big fish to describe his literal and spiritual descent into the ocean. Here we see a picture of someone who is completely overwhelmed, as Derek Kidner says; his footing is gone, there is no ground beneath him, he is tossed to and fro by the waves of the ocean, unable to keep his head above water, slowly drowning with no one to save him. Again, all the while enemies taunt him for his very drowning.

Many Christians experience spiritual droughts, or, as we sometimes call them, dry seasons. We long for God to speak to us after weeks, months, or years of silence. Church doesn’t impact us in the same way it once did. The Bible seems empty. Life is throwing us around like a rag doll, and God is nowhere to be found for relief. And yet, the psalmist repeats the refrain twice in Psalm 42 and once in Psalm 43: “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.” It sure seems like there is a lot to be downcast about! But there is a holy optimism throughout this lament. We keep hoping. If I may put it like this, Christians should not be pessimists. It is true that we are to expect hardships and afflictions in the Christian life, but, even greater than that, we expect God to carry us through, provide for us, and love us. Additionally, these verses show us how important it is to minister to our own souls in the middle of desperate times. We often think of finding encouragement and comfort from other believers or from sermons or from Bible studies, but we also have to get good at encouraging ourselves. We must be able to preach to ourselves with a holy optimism that says there is always hope when we have God. If we remember these things, then even when sorrows like sea billows roll, we will be able to say, “It is well with my soul!”