MESSAGE 2 - PSALMS OF THE SONS OF KORAH. PSALM 42 Part 2
Ron Ferguson ronaldf@aapt.net.au
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.
Last time we introduced this Psalm written and arranged by the sons of Korah, these men responsible for the music of the Tabernacle. It is widely accepted that the Psalm represents the time David fled from his son Absalom in his usurping of the kingdom, but as I explained last time, I am taking the position of this being the experience of a person away from God, who has been restored, and is writing of his troubled journey back to restoration. Today we begin with a quotation from commentator Barnes who examines verses 5 and 6.
Albert Barnes, 1898-1870, writing about this says - There was a brighter side, and he ought to turn to that, and take a more cheerful view of the matter. He had allowed his mind to rest on the dark side, to look at the discouraging things in his condition. He now felt that this was in some measure voluntary, or had been indulged too freely, and that it was wrong: that it was proper for a man like him to seek for comfort in brighter views; that it was a duty which he owed to himself and to the cause of religion to take brighter views. We may remark,
(1) That there are two sides to the events which occur, and which seem so discouraging to us - a dark side and a bright side.
(2) That in certain states of mind, connected often with a diseased nervous system, we are prone to look only on the dark side, to see only what is gloomy and discouraging.
(3) That this often becomes in a sense voluntary, and that we find a melancholy satisfaction in being miserable, and in making ourselves more unhappy, as if we had been wronged, and as if there were a kind of virtue in dejection and gloom - in "refusing," like Rachel, "to be comforted" as in Thus says the LORD: “A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.” Perhaps also, feeling as if by our negative attitude, we were deserving of the divine approval, and laying the foundation for some claim to favour on the score of merit.
(4) That in this we are often eminently guilty, as putting away those consolations which God has provided for us; as if a man, under the influence of some morbid feeling, should find a kind of melancholy pleasure in starving himself to death in the midst of a garden full of fruit, or dying of thirst by the side of a running fountain.
(5) Lastly, that it is the duty of the people of God to look at the bright side of things; to think of the past mercies of God; to survey the blessings which surround us still; to look to the future, in this world and the next, with hope; and to come to God, and cast the burden on Him. It is a part of religious duty to be cheerful; and a man may often do more real good by a cheerful and submissive mind of affliction, than he could by much active effort in the days of health, plenty, and prosperity. Every sad and desponding Christian ought to say to his soul, "Why are you thus cast down?" And why are you disturbed in me? – The word – disturbed, troubled, sad - the word means literally,
(1) to growl as a bear;
(2) to sound, or make a noise, as a harp, rain, waves;
(3) to be agitated, troubled, or anxious in mind: to moan internally. (end quote)
It has been thought that the Lord’s words in Gethsemane (Matthew 26 v 38) - Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me." (NIV) had Psalm 42 in mind.
Verse 5 boldly proclaims the solution, “Hope in God,” and he states very simply that “hoping in God” or to use the alternate reading, “Waiting on God” is where we must first arrive to address the problem, in which, like the psalmist, so many of us are found. Hope is where the answer lies. Hope is all important. It is the link that ties us to God. We will consider Abraham here, concerning hope, and this is written by Paul -
Rom. 4 v 18 In hope against hope he believed, in order that he might become a father of many nations, according to that which had been spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” Rom. 4:19 Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb, Rom. 4:20 yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief, but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, Rom. 4:21 and being fully assured that what He had promised, He was able also to perform. This is hope in action. It is the glue that connects God. Look at some of these expressions – “he did not waver in unbelief”; “grew strong in faith”; “what He/God had promised, He was able also to perform.” Do you see that expression, “In hope against hope” (NASB) “Against all hope” (NIV)? It is a very powerful expression.
Verse 18
Just consider for a moment the enormity of Abraham’s faith. God had given him a promise of heirship early in his life, yet by the age of 99, that promise still had not come to fruition. Yet, above all else, Abraham held to that promise in hope, against all hope, for his hope was in the God of hope who can not deny Himself. In hope, beyond what is expected in nature, his faith remained firm. God had promised to him descendants as the stars of the sky in Genesis 15 v 5 and he took God at His word and held fast to that promise in faith and hope. This was in order that he might become the father of many nations.
Verse 21
Surely the substance of faith rests in the character of God. Faith must be the anchor that grasps the rock that is unmovable. Abraham knew God to be that Rock so faith was anchored in the substance of the Rock, not in his own perceptions. Therefore there was full assurance in the promise God had given Him because that promise rested in the very character of God. If God had promised it, then there was no way in the world would God not be able to perform it. This was the character of Abraham’s faith - God promised, so God will perform. In that he had bold assurance with no crevice for lingering doubt. Hope held on to faith. (end of Romans)
You all know what a tripod is. Hope is one leg of that tripod according to the New Testament. What are the other two legs? Those three legs call for a balanced Christian life.
Back to Psalm 42 v 6. Well there is an answer but how will it be accomplished? Firstly there is an acknowledgment of the despair in verse 6 of our 42nd Psalm. Recognition of the problem must always be the starting point, when any sincerity with God will reveal man’s true condition. Anything less than this is a fig leaf over the problem and a gloss over the matters that count. Modern day problems are fixed by patches. We see them at work in tears in tents, in clothing, in the fixing of bugs in computer software. Patches are not the solution to Christians’ problems. There are too many patchy Christians who need to look at the whole matter, not a succession of patches. The problem lies fairly with us, and that problem must be seen for what it is in the true revealing light of God. No transaction with God can ever count if there is not going to be the strictest honesty from us.
Secondly there is a remembrance of God from the time past in verse 6, in this case, with a specified locality. There is much value in remembering the goodness of our God from the past spectrum of our lives, and the psalmist falls back on this. It hints at the message given to the church in Asia, “Remember from where you have fallen and repent.” When in the throes of misery and self-pity that engender despair and a feeling of forsakenness, it must always be that we need to refocus on what we are, and on Who God is. In this case, that translates into a person’s current position (of despair) and the recall of the goodness of God.
Any honest recall of the past blessings from God, will testify to His goodness in the midst of our unfaithfulness. God’s desire towards us is always perfect and His hand is always there to provide just what is necessary for us, but as wandering sheep we have our encounters with the thorn bushes, and brushes with wolves in seeking matters not from the hand of God.
The specified location mentioned earlier is the land of Jordan. What is the significance of this place? Firstly there could have been an event or time of significance known to the writer of the psalm, with tender touches of the Lord’s presence in past times of fellowship. The warmth of that time had cooled but the remembrance of it had not, and now in despair, the recall of that time is the first step in meeting the soul’s need.
In the most despairing backslidden state, God may have to cause His wandering one to recall the times past, taking the person right back to the point of his salvation. There, a fresh work may need to be done, and the retraced steps will then lead to the invigorated walk of true life in the true joy of God. There may be the need too, to signpost a certain time when the faith-walk slipped, and the feet must retrace to that very point. It may have been a time when sin was accommodated in one’s life, when a wrong and sinful act of self-will determined a walk away from God. It is back to that, the child of God must revert in order to put the matter right before God.
Jordan though, has much of importance about it. It was at the Jordan where Israel caught its first glimpse of the promised land. The nation stood on the opposite bank in expectation of walking through the promised land for their new life here with Jehovah as their Commander and Guide. In that land they could have His presence with them in blessing, but a simple obedience was required from them.
Jordan is where nearly all the nation encountered the real power of God because for forty years, they had wandered until all the nation that left Egypt had perished. Few had seen the real miracles of God. The power of God was to be seen in the crossing of the Jordan and the nation being ushered to the other side. His hand was declared from heaven. They stood there on the wrong side and the crossing was beyond human instrumentality, but it is at that point when God can move and show His great works. That was the place of God’s solution.
Having crossed the river, the occupation of the land needed to be accomplished. Then the nation entered into conflict and partial victory over the enemy that had no time for the new aspect and outlook of God’s people. Jericho lay ahead as a striking victory of God, but so too did Ai, and that pictured a humiliating defeat, for the power of the flesh lost the victory. God was able to turn the failure of that defeat into a stunning victory later at Ai and Bethel. Yes, it was at Jordan where they had entered into the conflict of the new life, having passed from the old conditions through Jordan, while entering the land of promise.
O soul, do you need to return to the Jordan today, to the place where you first caught the glimpse of the blessings ahead? Do you need to recall the victories in your life, those Jerichos where you knew dependence upon the power of the Lord for your victorious walk in the Christian life? Do you need to recall the failures of your walk with the Lord, the Ais, and take up yet again, the battle from that point?
The psalmist mentions the peaks of Hermon and Mizar. These were two landmarks that stood out in the area. They too needed to be retraced. Were there experiences there that held special significance for him, mountaintop ones that proved in the past the faithfulness of God, and recalled the walk of joyous rest in the Lord? Now in the depths of despair, he needs to recall the faithfulness of God in times past, for ours is a faithful God and faithfulness to Him is merely committing to His faithfulness. Hermon is a beautiful mountain and refreshed by the dew on it and perhaps Mizar is the same (we do not know) but they speak of His joyous encounters. Well might we need to behold those peaks again and travel from them in the fruits of “hope in God”.
Psa 42 v 7 Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls. All Your breakers and Your waves have rolled over me. Psa 42:8 The LORD will command His loving-kindness in the daytime and His song will be with me in the night, a prayer to the God of my life. Psa 42:9 I will say to God my rock, “Why have You forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?” Psa 42:10 As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries revile me while they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” Psa 42:11 Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance, and my God.
Now the psalmist confirms the depth of the work of God in his expression, “Deep calls to deep,” and carries with it, that the “down” was a real “down”. Firstly the depth of God’s work in the soul is always deep, for its basis can only be on the finished transaction of Calvary. The Father acts on behalf of the Son and the great truths of redemption, propitiation and forgiveness are at the core of all that God does. May we never lessen the value of the work of God. It is also imperative we are able to accept it on the basis of that which is freely given, but at great cost through the overwhelming grace of God.
Secondly, the work of God may be associated with great trauma and the consciousness of the hand of God upon a person’s life. That hand may be heavy. The psalmist was so aware of it that he described it as breakers and waves rolling over him. How many can recall the efforts to swim in a turbulent sea and fighting to regain composure. I remember when I was a child going for holidays yearly on the Gold Coast of southern Queensland and surfing most days in the Pacific ocean. Sometimes those waves/breakers would dump me very solidly and then roll me along and I would surface just long enough to gasp another breath before a repeat performance.
God had allowed deep troubles to encounter the writer of the psalm. Sometimes we must wear the garment we have woven, and the Lord allows the natural consequences of our acts to outwork themselves. We can not blame God for that, and He will use those circumstances for His glory and our greater good. When we recognise God’s hand in all that, then we are learning the way back. The wonderful fact in all this is that the Lord is so gracious He helps us even in the dire circumstances of your own making, and graciously extricates us from them. There are many examples of this in the Psalms and it is worthwhile to find them.
Psa 42 v 8 The LORD will command His loving-kindness in the daytime and His song will be with me in the night, a prayer to the God of my life.
Verse 8. Then will come the God-given faith to realise that God has not abandoned His despairing servant. He realises that the Lord uses authority and commands action. The daytime will enclose him in loving kindness and the night will be the melody of songs. What more does the Christian need than to walk in the love and kindness of the Lord and to be given songs in the night. That is faith in action for it must be claimed. You know, the night can be a very lonely time as minute after minute drags by. This is so true of the troubled and burdened heart when sleep flees away and a monotonous sadness just hangs around, and the mind dredges up all the bitterness and hurt of the present and the past. There seems to be no end. How heartbreaking it is when an unnumbered mass of souls have no peace, (Isaiah 48 v 22; 57 v 28 “There is no peace for the wicked,” says the LORD.”), and the nights are long and forlorn and bitter. This world is tooth and claw with sin. How precious it is when the Lord’s joy can come in the night season with songs and psalms. The writer knew it would come but that is future. Meanwhile, he still laments his plight.
Love, kindness, and heavenly melody give rise to prayer. They are linked in praise and prayer. This is God’s ministry but the writer is striving to clasp that. He is in too much despair. The expression “God of my life” makes this personal. We need reality. My life is in God’s hands (Psalm 31 v 15 My times are in Your hand. Deliver me from the hand of my enemies, and from those who persecute me.”) Would you ever want it anywhere else? This psalm is full of emotion and personal experience. The psalmist knew despair and trouble and mocking and rejection. He felt he was abandoned by God, yet he knew God was faithful to His promises and was going to take him up. God, his Rock, had been so steadfast in the past, but now seemed so distant in the present. However, faith knew God would minister His mercy.
