Austin Bible Church
Psalms 42-43 contain the musing of a captive of the Assyrian captivity in 722 BC. He is sitting in a dungeon contemplating how he got there and if he would ever get out. In Psalms 42:1-5, we have the reflections of this prisoner of war. In the crisis, he longed for the Word of God. Psalms 42:1.
“For the choir director. A Maskil of the sons of Korah. As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God.” (Psalms 42:1, NASB)
His first regret was that he wanted to learn more Bible doctrine and apply it to the current situation, but he had limited Bible doctrine in his soul. He had not made good use of his time earlier. His second regret was whether he would ever again get to go to Bible class. He saw people going by carrying their idols and it makes him thirst for the Lord. Psalms 42:2.
“My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God?” (Psalms 42:2, NASB)
In the crisis, he cried because of his circumstances. This is sinful weeping, being a cry-baby. There is no residual doctrine in his soul to sustain him. They taunted him daily asking him, “Hey, boy, where’s your God?” He could make no impact for Christ. He had no testimony. Psalms 42:3.
“My tears have been my food day and night, While they say to me all day long, "Where is your God?"” (Psalms 42:3, NASB)
In the crisis, he was depressed and remembered he didn’t take in the Word of God when he had many days to do so. He had other priorities. Psalms 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.” (Psalms 42:4, NASB)
“I pour out my soul within me” means he was in extreme depression. He remembered long ago going to Bible class and learning the Word of God. His third regret was not making Bible class and the daily intake and application of Bible doctrine his highest priority in life. He had not made good use of his time.
He was in despair and knew that God had the answers but he couldn’t apply them. He had very little epignosis Bible doctrine in his soul to apply to the situation. He knew that only God could deliver him from this hopeless situation. Psalms 42:5.
“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.” (Psalms 42:5, NASB)
In Psalms 42:6, “O my God, my soul is in despair within me” means he was a believer and he realized that he actually brought this situation upon himself. He didn’t stockpile the Word when he had available time and his testing was minor compared to his current extreme situation. He then remembered the goodness of God as a young man. What had the Lord done for him? “The land of the Jordan” refers to a military deliverance. “The peaks of Hermon” refers to a famous hunting area and hunting deliverance. “Mount Mizar” refers to his deliverance from a natural disaster.
“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.” (Psalms 42:6, NASB)
In Psalms 42:7, “Deep calls to deep” refers to when he was in a narrow canyon, a flash flood was caused by a huge downpour upstream and a wall of water hit him and he almost drowned. If God delivered him in time past, He would do it again. Grace will find a way.
“Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls; All Your breakers and Your waves have rolled over me.” (Psalms 42:7, NASB)
In Psalms 42:8, he realized that he could not recall any Bible doctrine, but he did remember a song. “God of my life” means that he finally confessed his known sins to God the Father and got back into fellowship. However, he didn’t stay in fellowship long and became inconsistent.
“The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime; And His song will be with me in the night, A prayer to the God of my life.” (Psalms 42:8, NASB)
His inconsistency as a prisoner of war produced instability. In Psalms 42:9, “my rock” refers to Jesus Christ as his Messiah. He was questioning whether God was paying attention to his plight. This is inconsistent. “I go mourning” means he was deeply depressed.
“I will say to God my rock, "Why have You forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?"” (Psalms 42:9, NASB)
In Psalms 42:10, he was facing pressure without Bible doctrine and without fellowship. “As a shattering of my bones” refers to the constant pressure he was under. “My adversaries revile me” means the Assyrian soldiers picked on him because he was a cry-baby. The Assyrians did not bother courageous soldiers. They laugh at him and continued to ask him where was his God. “Boy, where is your God?”
“As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries revile me, While they say to me all day long, "Where is your God?"” (Psalms 42:10, NASB)
In Psalms 42:11, he repeats his lament of soul despair.
“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.” (Psalms 42:11, NASB)
In Psalms 43:1, “Vindicate me” means to judge, to evaluate, to hear what he had to say. “An ungodly nation” refers to Assyria. “Deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man!” refers to his friend who talked him out of Bible class and could be translated, “Deliver me from that fraud, that phony, that kept me out of Bible class.”
“Vindicate me, O God, and plead my case against an ungodly nation; O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man!” (Psalms 43:1, NASB)
In Psalms 43:2, he continues his inconsistency. He just can’t stay on the track. “Why have You rejected me?” is זָנַח (zanach) and means he is into self-pity.
“For You are the God of my strength; why have You rejected me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?” (Psalms 43:2, NASB)
In Psalms 43:3-4, he finally realizes that he needs to return to learning the Word of God as a priority. “O send out Your light and Your truth” is his prayer for God to bring Bible doctrine to him.
“O send out Your light and Your truth, let them lead me; Let them bring me to Your holy hill And to Your dwelling places. Then I will go to the altar of God, To God my exceeding joy; And upon the lyre I shall praise You, O God, my God.” (Psalms 43:3-4, NASB)
This was the prayer of Paul when he prayed that God would give him the spirit of wisdom and revelation. In these verses, “knowledge” refers to epignosis Bible doctrine in the soul. Eph. 1:17; Phil. 1:9; Col. 1:9-10.
“that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.” (Ephesians 1:17, NASB)
“And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment,” (Philippians 1:9, NASB)
“For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;” (Colossians 1:9-10, NASB)
Therefore, make good use of the time God has given you today so you can be thankful tomorrow as well. By the way, the prisoner of war did finally escape the Assyrians and wrote these two Psalms.