A DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL
Psalm 42: 1-11
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A PRESBYTERIAN PSALTER - by Pastor Max A Forsythe |
Our psalm today begins the second ancient book of psalms. Do you see the honest sorrow of the words? Here is a psalm close to the heart of God from the sons of Korah.
Within the last week, I had tuned into a news show to follow the most perverted scandal in the long history of our Republic. By chance, Senator Byrd was being interviewed. For ten or fifteen minutes I listened to this respected Democratic Statesman answer the questions of Larry King. The whole substance of the Senator's words embodied the deep deep sorrow with which he was afflicted. Well might we fall into the same sentiment given the recent revolting factual revelations. How can this happen in our own White House is a question that has plagued more than one person in the last week? When we consider the great men who have hallowed the halls above the common measure and then to hear how the place has been turned into play pen! Of course, we must well understand the human nature of those who have inhabited the house before. We realize that holy perfection has never graced the hallways, offices and rooms of our greatest national home. Yet even in that secular shrine, the God of heaven has worked His precious task of salvation. Consider the experience of a prior president in the last century who experienced an uncommon amount of stress, depression and political pressure.
He was raised in poverty, but with hard work and determination he learned to depend upon his own skills, honesty and integrity. He failed at several endeavors, yet finally succeeded in passing the Bar Exams in his state. He became a fairly successful lawyer and decided to go into politics. However, he lost every election to office, but one, and found himself in a thankless public position hounded on every side by political enemies of every stripe. He could please no one, he could not find capable officers to serve the public interest in the midst of a raging war. His wife was nearly insane, he lost a favored son to sickness.
In the midst of all these interesting experiences of life, step by step he was drawn closer to the Kingdom of God. Slowly but surely he began to put on the faith given to the saints. Yet he hesitated to publicly affirm His faith by joining a particular Church. Finally as the cruel war providentially began to wind down, our politician met with a pastor and finally sought forgiveness for his sins and prepared himself for Baptism. The Lord's day for baptism was set and our politician's heart was a peace. A speech that he made during this time in his life is one of the greatest Christian pieces of literature ever written. It was Good Friday, and his wife insisted on going to see a play that they had seen several times before. To comfort her, he agreed. While they were sitting in the Theater an assassin climbed the steps and put a bullet in his brain. Within twenty-four hours Abraham Lincoln belonged to the ages. He went home to be with his Father in heaven whom He was kept from publicly affirming the following Easter Sunday. His long struggle into the faith, while not everyone's experience, is not uncommon.
Let us look closely at psalm forty-two today with this spiritual struggle in mind. We may divide this psalm into two divisions. Verses one to five and six to eleven. Verse one is reminiscent of a television commercial a few years ago. That video scene recorded a miner crawling in from the desert desperate for a drink. He is offered water, but his thirst, like the psalmist's is for something particular. He will not be satisfied with any imitations. So it is with all who are drawn slowly or quickly to Jesus Christ. God alone is sufficient to assuage our thirst. Can we affirm the experience of our psalmist here? "My soul thirsts for God, for the living God." See the question of the faithful saints in all ages at the end of verse two. "When can I go and meet with God?" This question comes only after bitter experiences.
In verse three we see that there have been tears, there has been worldly taunting. The struggle for faith is not easy, we have to leave behind many habits and many prior loves. These our psalmist willingly has put behind, because he lovingly remembers the joys of being with the faithful in the house of God. There he has remembered the joyful thanksgiving of the Lord's people. Even as he remembers the joys of God's people in His house he asks himself why he is depressed. Even in his depression he affirms that he ought to put his hope in God even as he turns in praise to the God who is his Savior.
In this division of this psalm, our psalmist is far from Jerusalem. He is near the head waters of the Jordan, in the mountains of Herman. On the heights of Mizar where there is water abundant from the storms blowing in from the sea. The crashing thunder is answered by the roar of rushing water over nearby cliffs. The psalmist announces that the very waves and breakers of the deep sea have swept over him even in the highlands of Herman. No longer pants the psalmist for the spiritual streams. The image is is reminiscent of Isaiah's theme that there flows a river described in Revelation straight from the heart of God. The thirst of the deer in the mountains is more than provided for, even as the spiritual thirst of the Lord's servant is abundantly provided for.
Let this be a lesson for each and every one of us, do you have doubts, do you have desires to know our God. Know therefore from the wisdom of our psalmist that our Lord and God can swamp us with blessings far beyond our imagination. You ask for a cup of water to quiet your thirst, He provides enough to cleanse us completely. Do you seek some small favor from God, you are not thinking big enough! God in heaven can more than provide for the smallest need you can imagine.
In verse eight we see that the Lord carefully directs His love. An older version tells us that the Lord will command his loving kindness upon us. This helps us to understand the words in the last two lines of verse eight. There we see that it is His song is sent to us to become our prayer in return. Now that may sound strange to many ears this day. After all the common experience of the world with the Church is to note a pompous arrogance of pride in having chosen God as their very own.
How humbling it is to realize that we do not really choose the God of heaven to be our own. His singing Spirit comes into our hearts to enable us to pray to Him. This explains the dismay of our psalmist in verse nine. Those who have belonged to God have realized their desperate need for our saving Father. "Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?"
Do you have no experience of the eternal father in heaven, do you have not the slightest interest in things that are holy? Do not think it is any lack in yourself. The truth is, God has not yet remembered you? That is why you live a life of loneliness. That is why Satan has his way with you day in and day out. That is why you are sick and know the taunts of the worldly. That is why you feel no embarrassment when the world doubts the existence of our Heavenly Father. Well, might any who know not the love of the Father imitate the words of our psalmist in verse eleven. "Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me?"
If, however, like the psalmist you are worn down by the burdens of life and want desperately want a drink of the water of life offered even by the hand of Jesus Christ, then there is eternal hope for you today and everyday for all eternity. Look there at the ending of our psalm today. "Put your hope in God." The word hope there is not strong enough to convey the strong feelings of our psalmist. Put your salvation in the hands of God! If you will, you may soon have your thirst satisfied so that you like the Sons of Korah, like David the King, like Abraham the President, so that you may praise Him who will be your Savior and God. Even as the deer pants for streams of water, may our Father in heaven pour out the thunderous blessings of eternal salvation as it was experienced in this wonderful psalm. Amen.
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Resources Used: |
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Kidner, Derek. |
Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries: Psalms. | |
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Spurgeon, C.H. |
The Treasury of David. |
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The Holy Bible, New International Version. International Bible Society (1973, 1978, 1984) | ||
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Psm 042b |
20 September 98 | |