Thirsting for God in Trouble and Exile.
For the choir director. A [a]Maskil of the sons of Korah.
42 As the deer [b]pants for the water brooks,
So my soul [c]pants for You, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God;
When shall I come and [d]appear before God?
3 My tears have been my food day and night,
While they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
4 These things I remember and I pour out my soul within me.
For I used to go along with the throng and [e]lead them in procession to the house of God,
With the voice of joy and thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival.5 Why are you [f]in despair, O my soul?
And why have you become disturbed within me?
[g]Hope in God, for I shall [h]again praise [i]Him
For the [j]help of His presence.
6 O my God, my soul is [k]in despair within me;
Therefore I remember You from the land of the Jordan
And the [l]peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls;
All Your breakers and Your waves have rolled over me.
8 The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime;
And His song will be with me in the night,
A prayer to the God of my life.9 I will say to God my rock, “Why have You forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning [m]because of the oppression of the enemy?”
10 As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries revile me,
While they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
11 Why are you [n]in despair, O my soul?
And why have you become disturbed within me?
[o]Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him,
The [p]help of my countenance and my God.
There’s a song (multiple even) inspired by this psalm, but I think we sometimes get the wrong idea from it. The song seems peaceful and serene, and “oh, but it’d be nice to have a cool drink of water…” Even here in Montana, we see deer and tend to think of peace and tranquility. Okay, sure, some see a deer and think of food, but that’s beside the point! At any rate, this psalm is not peaceful, and there’s nothing tranquil about what the author was feeling.
This psalm is a cry of distress, of desperation, and the picture is that of a deer who is being chased by a predator, possibly a lion or wolves (both of which come in packs). In context, that begins to make a bit more sense, when the psalmist speaks of despair and the shattering of bones. Yet we have a God who knows right where we are, and so the psalmist places his hope in God.
He asks the question repeatedly, almost chastening himself, “why are you in despair, my soul?” He knows he shouldn’t be, but his situation is dire, and he desperately needs God. Are we that desperate for God? Or are we floating through life, peaceful and serene, without a care in the world? Yes, God gives us his peace in the middle of trials, but if our life is void of trials, we’re probably doing it wrong!
Wherever you are, seek His face, look for His hand in your life, and chase after Him. Be like the deer whose very life depends on finding water. Don’t give up when things look bleak, and don’t sit back idly in blissful ignorance. Pursue God with all your heart, and He will be found.