“Hope in God.” It’s the heartbeat of Psalm 42. Life hadn’t been easy for the psalmist.
My tears have been my food
day and night…
Some had taunted and intimated.
…while they say to me all the day long,
“Where is your God?” (42:3)
The soul of the psalmist felt “cast down” within him. Enemies were oppressing and it wasn’t hard to imagine that God must have forgotten him. So what did the author of Psalm 42 do? He talked to himself. Twice, within the span of seven verses, he preaches to his own soul, and through the gift of Psalm 42, we get to listen in.
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. (42:5, 11)
“Hope in God.” That’s the message we are sharing as we address one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs throughout the day. “Hope in God.” That’s the encouragement as we spend time together in fervent prayer. “Hope in God.” That’s the meaning of the memorial we observe of our Savior’s sacrificial death, brief burial, and triumphant resurrection. “Hope in God.” That’s the aim of the word being preached right here at home and all over this planet today. “Hope in God.”
Maybe hope seems in short supply this morning. Perhaps your soul is in turmoil and you resonate with the psalmist’s feeling of being “cast down.” If so, I have a question for you. Are you thirsty? I’m not asking if you have it all together or if you feel strong or if you know what tomorrow holds. I’m just asking, are you thirsty? Here’s why:
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? (42:1-2)
You can’t change the past and you can’t control what others do or say, but you can bring a thirsty soul to God. You can’t snap your fingers and make all the evil in all the world go away. You don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but you can bring a thirsty soul to these spiritual opportunities we’re blessed with throughout the day. No one can say it for you, but you can say, “I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.”
Do you remember what Jesus preached in Matthew 5:6? “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” So let’s take him at his word. Come thirsty, like a panting deer. Come thirsty, and you’ll find streams of living water flowing from this never-ending source: “Hope in God.” That’s why we praise him again today. He is our salvation and our God. The living God.
This week, when you feel cast down, don’t be afraid to talk to yourself. Don’t be ashamed to preach to your own soul when it’s in turmoil from time to time.
Hope in God. My salvation. My God.