Psalms 42
42
PSALM 42
Common Meter: 8,6,8,6
To the chief Musician,
Maschil, for the sons of Korah.
1Like as the hart for water-brooks
in thirst doth pant and bray;
So pants my longing soul, O God,
that come to thee I may.
2My soul for God, the living God,
doth thirst: when shall I near
Unto thy countenance approach,
and in God's sight appear?
3My tears have unto me been meat,
both in the night and day,
While unto me continually,
Where is thy God? they say.
4My soul is poured out in me,
when this I think upon;
Because that with the multitude
I heretofore had gone:
With them into God's house I went,
with voice of joy and praise;
Yea, with the multitude that kept
the solemn holy days.
5O why art thou cast down, my soul?
why in me so dismay'd?
Trust God, for I shall praise him yet,
his count'nance is mine aid.
6My God, my soul's cast down in me;
thee therefore mind I will
From Jordan's land, the Hermonites,
and ev'n from Mizar hill.
7At the noise of thy water-spouts
deep unto deep doth call;
Thy breaking waves pass over me,
yea, and thy billows all.
8His loving-kindness yet the Lord
command will in the day,
His song's with me by night; to God,
by whom I live, I'll pray:
9And I will say to God my rock,
Why me forgett'st thou so?
Why, for my foes' oppression,
thus mourning do I go?
10'Tis as a sword within my bones,
when my foes me upbraid;
Ev'n when by them, Where is thy God?
'tis daily to me said.
11O why art thou cast down, my soul?
why, thus with grief opprest,
Art thou disquieted in me?
in God still hope and rest:
For yet I know I shall him praise,
who graciously to me
The health is of my countenance,
yea, mine own God is he.
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Psalms 42: MP1650
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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
Psalms 42
42
Longing for God’s Presence in the Temple
1For the leader. A maskil of the Korahites.#The Korahites: a major guild of Temple singers (2 Chr 20:19) whose name appears in the superscriptions of Ps 42; 44–49; 84–85; 87–88.
I
2As the deer longs for streams of water,#Ps 63:2; 84:3; 143:6; Is 26:9.
so my soul longs for you, O God.
3My soul thirsts for God, the living God.
When can I enter and see the face of God?#See the face of God: “face” designates a personal presence (Gn 33:10; Ex 10:28–29; 2 Sm 17:11). The expressions “see God/God’s face” occur elsewhere (Ps 11:7; 17:15; cf. Ex 24:10; 33:7–11; Jb 33:26) for the presence of God in the Temple.#Ps 27:4.
4My tears have been my bread day and night,#Ps 80:6; 102:10.
as they ask me every day, “Where is your God?”#Ps 79:10; Jl 2:17.
5Those times I recall
as I pour out my soul,#Lam 3:20.
When I would cross over to the shrine of the Mighty One,#The shrine of the Mighty One: this reading follows the tradition of the Septuagint and the Vulgate.
to the house of God,
Amid loud cries of thanksgiving,
with the multitude keeping festival.#Ps 122:5.
6Why are you downcast, my soul;
why do you groan within me?
Wait for God, for I shall again praise him,
my savior and my God.
II
7My soul is downcast within me;
therefore I remember you
From the land of the Jordan#From the land of the Jordan: the sources of the Jordan are in the foothills of Mount Hermon in present-day southern Lebanon. Mount Mizar is presumed to be a mountain in the same range. and Hermon,
from Mount Mizar,#Ps 43:3.
8#Deep calls to deep: to the psalmist, the waters arising in the north are overwhelming and far from God’s presence, like the waters of chaos (Ps 18:5; 69:2–3, 15; Jon 2:3–6).Deep calls to deep
in the roar of your torrents,
and all your waves and breakers
sweep over me.#Ps 18:5; 32:6; 69:2; 88:8; Jon 2:4.
9By day may the Lord send his mercy,
and by night may his righteousness be with me!
I will pray#I will pray…I will say: in the midst of his depression the psalmist turns to prayer. Despite his situation he trusts the Lord to deliver him from his sorrow so that he may enter the Temple precincts and praise him once again (Ps 43:3–4, 5b). to the God of my life,
10I will say to God, my rock:
“Why do you forget me?#Ps 18:2; 31:3–4.
Why must I go about mourning
with the enemy oppressing me?”
11It shatters my bones, when my adversaries reproach me,
when they say to me every day: “Where is your God?”
12Why are you downcast, my soul,
why do you groan within me?
Wait for God, for I shall again praise him,
my savior and my God.
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