Psalm 42 - "Hope for a Hopeless Soul"

You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.

Our passion is to experience and express grace. Join us.

One of the joys of an interim period in the life of the church is that we get to have guests come

on occasion and feed us from God's Word and spell me and Chad or spell you from me and Chad,

however it is that that works out. I'm not sure which one it was.

It's a particular privilege to introduce you to pastors who have pastored me.

Jay is one of those. Jay is an Old Testament professor at Covenant Seminary in St. Louis.

As Chad and I both attended there and learned from him, some teachers teach, and that's wonderful.

Some shepherds you as you're developing in your own life and learning God's Word there.

Jay is one of those who's done that for us, has done that for me.

When one of our previous pastors, Jake Patton, and I were ordained here several years ago,

we invited Jay to come and preach that service. Many of you who were here will remember repeating

after him the words, will is not the Christ. So he also keeps me in my place, for which I'm

very grateful. I'm so excited to have Jay shepherd all of us this morning. I'm eager to hear with you.

Jay has asked me to read our passage this morning, which is Psalm 42.

This is the Word of God, Psalm 42.

As a deer pants for flowing streams, 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? My tears have been my food day and night,

while they say to me continually, where is your God? These things I remember as I pour out my soul.

How I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God, with glad shouts

and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival. Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you

in turmoil within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God. My soul is cast

down within me. Therefore, I remember you from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mazar.

Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls. All your breakers and your waves have gone over me.

By day the Lord commands His steadfast love, and 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 do I go mourning because of the

oppression of the enemy? As with a deadly wound in my bones, my adversaries taunt me, while they say to

me continually, where is your God? Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you in turmoil within

me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God. Thus far, God's holy,

inerrant, and infallible word.

Well, good morning. Am I on? Good morning. Good morning. Thank you, Will. Thank you for your kind

words. One of the greatest joys and encouragements for me is to come and to see former students and

friends now involved in leading and shepherding God's word. It just, my heart is smiling very deeply

right now. When I was a young boy, maybe around 10 or 11 years old, there was a period of time where

my mom would try to help my brother and I get to sleep every night by playing a record.

And it struck me that some of you here might not know what a record is. So, last night I asked,

Will and Christy, you guys have a record. They didn't have any records. Chad and Annalise,

you guys have a record. They didn't have any records. But they tracked one down for me.

It was delivered this morning. I won't tell you who brought it, but the Romantics was the one

that they happened. This is not what my mother played to me, by the way, every night. But this is,

if you've never seen one, especially kids here, this is what a record looks like. And it kind of

works like a CD. And a CD is kind of like an MP3 on a coaster, right? By the way, it would spin around

and you'd put in the record player, it'd spin around and then it would play the songs. And one of the

songs that my mom used to play was called, As the Deer Pants for the Water. How many here know that song?

Let's just sing the first verse together, shall we? I'll start us off and then very quickly,

please drown out my voice. All right?

Go with the chorus if you know it.

You alone are my strength, my shield. To you alone may my spirit yield. You alone are my heart's

desire, and I long to worship. Actually, isn't that a beautiful song? Perfect.

song to play somebody to fall asleep. And you may have noticed it's based on Psalm 42.

I love that song. There's just one problem with it. It completely misses the mood of Psalm 42.

When you hear a song like that, if you were to picture in your mind what the person who is singing

or writing the song is feeling, what kind of thoughts come to your mind?

I mean, as I listen to a song like that, I think of somebody who is, they are by a bubbling brook.

It is sunny outside. They have just been reading their Bibles, and they feel so close to God.

Doesn't it feel that way? I mean, their hearts are full. They've just been feasting on some experience

of the Lord, and they just want more and more. That's how the song feels. If you noticed in Psalm 42,

the psalmist, the person who wrote the psalm, feels exactly the opposite.

The person who wrote Psalm 42 doesn't feel like they're having a mountaintop experience with God.

They feel like they're in the deepest, darkest valley.

They feel like they're in the deepest valley.

They feel like they're in the deepest valley.

The person who wrote Psalm 42 doesn't feel like God is so close that you could touch Him.

They feel like God is a thousand miles away.

The person who wrote Psalm 42 doesn't have a heart that's feasting on God.

They have a heart that is drier than desert dust.

What's going on in Psalm 42 to lead a person to think and to feel that way?

What I'd like to do is walk through the psalm by just asking three questions of it.

You'll see it on the back of your bulletin.

The three questions are these.

What is the psalmist feeling?

Why is he feeling that way, and what does he do about it?

What is the psalmist feeling?

Why is he feeling that way, and what does he do about it?

First question, what is the psalmist feeling?

And you can answer this question in a couple different ways.

On the one hand, the psalmist is feeling deep emotional suffering.

Deep emotional suffering.

In fact, he gets at this a bunch of different ways.

Look at verse 3.

My tears have been my food.

My tears have been my food.

In other words, this person is at a point of such despair and sadness

that they've lost their appetite.

And many of you know what this is like.

Years ago, I lost a nephew.

It was one of the most painful things I had ever experienced in my life.

And my sadness hijacked my hunger.

That's what the psalmist is experiencing.

No hunger.

No interest in food.

My tears have been my food.

Verse 3 says,

My tears have been my food day and night.

In other words, even when he lies down on his bed at night

and he closes his eyes,

the drumbeat of sorrow just keeps pounding.

And no matter how tightly he shuts his eyes,

the tears keep streaming through.

I mean, he just, he can't shut it off.

Verse 5.

Why are you downcast, O my soul?

The Bible uses this word in another passage to describe somebody

who has just learned that his mother has died.

Just learned it.

One of the most painful things that you can experience in life.

That's what the psalmist is experiencing.

Why are you downcast, O my soul?

Why are you in despair?

That's a word that's used to describe,

have you ever felt like your heart is turned inside out with grief?

It's like this bucking bronco that you can't wrestle to the ground.

You can't stop the sadness.

You can't stop the sorrow.

That's what the psalmist is feeling.

Deep emotional suffering.

And along with this suffering,

perhaps because of this suffering,

the psalmist also feels utterly alone.

Completely forsaken.

When he says in verse 1,

as the deer pants for the water brooks,

so my soul pants for you,

you know what he's describing here?

He's describing a drought.

He's describing a drought where there is no water to be found.

And we actually have elsewhere in the Bible a description of what a drought was like in Israel.

Jeremiah chapter 14, we read these words,

Jeremiah 14 · chapter mention

In other words,

the ground is cracked because there is no rain.

The farmers are dismayed.

Even the deer in the field deserts her newborn fawn because there is no grass.

In other words,

when there was a drought in Israel,

you got so desperate for just a drop of water

that even a mother deer would forsake her newborn

because she could think of nothing else

except getting some relief from her thirst.

It's a horrible thirst.

And the psalmist is saying,

Lord, I just want a drop,

just a drop of your presence

and of your comfort and of your love.

When I was 16 or 17 years old,

my family was in the midst of a really tough time.

It was just a year or two away from my parents separating.

And I remember one afternoon,

feeling the pain of that so keenly,

I went into my bedroom and I shut the door

and I literally fell on my knees

and I began to pray,

Oh, Lord.

Oh, Lord.

Please help.

Please comfort me.

Please take away the pain.

And I wish I could tell you that

the ceiling of my bedroom parted

and this beam of sunshine came in.

But the heavens that day were silent.

I didn't feel a drop of comfort or relief.

And that's where the psalmist is.

What's he feeling?

Deep emotional suffering,

tears streaming down his face

and feeling utterly alone.

That's what he's feeling.

Well, why is he feeling that way?

Why is he feeling that way?

We get a hint of this in verses 9 and 10.

As we read these,

what you'll see is that

the psalmist is in the midst of some sort of trial,

some sort of suffering,

and he's got enemies around him

who are piling on,

who are pouring salt into the wound.

Verse 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?

As a shattering of my bones,

my adversaries revile me,

while they say to me all day long,

where is your God?

You see what's happening here.

He's in the midst of some sort of trial,

some sort of suffering.

He doesn't name what it is.

He doesn't tell us.

And you'll notice,

actually,

often as you're reading through the psalms,

they describe the trials pretty generally.

And I think the reason is

that by describing them generally,

it's an invitation for you

and for me

to be able to identify

because we can sort of,

it's almost like when you read about a trial,

the invitation is,

oh, and by the way,

insert your personal trial right here.

So we can really identify

with what's going on.

So we don't know what's going on,

but some trial,

and there are enemies around

who are saying this to him.

You claim to be

one of those followers of the Lord.

And he makes

all sorts of promises for you.

Doesn't he say

he's a God of steadfast love?

Doesn't he?

Doesn't he say

he's a God who's with you?

Doesn't he?

Doesn't he say

he cares for you

and loves you?

Doesn't he?

Well, those promises

don't line up with your life right now.

Where is your God?

Give it up.

It's all a sham.

None of it's real.

Some of us here

have experienced this,

do experience this,

with family

or friends

who aren't excited

about the fact

we've decided

to follow Jesus.

And when life

goes badly,

the whispers

start.

Oh, is this

what happens

when you become

a follower of Jesus?

Is this how

he cares for you?

For others of us,

it's not family

or friends

that whisper that to us.

It's our own hearts

that whisper that to us.

Even if we don't want them to,

they reflexively

in the midst of trial

can begin to say,

where is your God?

Look,

what you're experiencing

in life

doesn't seem to line up

with his promises.

What is a psalmist feeling?

Deep,

emotional,

suffering,

utterly alone.

Why is he feeling that way?

He's in the midst

of some sort of trial,

some sort of difficulty.

And he has people

around him

saying,

where is your God?

This doesn't line up.

Well,

what does he do about it?

The psalmist actually does,

as you go through here,

he does at least

four different things.

The first thing he does

is one of the most

simple

and yet one of the most important.

The first thing he does

is he keeps

talking to the Lord.

He keeps talking

to the Lord.

Psalm 42

is a prayer.

Verse 1,

As the deer pants

for the water,

so my soul pants

for you,

O God.

Verse 9,

I will say to God,

my rock,

why have you

forgotten me?

See,

he's praying

to God.

And the reason

he keeps

praying

to God,

let me put it

this way,

the danger

is not feeling

like God

is far away.

That's not the danger.

The danger

is not feeling

like God

is far away.

No,

the danger

is believing

your feeling

and acting

as though it's true.

That's the danger.

It's not feeling

that God

is far away,

it's believing

the feeling

and acting

as though it's true.

Because if you believe

that's true,

what are you going

to stop doing?

You're going

to stop

talking to God.

And once you

stop talking

to God,

what happens?

Relationship

with Him

becomes impossible.

When there's

no communication,

relationship

is impossible.

And so,

the psalmist

keeps

talking

to God.

He even

says things

to God

that you and I

might not always

feel comfortable

saying.

Why have you

forgotten me?

And depending

on who we are,

some of us

might say,

well now,

theologically,

of course,

I know God

hasn't forgotten

me and so I

shouldn't say

things like that.

Look,

God gives us

these prayers

in His Word

as model prayers.

If you're feeling

this way,

in His love

for you,

God's given

you words

that you can

use so

that you

keep

talking to God.

God.

That's the

first thing

the psalmist

does.

He keeps

talking

to God.

The second

thing he does,

he remembers

what is true

about the

past.

The second

thing the

psalmist

does is he

remembers

what is true

about the

past.

You see

this in

verse 4.

These things

I remember

and I pour

out my soul

within me

for I used

to go along

with the

throng

and lead

them in

procession

to the

house of

God

with the

voice of

joy and

thanksgiving.

A multitude

keeping

festival.

And you

can almost

see him.

He is

thinking back

to those

times when

he and

other

worshipers of

God would

go up to

Jerusalem,

the capital

of Israel.

And when

you went up

in the ancient

days,

you would

go up with

singing and

with dancing.

And I

mean,

it was a

joyful time.

And he's

remembering those

times where

he has sensed

the presence

of God,

when he has

known the

reality of

God,

when he has

experienced God

in the midst

of worshiping

with his

people,

he is remembering

those times

from the past

and he

realizes,

he recognizes

it is crucial

for him to do

so for this

reason.

When you and I

are in the

midst of

depression

and despair,

it begins to

feel like we're

put in this

cement

windowless

box.

There's a

wall behind

us that

cuts us

off from

any hope

from the

past.

Depression and

despair,

they put a

wall in

front of us

that cuts

us off

from any

hope

from the

future.

Depression and

despair,

they put walls

beside us so

that as we

look around

in the

present,

we can't

see any

glimpses of

hope.

And depression

and despair,

they put a

wall over

top so that

it feels like

our prayers

bounce off

the ceiling.

And where

do we end

up?

We end

up in

this cement

pillbox of

depression and

despair.

And so what

does the

psalmist do?

Do you know

what he's doing

here?

He's blowing

out the

back wall

so that the

light can come

back in.

He's remembering

what is true

from the

past in

terms of

his experience

with God.

Ski and I

have a friend,

I'll call him

Steve, and

years ago,

Steve called

us one day,

talked with us

on the phone,

shared with us.

He had been

praying for

decades that

his mom would

become a

Christian.

And he was

calling to let

us know that

a few weeks

before she

passed away,

she had

decided to

give her

life to

Jesus, to

become a

follower of

Jesus.

And he was

so thankful

to God for

hearing his

prayers.

And we

rejoiced with

him.

Four weeks

later, we

caught up with

Steve over

coffee.

And as we

talked, he

began to

share with

us about a

trial he was

going through.

He said,

for years,

for years,

I've prayed

that the

Lord would

provide a

wife.

And the

Lord hasn't

answered that

prayer.

And it's been

deeply painful

for me.

And the

longer he

talked, his

sadness

turned to

anger, until

he finally

looked at

us with

this face

of deep

hurt and

anger and

said, God

never hears

my prayers.

Now, his

pain was

very real.

And I

don't minimize

it in any

way whatsoever.

And in

that moment,

it seemed

that what he

needed most

was not any

correction, but

just for us to

listen and

to love and

to bear that

burden with

him.

But inside

my heart

was breaking

saying, oh

Steve,

Steve,

remember.

Don't you

remember just

four weeks

ago?

God.

You see, the

psalmist, in

the midst of

his despair, he

keeps talking

to God, and

he remembers

what is true

about the

past.

There's a

third thing

the psalmist

does.

The third

thing is that

the psalmist

remembers what

is true about

the character of

God right now

in the present.

The psalmist

remembers what's

true about

God right now

in the

present.

And he

does that

so that it

can serve as

a touch

point of

reality for

him.

Let me

explain it

this way.

I have a

friend who's

a pilot,

flies small

planes.

And he's

told me, you

know, when

you're flying,

if it's

daytime and

good weather,

you know,

there's a lot

that you can

do just

flying by

sight.

You see

where the

horizon is,

you know if

you're headed

up or down,

you can look

out the side,

get a

sense of

your speed,

all that

kind of

thing.

But he

said if

it turns

dark,

or if

thick fog

rolls in,

then as a

pilot you

can experience

something that

they have a

name for,

they call it

spatial

disorientation.

And all of a

sudden you

lose your

bearings.

And when

you're in the

midst of this,

you can

actually feel

like your

plane is headed

up when

in reality

it is headed

straight for

the ground.

It's

incredibly

dangerous to

fly by your

feelings and

that moment.

And so of

course,

well why aren't

more planes

crashing into

the ground?

Well because

pilots know,

oh at that

moment what do

I need to do?

I need to look

at my

instrument panel.

The instrument

panel provides

that touch

point of

reality against

which to

check my

feelings.

See that's

what the

psalmist is

doing here.

You see this

in verse

8.

The Lord

will command

his loving

kindness,

steadfast love

in the

daytime,

his song

will be with

me in the

night.

You see what

he's doing?

He's reminding

himself of

what is true

about the

Lord.

This is a

God of

steadfast love.

In fact,

do you

remember?

This is not

the first time

in this psalm

we've heard

the words

day and

night.

Do you

remember where

the first time

was?

Verse 3,

my tears

have been

my food

when?

Day

and

night.

And what

does the

psalmist say

in verse 8?

The Lord

will command

his steadfast

love in

the day

time.

His song

will be

with me

in the

night.

And the

psalmist

is choosing

to live

his faith

not by

his feelings

but by

reminding

himself

what is

true about

the Lord

to provide

those touch

points of

reality in

the midst

of the

storm.

There's a

final thing

the psalmist

does.

You see it

in verse 5.

The

psalmist

remembers

God's

promises

for the

future.

Why are

you downcast

O my

soul?

Why have

you become

disturbed

within me?

Hope

in God

for I

shall

again

praise

him

the help

of his

presence.

You see

what he's

saying?

Soul.

What he's

doing here

actually he is

grabbing his

soul

by the

scruff

of the

neck

and saying

remember

have

hope

because the

God you

worship

is a

God

who

gives

hope.

You see

it again

at the

end of

the psalm.

He says

the exact

same words.

Why are

you downcast

O my

soul?

Why

disturbed

within me?

Hope

in God

I

shall

praise

him

the help

of my

countenance

and my

God.

You see

what he's

done

by this

point?

He's

blown

out

all

the

walls.

Remember

what's

true

about

the

past?

Blown

that

wall

out.

Remember

what's

true

about

God

in

the

present?

Blown

that

wall

out.

Remember

his

promises

for

the

future?

Blown

that

way.

He's

praying

to

God

that

wall

is

gone

too

so

that

the

light

can

stream

in.

Now

let me

ask.

Is it

easy to

do

these

kinds

of

things

in

the

midst

of

depression

and

despair?

No.

Now

how many

times does

he have

to grab

his soul

by the

scruff

of the

neck?

Two

different

times.

It's

not like

one and

done.

Right?

Verse

five,

okay,

psalm ends

here.

No.

In fact,

do you

notice

what happens

between

verses

eight and

nine?

Did

this

strike

you

on the

way

through?

Look

at

verse

eight.

The

Lord

will

command

his

loving

kindness

in the

daytime.

His

song

will

be

with

me

in

the

night.

A

prayer

to

the

God

of

my

life.

It

seems

as though

everything's

under

control.

Very

next

verse,

I

will

say

to

God

my

rock,

why

have

you

forgotten

me?

How

is

that

possible?

If

you've

experienced

deep

sadness

or

despair

or

depression,

you know

exactly

how

that's

possible.

Isn't

it

true in

the

midst

of

those

times

our

hearts

can

pinball

back

and

forth

a

dozen

times

a

day?

Isn't

it

true you

could

leave a

time of

prayer

feeling

the

peace

of

God

and

twenty

minutes

later

your

heart

begins

to

crumble

again?

That's

exactly

what the

psalmist

is

experiencing.

And

so

God

gives

him

words

to

use

just

for

times

like

that.

You know

in the

midst

of

those

times

sometimes

sometimes

we

end up

being

harder

on

ourselves

than

God

is.

We

end up

being

harder

on

ourselves

than

God

is.

Sometimes

in

the

midst

of

those

times

we

say

to

ourselves

with

disgust

you

should

have

more

faith.

actually

what

the

Lord

does

here

is

he

says

let

me

give

you

words

to

use

when

you're

feeling

like

that

because

that's

something

that

people

often

experience

and

you

need

to

know

how

to

pray

in

the

midst

of

it.

If

this

is

where

the

psalmist

can

come

to

hope

has

the

last

word

hope

has

the

last

word

because

the

psalmist

knows

the

God

to

whom

I

pray

is

a

hope

giving

God

and

if

that's

true

for

the

psalmist

remember

he

writes

this

hundreds

of

years

before

Jesus

comes

hundreds

of

years

before

and

if

the

psalmist

in

the

midst

of

his

troubles

and

trials

not

even

knowing

about

Jesus

can

come

to

a

place

of

hope

because

he

knows

God

is

a

God

of

hope

how

much

more

can

we

today

we

have

something

the

psalmist

didn't

have

we

know

that

God

in

his

love

for

us

chose

to

come

into

the

brokenness

darkness

and

despair

in

human

flesh

in

Jesus

in

fact

do you

remember

that

when

Jesus

was

on

the

cross

one

of

the

things

he

prayed

was

this

my

God

my

God

finish

it

for

me

why

have

you

forsaken

me

he

knows

he

knows

what

the

person

of

psalm

42

has

gone

through

because

he's

experienced

it

and

experienced

it

even

at

a

level

you

and

I

can't

begin

to

imagine

which

means

if

you

are

where

the

person

of

psalm

42

was

if

you're

in

that

situation

you

can

have

the

greatest

hope

because

you're

not

alone

no

matter

what

you're

feeling

because

Jesus

knows

and he

cares

and he

loves

you

and he

is

a

shepherd

who's

ready

to

reach

down

and to

hold

and to

carry

you

so

who is

psalm

42

for

who's

it

written

for

it's

not

written

for

those

who

are

strong

in

faith

you're

of

course

welcome

to

pray

it

it's

not

written

for

those

who

feel

very

close

to

God

you're

of

course

welcome

to

pray

it

it's

written

for

those

who

are

very

weak

in

faith

in

the

midst

of

despair

who

feel

like

God

is

a

thousand

miles

away

it's

written

for

those

who

are

on

their

bedroom

floor

on

their

knees

with

tears

streaming

down

their

face

who

need

words

to

pray

that

keep

them

talking

to

God

words

to

pray

that

remind

them

what

is

true

from

the

past

words

to

pray

that

remind

them

what's

true

about

God

in

the

present

and

words

to

pray

that

remind

them

of

God's

promises

for

the

future

that's

who

Psalm 42

is

for

and

God

has

given

it

to

you

in

his

love

for

you

so

that

you

might

have

those

words

to

pray

let

me

pray

together

for

us

oh

Lord

truly

you

are

the

Lord

of

steadfast

love

I

pray

for us

today

I

pray

especially

for

those

of us

whose

hearts

are

downcast

or

in

despair

or

feeling

that

you

are

far

away

that

you

would

help

us

to

remember

what

is

true

and

would

the

truth

of

who

you

are

provide

those

touch

points

of

reality

to

help

us

in

the

midst

of

the

storm

oh

Lord

by

your

spirit

in

the

mercies

of

Jesus

encourage

and

help

and

heal

we

ask

in

his

name

amen

for

more

information

visit

us

online

at

southwood.org