Psalm Category: Psalm of Lament

Central Thought: Psalms 42–43 describe the psalmist’s journey from desire to despair and, ultimately, to delight.

Structural Note Regarding Psalms 42–43: Although Psalm 42 and 43 are separate psalms in our Bibles, they really constitute one psalm, both thematically and textually. Reasons for treating these two psalms as one include the following: 1) Psalm 43 has no introductory title; 2) some ancient Hebrew manuscripts treat the psalms as one psalm; and 3) the two psalms hold a thematic unity which is reflected most powerfully in their shared verbatim refrain, “Why are you downcast, O my soul?” Psalms 42–43 are also structurally noteworthy because they begin the second book of the Psalter, which runs through Psalm 72. This second book is often referred to as the “Elohistic Psalter” because it demonstrates an overwhelming preference for using Elohim to refer to God instead of Yahweh (“Jehovah”).

Psalms 42-43

Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” This memorable triad of virtues, cited in the Declaration of Independence, remains central to the ethos of our nation. However, over the past 230 years the meaning of these virtues has changed dramatically. Our culture now understands “life” solely in scientific terms; it understands “liberty” as self-centered license; and it has reinterpreted “the pursuit of happiness” to mean that everyone is entitled to satisfy all their desires and live free from sacrifice, suffering, and pain.

In Psalms 42–43 the psalmist is interested in fulfilling his desires for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. However, unlike most modern Americans, the psalmist’s desire cannot be fulfilled by anything other than an encounter with the living God.

Desire (42:1-2): The opening verses of Psalm 42 are among the best known in the entire Psalter. The imagery of a deer panting for water vividly captures the acute nature of the psalmist’s desire. In verse 2, the psalmist reveals the object of his thirst. “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” The psalmist’s sole desire is to worship the living God.

At first, the psalmist’s inability to satisfy his desire may seem a bit peculiar to us. In the new covenant, we tend to think that we can meet and worship God anywhere. However, in the psalmist’s world, if one wanted to meet God he was required to meet Him in His house. Therefore, the psalmist’s inability to satisfy this desire indicates that he was being prevented, perhaps by his enemies, from going to the temple in Jerusalem. The psalmist was living in exile.

Despair (42:3–43:2, 5): The psalmist’s exile eventually leads him into deep despair and depression. His days and nights are filled with tears, and his enemies mock him (42:3). His recollection of making pilgrimages to the temple with the people of God only heightens his depression (42:4). He feels as though God has “forgotten” and “rejected” him (42:9, 43:2). He is also encountering physical suffering—his bones are filled with “agony” (42:10). The psalmist is utterly overwhelmed with grief and likens his condition to that of a man overcome by a flood (42:7).

Ultimately, his depression becomes so acute that he begins to talk to himself in an effort to shake himself out of it. He both interrogates himself, “Why are you downcast, O my soul?” and admonishes himself, “Put your hope in God” (42:5). His depression is so great that he finds it necessary to repeat this self-conversation three times (42:5, 11; 43:5). The psalmist began this psalm with desire, but now he finds himself in the throes of depression and despair.

Delight (43:3-4): While the psalmist’s depression is real and deep, it is not permanent. This psalm of yearning, despair, and lament ends with joy and delight. The psalmist is confident that God will send him “light” and “truth” to guide him to God’s dwelling place (43:3). The psalmist is assured that he will one day return to the “altar of God” (v. 4). However, the psalmist is not merely interested in experiencing the pageantry of the temple or the glories of the cult of Israel. Rather, the psalmist’s ultimate desire—the desire that was so powerful that it is comparable to a deer panting for water, and that, when not fulfilled, led him to utter depression—is the desire to meet with his God who is his “joy” and “delight” (v. 4).

The psalmist found his life, liberty, and happiness (“joy” and “delight”) in worshiping the living God. Where do you find yours?

—Anthony Selvaggio