MESSAGE 1 - PSALMS OF THE SONS OF KORAH. - PSALM 42 Part 1
Ron Ferguson ronaldf@aapt.net.au
Psa. 42. For the choir director. A Maskil of the sons of Korah.
Psa 42 v 1 As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God. Psa 42:2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? Psa 42:3 My tears have been my food day and night while they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” Psa 42:4 These things I remember, and I pour out my soul within me, for I used to go along with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God, with the voice of joy and thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival.
Read the 4 verses again carefully while thinking about them. This psalm was written by one of the sons of Korah. The Korahites were the singers for all the tabernacle worship and ceremonies. They wrote and sang and may have been gatekeepers as well for the Tabernacle. Psalm 42 is the first in a series of Psalms found in the 40s and 80s. It is generally thought that this Psalm concerns the great desire of the writer to be back in the house of the Lord serving God in His house, or in the Tabernacle, but it is denied to him by his enemies, and therefore his soul was cast down in despair. He describes that despair. For that reason some say the events relate to David, or to the time of fleeing from Absalom’s rebellion, but I am not sure. However, I want to take an entirely different track with this Psalm, and read into it, the experience of a man or a woman who is away from the Lord, and in despair, and cast down by his/her actions, or by conditions he/she is found in. This Psalm represents his account of the events after his restoration, much like Jonah who wrote his account of the ship and the ocean and fish’s belly, and his sulking under a castor oil plant, after his episode was over. I think this Psalm could even describe David’s 9 months in his unrepentant state as we have in the exchange with prophet Nathan and in Psalm 51. Nearly every commentator believes this psalm was written by one, perhaps David, who just longed to be with the worship in the Tabernacle, but was prevented from being there, and was in distress because of the longing of his heart for God’s things. That very well may be so, but I am going to deal with it as a man away from God, who has broken fellowship with God.
Now, so much for the introduction. Here we have the confessions of a man once active in the matters of the faith, and in delightful service for the Lord, and in a close relationship with God, one who was a leader in praise to God, as the sons of Korah were, but now has entered into such a despair, so much so, that his acquaintances say to him, “Where is your God?”
Straight away we enter into contrast, i.e. the conflict of testimony. Let us see from verse 4 what was in the past. There, in company with fellow worshippers he would make his way along, wending his path to the house of God in joyful procession, singing out His praises, and this psalmist led the company, and was looked up to, this leader for others. What a true heart it was, in this man engaged in praise to God. It was a heart in which joy had its crystal well, a pure bubbling over into leadership worship. It was a heart that delivered in thanksgiving. It was a heart that each of us should have, but we don’t. The constraints of this life are often too great and they deaden joy and then cloud worship.
All that was past though. By contrast, praise had passed to tears, and this soul had fed on tears day and night. They were his food as he describes what it was that he was consuming, but more to the point, what was consuming him. All the while there were the jibes, for I don’t think genuine friends would frame their questions as, “Where is your God?” It could remind us a little of Psalm 69. Here are a couple of verses from Psalm 69, a prophetic, Messianic Psalm covering the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus: Psa 69 v 11 When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them. Psa 69:12 Those who sit in the gate talk about me and I am the song of the drunkards. Psa 69 v 20 Reproach has broken my heart, and I am so sick, and I looked for sympathy, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none. Not only are those verses from Psalm 69 applicable, but also this parallel - Psa 69 v 9 Zeal for Your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me. Psa 69:10 When I wept in my soul with fasting, it became my reproach. How beautiful it is when genuine Christian friends do care about us, or us for them. As members of the living body of Christ, we may be encouraged to ask the question, “Where is your God?” or similar sentiments to a fellow believer struggling in the way. That care and concern is being our brother’s keeper. Blessed is a brother or sister who walks beside a struggling believer.
Thus we see the contrast - joy to despair; thanksgiving to tears. It is downward, and it could very well be that the most miserable of people are those Christians who are out of fellowship with God. The psalmist knew that, for he was engrossed in current despair with memories of the good times of fellowship that had fled. Did they flee, or does one allow the departure, not willingly of course, but through the subtleties of deception and priorities, and by taking his focus off the Lord? Fellowship and communion are precious threads, but very fragile ones.
He recognises the plight of his own soul, for he questions himself in this very matter, trying to fathom the reason for this despair. As well, he was disturbed within his soul. We know not why the psalmist was in this state or what circumstances led to his being so depressed. If fact it may be very possible he did not know himself, for depression and despair does not need a great show or much encouragement to take full bloom in Christians’ lives. We must never believe that Christians are immune to despair or from being disturbed in their souls. The reasons may be numerous, and may include the pursuits of things that do not profit, resulting in the starving of the soul; being in the valley of the shadow and hard pressed on all sides; having unforgiven sin; being covetous or envious (Ps 73); not coping with grief; facing marital or family problems; being discontent with your church and the behaviour of Christians; being of such a nervous nature that makes one more prone to despair and depression, and so the list goes on.
There is no rest to the disturbed soul, no peace to the one in depression, no vitality of witness or testimony. Instead there is misery and defeat, and an atmosphere of gloom that is seen by others, and in the case before us, it was enough to cause rivals and enemies to pass comments in mockery. We can only hope that there were inquirers who were genuinely concerned about the spiritual welfare of this man and took time to get alongside him. I feel sure the Korahites were a wonderful supportive group. That is not often the case for some people. Those who profess to be fellow Christians will sometimes shun the one in trouble discounting him, and justifying it by a multitude of reasons. Is it the road to Samaria all over again? The psalmist recognised his plight as already pointed out, and we shall see shortly what steps were taken to remedy the situation.
We must notice at this point that all the past remembrances of God were before him as verse 4 points out. How he would have sifted them through in his mind, one by one, recalling the delight the Lord’s presence had given, and how the earnestness of praise welled up from him. All that was a humbling experience, and humbled we must be before we can put things right again, for the problem lies not with God, but with us. Can you, listener/reader, recall former days of joy and thanksgiving that were your meat and high tower but have passed to tears and despair now. Perhaps no one knows of this in your life as you keep it well hidden but could it be asked, “Where are those former days of joyful fellowship with the Lord?” Where are those days of thanksgiving as you entered His word in a wonderful expectation of His speaking to you out of its pages? Has all that been relegated to the past, locked away in a cupboard so tightly that you dare not approach it for fear of facing reality? “Where is your God?”
Now where lies the solution to all this and where does he begin to resolve his dilemma? Well the beautiful assurance we can claim is that the Lord has no desire whatever of having any of His own in that state, and has made provision for them. He has given to us His word bulging with sweet promises; He has given to us the Spirit of comfort; He Himself has become our Great High Priest, having passed through times of sorrow in His own soul. These we shall look at quickly.
Heb 2 v 18 Since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.
Heb 4 v 14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession, Heb 4:15 for we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathise with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Heb 4:16 Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need.
Isaiah says He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He was delivered up unjustly but has great compassion for His own who suffer and are sorrowful.
It must be noted here that verse 1 and the start of verse 2 are in the present tense. What do we conclude from this? I believe this psalm is written from the position of current victory with an analysis of the experience that led in a full circle from joy to despair to victory. In fact I believe it is only possible to recall one’s true state from a position of correct fellowship with God. This the writer does in verses 1 and 2, but had undergone a real defeat and had come through that, so that in his current position he could say, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. The panting soul! What is a soul that pants? No doubt it is that life of surrender with its primary objective being the pursuit of God. This the psalmist now knew, as he did in a former time, but between those peaks there had been the valley of great despair and despondency.
What I gain from verse one is intensity. We picture a thirsty deer in the heat of the day, whose only desire is to find that satisfying water and it pants for it, such is the longing. It wants the rivers of water, but in the physical sense. Archbishop Sharpe wrote about this word “pants” - “The word is strong, and expresses that eagerness and fervency of desire, which extreme thirst raises in an animal almost spent in its flight from the pursuing dogs. Nothing can give us a higher idea of the psalmist’s ardent and inexpressible longing to attend the public worship of God, than the burning thirst of such a hunted creature for a cooling and refreshing drink of water.” This word “pants” or a weaker translation “longs for”, is used only twice in the bible. The other occasion is in Joel 1 v 20 and I quote - Even the beasts of the field pant for you because the water brooks are dried up, and fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
Here is a word from commentator Barnes - The word “deer” is feminine – “a female deer, gazelle” - which would not impress us as much, if the reference had been to any other animal. These female deer are so timid, so gentle, so delicate in their structure, so much the natural objects of love and compassion, that our feelings are drawn toward them as to all other animals in similar circumstances. We sympathise with them; we pity them; we love them; we feel deeply for them when they are pursued, when they fly away in fear, when they are in want. Nothing could more beautifully or appropriately describe the earnest longing of a soul after God, in the circumstances of the psalmist, than this image.
Listen to this verse written by David when he was in the wilderness of Judah – Psalm 63 v 1 “O God, You are my God. I eagerly seek You. I thirst for You. My body faints for You in a land that is dry, desolate, and without water.” In contrast to dead impotent idols, God is “the fountain of living waters”; with Him is “the fountain of life,” and He gives men drink from the stream of His delights. God’s people must pant for the rivers of water, but in the spiritual sense. Those away from God, either through backsliding, or by just being unable to meet in a gathering of God’s people, or in David’s case hunted from the tabernacle and its worship, these are the ones who thirst or need to thirst for the living God. We ask of each other, “Do we have a panting soul? Do we have a thirsting soul?” He who is best blessed by God, is he whose soul can not be satisfied unless it is constantly panting for the heavenly food and thirsting for the founts of living water! Seek your God with your whole heart in the desire to live with Him, in His presence, and you will be then delighting in Him. He wants His best for you, but that happens when you pant and thirst for His best! The psalmist was restored to the position he once knew. God tenderly worked with him to restore His best in His servant.
Psa 42 v 5 Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence. Psa 42:6 O my God, my soul is in despair within me. Therefore I remember You from the land of the Jordan, and the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
Matthew Henry adds a thought – “Those that commune much with their own hearts, will often have to rebuke them. See the cure of sorrow. When the soul rests on itself, it sinks; if it catches hold on the power and promise of God, the head is kept above the billows. And what is our support under present woes but this, that we shall have comfort in Him. We have great cause to mourn for sin, but being cast down, springs from unbelief and a rebellious will. We should therefore strive and pray against it.”. Touching on his problem, we look at the psalmist who well knew the dilemma, and in verse 5 he points the way to the solution. This solution begins only when we are honest about our problem, and that then, there is a recognition that only in God is salvation and joy, and that is all connected with being in the presence of God. The steely gates of heaven seem shut as we become engrossed with our pressing problems, and the despairs of this life would lead us away with concern, and then we are led into depression. This psalmist could cry out, “Why are you cast down (or, “in despair” – literally, “Why have you bowed yourself down?”), O my soul, and why are you disquieted (disturbed) within me?” Bouts of despair or depression are all too common in God’s people. David knew the experience as his enemies surrounded him and some of his psalms testify to that.
