Psalm 42 (Listen)
42:1 As a deer pants for flowing streams,
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 say to me all the day long,
“Where is your God?”
4 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.
5 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 6 and my God.
My soul is cast down within me;
therefore I remember you
from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,
from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep
at the roar of your waterfalls;
all your breakers and your waves
have gone over me.
8 By day the LORD commands his steadfast love,
and at night his song is with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.
9 I 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 deadly wound in my bones,
my adversaries taunt me,
while they say to me all the day long,
“Where is your God?”
11 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.
Devotional:
Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your billows have swept over me. (Psalm 42:7 CSB)
If you’ve ever swam too deep in choppy water, then you know the feeling of being adrift in what seems like a turbulent sea. Deep water is mysterious and cold and can drum up feelings of being alone and helpless. The Psalmist here invokes that feeling of a turbulent sea with the uncertainty of a life where God seems far away. Yet often, the depth of our pain and fear pushes us into the depth of the riches of the grace of God. However deep your fear and loneliness are, remember that God’s love is deeper. Whenever life seems to toss you about in a sea of uncertainty, call out to the God of our salvation and let the waterfalls of His grace bring the roar of peace into your heart.
Pray it: Father, I praise you for your deep and mighty love even in those moments when I may think or feel that you have forgotten me. Help me to remember your love and hope in you this day. Amen.
Share it: Share a verse or thought from this passage with someone today.