Psalm 42
1 As a deer longs for flowing streams,
so my soul longs for you, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and behold
the face of God?
3 My tears have been my food
day and night,
while people say to me continually,
“Where is your God?”
4 These things I remember,
as I pour out my soul:
how I went with the throng,[a]
and led them in procession to the house of God,
with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving,
a multitude keeping festival.
5 Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my help 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 thunder of your cataracts;
all your waves and your billows
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 must I walk about mournfully
because the enemy oppresses me?”
10 As with a deadly wound in my body,
my adversaries taunt me,
while they say to me continually,
“Where is your God?”
11 Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my help and my God.
Reflection:
This psalm almost reads like someone’s journal entry. The psalmist seems to be having an internal argument with himself. “Why are you cast down, o my soul? You know what God is capable of. You remember what it’s like to bask in God’s glory and deliverance. Pull yourself together and move on!” Or at least that could be a very loose paraphrase. Chances are, we have all been in a place like this, downcast and depressed but trying to give ourselves the pep talk we need. Perhaps if or when it happens in the future, when we find ourselves in a similar situation, we might remember this psalm. Then we may remember the psalmist’s words, “Hope in God…my help and my God.”
Prayer:
Eternal God, we thank you for being with us today, and for every sign of your truth and love in Jesus Christ. Especially we thank you for
the gift of peace in Christ…
reconciliation in our relationships…
each new insight into your love…
energy and courage to share your love…
the ministries of the church…
(other prayers of thanksgiving…).
Gracious God, we remember in our own hearts the needs of others, that we may reach up to claim your love for them, and reach out to give your love in the name of Christ.
Especially we pray for
racial harmony and justice…
those who are imprisoned…
strangers we will meet or have met today…
friends who are bereaved…
Orthodox and Coptic Churches…
(other intercessory prayers…). Amen.