Tag Archives: psalm 42

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Charles Spurgeon – A psalm of remembrance

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“We have known and believed the love that God hath to us.” 1 John 4:16

Suggested Further Reading: Habakkuk 3:16-19

“Hast thou considered my servant Job?” “Ah,” says Satan, “he serves thee now, but thou hast set a hedge about him and blessed him, let me but touch him.” Now he has come down to you, and he has afflicted you in your estate, afflicted you in your family, and at last he has afflicted you in your body. Shall Satan be the conqueror? Shall grace give way? O my dear brother, stand up now and say once more, once for all, “I tell thee, Satan, the grace of God is more than a match for thee; he is with me, and in all this I will not utter one word against the Lord my God. He doeth all things well—well, even now, and I do rejoice in him.” The Lord is always pleased with his children when they can stand up for him when circumstances seem to belie him. Here come the witnesses into court. The devil says, “Soul, God has forgotten thee, I will bring in my witness.” First he summons your debts—a long bill of losses. “There,” says he “would God suffer you to fall thus, if he loved you?” Then he brings in your children—either their death, or their disobedience, or something worse, and says, “Would the Lord suffer these things to come upon you, if he loved you?” At last he brings in your poor tottering body, and all your doubts and fears, and the hidings of Jehovah’s face. “Ah,” says the devil, “do you believe that God loves you now?” Oh, it is noble, if you are able to stand forth and say to all these witnesses, “I hear what you have to say, let God be true, and every man and everything be a liar. I believe none of you. You all say, God does not love me; but he does, and if the witnesses against his love were multiplied a hundredfold, yet still would I say, “I know whom I have believed.”

For meditation: The question is bound to be asked sooner or later (Psalm 42:3,10). The apostle Paul gives the greatest answer (Romans 8:35-39).

Sermon no. 253

22 May (1859)

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Greg Laurie – Songs in the Night

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The Lord will command His loving kindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me–a prayer to the God of my life—Psalm 42:8

Have you ever been awakened in the middle of the night and had a Christian song or a worship chorus going through your mind? If so, then that tells me you are laying up the things of God in your heart. Instead of waking up with the latest pop music in your head, you are thinking of a Christian song or maybe a Scripture verse. That is a song in the night God has given to you.

When Paul and Silas were thrown into prison in Philippi, Acts 16 tells us that “at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them” (verse 25).

The word “listening” that is used here is significant. In the original language, it means to listen very, very carefully. Another way to translate it is “they listened with pleasure.” There are some things that are not a pleasure to listen to—they are painful, like fingernails on a chalkboard. But this was pleasurable, like when your favorite song comes on the radio and you turn it up. Oh, I love this song! This is a great song! That is how the prisoners were listening.

I doubt they had ever heard anyone sing in that dungeon before. And I think just the fact that they were singing to the Lord was a powerful testimony. It was a platform for evangelism. You see, you can talk about trusting God in adversity, but when someone sees it in action in your life, there is an undeniable authenticity. It is a powerful witness. Worship can be a powerful tool for a nonbeliever to be exposed to.

When you are in pain, the midnight hour is not the easiest time for a worship service. But God can give songs in the night.

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Joyce Meyer – Hope In God

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Why are you cast down, O my inner self? And why should you moan over me and be disquieted within me? Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him, for I shall yet praise Him, my Help and my God—Psalm 42:5

Discouragement destroys hope, so naturally the devil always tries to discourage you. Without hope you give up, which is what Satan wants you to do. The Bible repeatedly tells you not to be discouraged or dismayed. God knows you will not come through to victory if you get discouraged—He wants you to be encouraged, not discouraged.

When discouragement or condemnation tries to overtake you, ask the Lord for strength and courage. Tomorrow is a new day. God loves you and His mercy is new every morning. Say, “I refuse to be discouraged. Father, the Bible says You love me. You sent Jesus to die for me. I’ll be fine—tomorrow will be a great day.” Hope in Him!

 

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“Why, God?” – Greg Laurie

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I say to God my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why do I go about mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”—Psalm 42:9

I don’t think it is ever a bad thing to ask God why. Some people will say that we should never question God. But I question God all the time. I don’t mean that I doubt His existence. But I do say, “Lord, I don’t understand why you have done (thus and so). . . . Why, Lord?”

As you read the psalms, you see that many times the psalmist cried out, in essence, “Why, God? Why have You allowed this in my life?”

And Jesus Himself asked, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:45–47).

So don’t think it is wrong to ask, “Why, God?” It isn’t wrong. But let me add this: don’t expect an answer, necessarily. You can ask all you want. And maybe the Lord will give you an answer. But in most cases, He won’t. Quite frankly, I think that if He did, we wouldn’t understand it anyway.

So here is what we need to say: “Well, Lord, I don’t understand, but I trust you.”

Even Jesus struggled with God’s will. In the Garden of Gethsemane, under intense pressure, “His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:44). Jesus literally was perspiring sweat and blood, and He said, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done” (verse 42).

There has to come a point when we say, “All right, Lord. I will do it. I don’t feel like doing it. I don’t want to do it. I don’t even think it is a good idea to do it. But I am going to do it, because You told me to.”

That is what Jesus did. And that is what we need to do as well.

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David’s Devotion – Charles Stanley

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Psalm 42:1-8

Do you want to know who God is and what He cares about most in your life? You may have stored up lots of intellectual information about the Bible; that is important, but it’s not the main issue. You may serve the Lord, which is also necessary. And you may give generously to the church—another significant aspect of Christian life. But what matters most is the depth of your personal relationship with the Lord. Knowledge, service, and tithes can never replace intimacy with God.

The psalmist-king understood this truth, and it strengthened him in times of trouble. When his son Absalom tried to take over the throne, David fled to the desert, where he wrote these words: “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God” (Ps. 42:1-2). He knew that even in raging adversity, he could count on the Lord’s unfailing love being poured down on him (v. 8).

Throughout his psalms, we repeatedly see David’s hunger and thirst for the Lord. It was that passion—not his brute strength, savvy charisma, or remarkable ability to command an army—that made him a great man. And even though he made several significant mistakes, the Bible describes him as a man after God’s own heart (1 Sam. 13:14).

It’s not enough to read the Bible, volunteer your services, and give money to kingdom work. God wants to know you personally. While physical expressions of our devotion are important, they should be the result of a mature relationship with God. When we seek to know Him first, the rest will follow.

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Overcoming Discouragement

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Psalm 42:5-11

Whenever you’re feeling down, the best place to turn is the Psalms. In today’s passage, the writer asks: “Why are you in despair, O my soul?” (v. 5). Surprisingly, this question is the first step in overcoming discouragement.

Look within. Before you can deal with your despair, you need to know what is causing it. If you’re not sure, ask the Lord to help you figure out what’s going on inside you.

Look up. The next step is to lift up your eyes to the Lord and place your hope in Him. Remember, discouragement comes to everybody at one time or another, but it doesn’t have to stay. In the course of time, you “shall again praise Him for the help of His presence” (v. 5).

Look back. Despair has a way of erasing our memory of all the good the Lord has done for us over the years. Instead of wallowing in our present misery, we must make an effort to remember His past care and provision. Then our faith will overpower discouragement (v. 6).

Look Ahead. Knowing that God’s plans for us are good, we can look forward to what He going to do in the future. His lovingkindness will support us by day and bring comfort by night as we trust Him to work all things out for our good (v. 8).

When your focus is right, you’ll respond correctly to discouragement. The key is to fix your eyes on the Lord. Circumstances may cause you to think He’s forgotten about you (v. 9), but His Word promises that He’s there and will bring you through the valley. Even if you feel lonely, you’re never alone.