Preach to Yourself: Hope In God
Psalm 42:1-11
1 As the deer pants for the water brooks,
So pants my soul for You, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?
3 My tears have been my food day and night,
While they continually say to me,
“Where is your God?”
4 When I remember these things,
I pour out my soul within me.
For I used to go with the multitude;
I went with them to the house of God,
With the voice of joy and praise,
With a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast.
5 Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him
For the help of His countenance.
6 O my God, my soul is cast down within me;
Therefore I will remember You from the land of the Jordan,
And from the heights of Hermon,
From the Hill Mizar.
7 Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls;
All Your waves and billows have gone over me.
8 The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime,
And in the night His song shall be with me—
A prayer to the God of my life.
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?”
10 As with a breaking of my bones,
My enemies reproach me,
While they say to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
11 Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God;
For I shall yet praise Him,
The help of my countenance and my God.
Six ways that this psalmist responded to discouragement, turmoil, and even the taunt of his enemies:
#1 He Asks God Why
Psalm 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?”
#2 He Reaffirms God’s Sovereign Love For Him
Psalm 42:8
The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, And in the night His song shall be with me— A prayer to the God of my life.
In verses 5 and 11, he calls God “My God.” He made it personal
#3 He Sings; He Worships
Psalm 42:8
“The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, And in the night His song shall be with me— A prayer to the God of my life.”
#4 He Remembers Past Experiences
Psalm 42:4
When I remember these things, I pour out my soul within me. For I used to go with the multitude; I went with them to the house of God, With the voice of joy and praise, With a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast
#5 He Preaches To Himself
Psalm 42:5
Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him
#6 He Thirsts For God More Than Anything Else
Psalm 41:1-2
As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?