Psalm Ch42v1-11 - Hope In Our Troubles

I think we're going to be looking at a psalm together, so if you'd like to turn in your Bible, roughly the middle, Psalm 42.

In a couple of weeks' time, we're going to be going back to Genesis, the first book in the Bible.

You may remember that over the last couple of years, we've been going through Genesis.

We've looked at the life of Abraham, the life of Jacob, and in a couple of weeks, we're going to be looking at the life of Joseph, which will complete the book.

But before we do that, we're going to be looking at a couple of psalms.

The psalms are really helpful to us in our lives and in our struggles.

So we're going to read Psalm 42 together now and look at it together.

So let's hear God's word to us.

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.

Where can I go and meet with God?

My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, where is your God?

These things I remember as I pour out my soul, how I used to go to the house of God under the protection of the mighty one,

with shouts of joy and praise among the festive throng.

Why, my soul, are you downcast?

Why so disturbed within me?

Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Saviour and my God.

My soul is downcast within me.

Therefore, I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.

Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls.

All your waves and breakers have swept over me.

By day the Lord directs his love.

At night his song is with me.

A prayer to the God of my life.

I say to God, my rock,

Why have you forgotten me?

Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?

My bones suffer mortal agony, as my foes taunt me,

saying to me all day long,

Where is your God?

Why, my soul, are you downcast?

Why so disturbed within me?

Why, my soul, are you downcast?

Put your hope in God,

For I will yet praise him,

My Saviour and my God.

Well, let's pray together.

We ask that you, Father God,

the God of all compassion,

would now, through your word and by your Spirit,

pour out your comfort upon us

in our troubles this day.

Meet with us

and give to us what we need.

And we ask this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

So how are you?

How are you?

I'm doing fine.

It's what we always say, isn't it,

when we are asked the question.

I'm fine.

Well, the writer of this psalm

is anything but fine.

Look at the beginning of verse 5.

Why, my soul, are you downcast?

Why so disturbed within me?

The writer is not in a good place.

He is down and depressed.

In fact, it seems to be an ongoing trouble

through his life.

The questions are repeated.

Look at verse 11.

Why, my soul, are you downcast?

Why so disturbed within me?

There's a shadow hanging over his life

and it's not shifting.

It's grey and dark,

not bright and colourful.

Now, while this can be hard,

there is something refreshingly honest

about this psalm and the author's experience.

Some of you will remember

a little while back last term

we had Ivan and Carol Watson

come and speak to us.

Carol reminded us that fine,

F-I-N-E,

stands for

feelings inwardly

not expressed.

You see, we feel the pressure,

don't we, from others

and from ourselves

to always be positive

and upbeat,

to present this persona

of one of absolute calm

and peace.

We want to be always able

to go around

with that permanent smile

and friendly welcome

and always to be able to say,

I'm fine.

But the weight of pretending

only breaks us

and crushes us.

You see, what we need

is the words of this psalm.

This poem helps us

to express in words

our inner feelings.

It enables us

to cry out

in honesty

before God

to find hope

in our troubles.

So, four things

we're going to see

from this psalm

that will help us

whenever we're down

or depressed.

It's a pattern

that we can follow

for ourselves.

So, here are the four things.

We're going to look at

praying with tears,

voicing our troubles,

speaking the truth

and learning to trust.

So, tears,

troubles,

truth

and trust.

So, first,

praying

with tears.

Look at verse 3.

My tears

have been my food

day and night.

We all go through

seasons

when all we have

is tears,

broken dreams,

hurtful experiences,

shattered hopes,

loss of family,

the experiences

of life

that we go through

bring heartache.

And maybe that's

the place you're in

right now.

Or maybe you've

been there before.

Sometimes all we have

is tears.

But our tears

are not wasted.

Look,

the writer

is a firm believer

in God.

Look at the end

of verse 8.

He talks about

a prayer

to the God

of my life.

Verse 9.

I say to God,

my rock.

You see,

he has a personal

faith and belief.

You see,

Christians are not

left with their tears.

They pray

with tears.

In other words,

we have someone

to go to

with our disappointments

and our losses.

we have one

who sees

and knows

and understands.

Our tears

are never

wasted

because they

express

what is on

our hearts

as we cry

out to God.

Verse 3.

My tears

have been

my food

day

and night.

second,

voicing

our troubles.

You see,

as we pray,

we are bringing

our complaints

and our troubles

to God.

Look at verse 1.

As the deer

pants for streams

of water,

so my soul

pants for you,

my God.

The picture here

is striking,

isn't it?

Just as a deer

runs to escape

the pursuing lion

and longs

for some respite,

a coo-watered stream,

so the writer

is running

from trouble

and is longing

for God.

We're not quite sure

what the trouble is,

but the response

is right.

He desires God,

he needs God,

he's panting

for God.

But what makes

our troubles

perhaps so difficult

is the feeling

that in our

longing for God,

we find that

God

is absent.

In our longing

for God,

we find that

he is so often

absent.

This is expressed

in two questions

that we see

in the psalm.

Where is God?

And why

has God?

Have you ever

asked those questions?

Where is God?

And why

has God?

First question,

where is God

in my

trouble?

Look at verse 2.

My soul

thirsts

for God,

for the living

God.

Where can I

go

and meet

with God?

God?

It seems

that whichever

way he

turns,

it's a dead

end.

God,

it seems,

is to be

nowhere

to be

found.

Where can

I go

and meet

with God?

Where is

God when

I desperately

need him?

Not only

do we feel

the absence

of God

in our

troubles,

but it

seems

that others

all around

us

sense the

same thing

too.

Verse 3.

My tears

have been

my food

day and

night,

while people

say to

me all

day long,

where is

your God?

Well,

they mightn't

perhaps express

it in those

words to us,

but we sense

and we feel

their thoughts,

don't we?

Those

Christians,

they always

go on about

how good

and how great

God is,

but look

at their

life,

what a

mess.

Surely

if you're

a Christian,

you shouldn't

be down

and depressed.

Where is

your God

now?

We can

feel a

fraud.

If only

my faith

was stronger,

then God

would help.

If only

I was a

better person,

then God

would intervene.

we can

also begin

to doubt.

Maybe God

is not

kind,

because if

he was,

then he

would help

me.

Perhaps

God is

not strong,

because if

he was,

he would

save me.

Like the

author,

we can look

back to

better times.

Verse 4,

these are

the things

that I

remember as

I pour

out my

soul,

how I

used to

go to

the house

of God

under the

protection

of the

mighty

one,

which

shouts

of joy

and praise

among the

festive

throng.

It seems

he is

a long

way from

home,

away from

the days

when he

was safe,

joining

others as

they went

to the

house of

God,

to the

temple,

but now

he is

struggling.

Where is

God?

God's

love for

us.

For us,

because of

Christ,

we don't

need to

go to

a special

place to

meet with

God.

We don't

need a

temple.

We have

access to

God anytime,

anywhere,

but even

with that

knowledge,

in our

troubles,

we can

still feel

the absence

of God.

We long

for his

presence,

we desire

his touch,

we need

his

intervention,

we pant

and we

thirst,

but our

troubles are

not quenched.

The searching

goes on,

where can I

meet with

God?

Where is

God in

my trouble?

The second

question leads

on from the

first.

It's not a

where question,

but a why

question.

why has

God

forgotten

me?

Amidst all

the troubles

and the

feeling that

God is

absent,

there is

only one

conclusion.

Look at

verse 9

with me.

I say

to God,

my rock,

why have

you forgotten

me?

Why must

I go about

mourning,

oppressed

by the

enemy?

my bones

suffer mortal

agony as

my foes

taunt me,

saying to

me all

day long,

where is

your God?

You see,

we all go

through seasons

of suffering

and the

expectation is

that God

will stop

it,

or at the

very least

will somehow

give relief.

if I'm

sick,

well,

God will

heal me.

If I'm

tired,

he's going

to give

me rest.

If I'm

overwhelmed,

God is

going to

end the

turmoil.

If I'm

down and

depressed,

God is

going to

lighten my

load.

And because

we don't

quite feel

it in the

way that

we wish,

then it

can only

mean one

thing.

Verse 9,

God,

my rock,

why have

you forgotten

me?

Why?

Why did

you let

that happen?

Why am

I on my

own?

Why do

I feel

this way?

The

psalm is

both raw

and real

because it

opens us

up to the

experience of

one believer

and it

gives us

the words

to express

our inward

feeling.

You see,

with God

we don't

need to

pretend.

We can

take off

the mask

of those

smiles and

joys and

we can

voice all

our troubles

to God

and we can

pray with

our tears

and we can

cry out,

where is

God in

my trouble?

cry out,

cry out,

out,

and so.

this psalm is

both raw

and real.

It shows us

the experience

of one believer

and gives us

the words to

express our

inward feelings.

You see, with God we don't need to pretend. We can take off the mask of our smiles and joys and we can voice our troubles to God. We can pray with tears and cry out, where is God in my trouble? Why have you forgotten me?

Well, there is an answer. Third, speaking the truth. Look at verse 6 with me.

My soul is downcast within me. Therefore, I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.

The writer is far away from home in the land of the Jordan, way up north. He's high in the mountains. He's away from God's people and God's house.

But yet as he cries out to God, he also speaks truth about God. Look at the beginning of verse 6.

My soul is downcast within me. Therefore, I will remember you.

You see, he's longing not for a place, but for a person. He remembers God.

You see, if anything is going to get us through our troubles, it's by remembering who God is.

Two things we need to remember.

First, God is over my troubles.

Verse 7.

Deep calls to deep, in the roar of your waterfalls, all your waves and breakers have swept over me.

It's like us being caught in a surging, cascading river, dragged under and pulled along.

And just as you manage to break the surface for air, another wave comes crashing over.

Isn't that how life is?

We seem so helpless as trouble after trouble sweeps over us.

We get over one loss and then we're faced with another.

We come through one trial, only to be hit again.

It seems there is no relief.

But look how these troubles are described.

Verse 7.

Deep calls to deep, in the roar of your waterfalls, all your waves and breakers have swept over me.

You see, our troubles are not random chance events.

They are the roar of God's waterfalls.

They are the waves of God's breakers.

Yes, we struggle to understand why God allows it.

But it is not a chance.

It is not a mistake.

He is over your trials.

He rules over your suffering.

In our stormy troubles, we are safe and secure in the grip of God's sovereignty.

Second, God is present with love.

Verse 8.

By day the Lord directs his love.

At night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.

You see, as the waves break over us, God is present with love.

In every storm his love is steadfast.

Look back with me to verse 3.

My tears have been my food day and night.

But yet in the tears, verse 8.

By day the Lord directs his love.

At night his song is with me.

In the day and through the night, God's love is upon you.

The truth is, there is nothing and no one that can separate you from his love.

In fact, what we discover is that not only is God present with love, the troubles we face are signs of his love.

They are signs of love because they bring about God's good and pleasing purposes.

One modern songwriter put it like this.

They write from a place of great trouble, having lost her husband early in their marriage.

This is what she says.

We pray for healing and for prosperity.

We pray for God's mighty hand to ease our suffering.

And all the while God hears each spoken need.

Yet love is way too much to give us lesser things.

Because what if your blessings come through raindrops?

And what if your healing comes through tears?

And what if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know God's near?

And what if trials of this life are your mercies in disguise?

What if the troubles that you are going through right now and that you will go through

are not random chance events?

But are God's mercies in disguise?

You see, as we cry out to God, we also speak truth about God.

We remember who God is.

As we pray with tears, where is God in my trouble?

We can say, God is over my trouble.

As we pray with tears, why have you forgotten me?

We can say, God is present with love.

So remember who God is.

And speak that truth to your heart.

Fourth, learning to trust.

The purpose of praying with tears, voicing our troubles, and speaking the truth

is so that we would learn to trust in God.

Two things.

First, trust is fuelled by truth.

Look how this happens.

Look at verse 5.

Why, my soul, are you downcast?

Why so disturbed within me?

You see, in our troubles, we're to have a conversation with ourselves.

We are to ask ourselves questions.

Why do I feel this way?

Why am I worried or afraid?

Why am I down and discouraged?

It's then that we remember who God is, and we remember his character, and it causes us to trust.

Look at the rest of verse 5.

Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my saviour and my God.

We're to have a conversation with ourselves.

Our hearts can tell us, God doesn't care.

God has forgotten you.

But we are to argue back to ourselves with the truth.

That God is good.

God is kind.

He will never leave me.

We are to say to ourselves,

Johnny, put your hope in God.

As we reflect and meditate on the unchanging character of God, it brings truth to our hearts that enables us to trust.

You see, truth fuels our trust.

It helps us to see his glory and his greatness, so that we will put our hope in him.

Second, trust is a continuous decision.

Telling ourselves to hope in God is not a one-off event.

It's a continuous discipline as we go through life.

Look how he repeats the same truth.

Verse 11.

You see, this is to be the pattern of our lives.

Every trouble that we face is an opportunity to consciously decide who or what I will trust in.

Put your hope in God.

In fact, we are to follow the example of Jesus who prayed this very same kind of prayer.

Who went to the Garden of Gethsemane and prayed with tears to his Father.

Who voiced his troubles.

Take this cup of suffering from me.

Who spoke the truth to his heart.

Not my will, but your will be done.

And so Jesus entrusted his life, his sufferings and death to his Father.

In certain hope that his Father would bring him through.

If our Father God brought Jesus through.

So we who trust in Jesus can be guaranteed that he will bring us through.

Trust is not saying that we know everything or understand everything.

Trust is continually resting in God my Saviour who is sovereign over all my troubles.

And is always present with love in the midst of my troubles.

So there we have it.

Tears.

Troubles.

Truth.

And trust.

Put your hope in God.

Truth.

Truth.

Truth.

Truth.

Truth.

Truth.

Truth.

Truth.

Truth.

Truth.

Truth.

Truth.

Truth.

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