Scripture Reference: Psalm 42

The Despair of the Psalmist

My tears have been my food day and night, While they continually say to me, “Where is your God?”

Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him For the help of His countenance. O my God, my soul is cast down within me.

Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls; All Your waves and billows have gone over me.

I will say to God my Rock, “Why have You forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?” As with a breaking of my bones, My enemies reproach me, While they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? (Psalm 42:3, 5-7, 9-11).

A horrid picture of despair! This psalm gives us a clue to most of our depression. Oftentimes, depression is selfish, when we focus on ourselves too much, when we begin to dwell on our problems, our needs, our wants, our desires. In verse 4 the psalmist was upset because his plans were not fulfilled. He wanted to return to the house of God, and he couldn’t. In the previous he was “bluer than blue.” His feelings needed improving. He was in the midst of the people but apparently was extremely lonely. He seemed to cry all the time. He literally drank or ate his tears. “My tears have been my food day and night.” Throughout both Psalms 42 and 43, he wanted his questions answered, his plans fulfilled, and his feelings improved. In fact, in the sixteen verses of these psalms, the psalmist asks “why” ten times. In one instance he asked “when” once and “where” twice, thirteen questions in total. He merely wanted his questions answered.

He was so wrapped up in himself that he had trouble seeing God. If you want to stay depressed, major on yourself alone. Examine yourself, think of yourself more than others. This will absolutely keep the cycle going.

His emotions had become ingrown. “My tears have been my food day and night, while they continually say to me, ‘Where is your God?’ ” He was a grown man, but his tear ducts were overactive. How often our tears reflect the depression and the discouragement we feel. Floods of tears he describes. He moaned about “the noise of God’s waterfalls.” Verse 7 refers to the turmoil of a river flooding and monstrous rapids and cataracts boiling and churning. Then he gives a gripping picture of an overwhelming flood that inundates him, “all Your waves and billows have gone over me.” That phrase is almost the same as Jonah used (Jonah 2:3) when he lamented, “All Your billows and Your waves passed over me.” He next refers to floods of trouble. “Deep calls unto deep” is as if he saw a wave rolling down the river with another right behind, with the one in front calling out to the one in back. Floods of trouble plagued him. Then there were floods of testing. In verses 9-10 his enemies reared their gross heads, asking, “Where is your God?” He was tested at the point of his faith. The committed Christian faces this today. “Where is your God? Why does He allow you to suffer like this? Why doesn’t He come to your rescue? Doesn’t He care? Is He unable to do it? Where is your God?” All the psalmist could do was weep and suffer and long for a visitation from God.

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
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