Psalm 42 Part 1: As the Deer

Psalm 42:1 "As the deer pants for the water brooks so my soul pants for You, O God."  This psalm speaks of a man who is experiencing a sorrow like he has never known before.  I just finished writing a commentary on all 11 verses.  What I want to share with you over the next three nights is a condensed version of what I wrote.  I will be breaking it down the same way it is broken down in the Bible. Part 1 will be Psalm 42:1-4 which I will not type out in the interest of your valuable time.  You can scroll over the passage citation or look at the first 4 verses in your own Bible. Here I will only type out the first verse of each section.

As The Deer.  In these first four verses of Psalm 42 we see a picture painted of the separation from God the psalmist is experiencing.  In verses 1 and 2, he has an extreme thirst for God in the same way a deer or some other animal desperately seeks water in a dry desert. and is longing to appear before God in His temple once again. He is experiencing a spiritual drought.  He calls God the living God realizing that just like water gives new life to he who drinks it, God is the one who is the true source of new life. In verse 3, he compares his tears to food that he has been "eating" day and night.  The psalmist's sorrow consumes him.  Not only is he suffering from the angst of separation from the Lord but his suffering is intensified as his enemies see his plight and mock him saying "Where is your God?" These insults that are added to the psalmist's injury cause him to remember the more joyful times of his life in verse 4.  He remembers when he assembled with the rest of God's people as they went to appear before God.  He is the one who lead these crowds who celebrated such an occasion.  Now, he is far removed from them and His God due to his plight.

This is just a small synopsis of what the first four verses of Psalm 42 are dealing with. But what does it mean to us? Ever been at a point in your life where it seems God is all you have to turn to? We live in a world where more and more people see suffering and ask you and me, where is your God? Many ask this to create doubt in our minds. We CANNOT give in to them.  Are you currently experiencing a spiritual drought like the psalmist is in these first four verses? His first solution to his plight is remembering the joyful times.  We have to remember the joyful times the Lord has given us with His people.  If you have somehow been separated from God's people due to circumstance, find your way back and trust that the Lord will bring you back into His fold..

Some of those people with whom we rejoiced may be gone from this life for whatever reason but hang on to those memories and remember the happy times they brought. I turned to Psalm 42 countless times while my dad was sick all the way up to his death. While the language is somber and maybe even depressing, this Psalm contains a message of hope. Feel free to read it in it's entirety on your own, Psalm 42:1-11.  It's only eleven verses, just a few minutes of your time.

THANKS FOR READING EVERYONE! DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL GOD BLESS!