Psalm 42 As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God
Harts are stags or male deer whereas hinds are female deer.
Their six-prong antlers are shed annually.
In the Old Testament we learn that the hart moved from pasture to pasture for food
Lam. 1:6 And from the daughter of Zion all her beauty is departed: her princes are become like harts that find no pasture, and they are gone without strength before the pursuer.
The animal’s need for water, however, is the primary message emphasized in our text.
The deer-like creature must have accessible and adequate supplies of water.
1. The water brooks supply HEALTH.
God alone is a must for our HEALTH! 11 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.
“All my springs are in thee,” Psalm 87:7.
No man can be satisfied by any well of his own designing.
No water that this world has to offer can meet the needs of man.
John 4:13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
John 7:37 "If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink"
If any man - there is no single exception. He claims to be able to meet every man’s need regardless of who that man is or what his circumstances may be.
2. The water brooks supply HELP.
5 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.
As a deer goes to water to escape the dogs on its trail, so we must go to God as our HELP
The brook offered everything to the hart.
It offered Escape from the deadly foes.
It offered Rest for his body that was wearied by long hours of desperate running.
It offered Satisfaction for his burning thirst.
It offered Life itself. "If I can only reach this brook," "I shall live.”
3. The water brooks supply HOPE.
5 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.
As a deer finds in water a means to comfort and stop its bleeding wound, so we must be aware that only God alone is our HOPE amid the wounds of life!
Not only does cool water clot the flowing blood, but it refreshes the deer’s pain-ridden body. There is hope if the hart can get to the water.
1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
A. The Problem that is Common - all you care
B. The Prescription that is Clear - Casting all you care upon Him - Completely!
C. The Promise that is Comforting - Cast all your care on the Lord Confidently! -
"He careth for you.
There is an old story of a derelict ship whose crew were starving for water. Another ship "Water, water; we are starving for water." - "Let down your buckets where you are,"
Unknown to themselves, they had been driven into the wide mouth of the Amazon, whose waters freshen the sea for many miles from the shore.
