A REAL THIRST FOR GOD

Psalms 42 – 72 are the Exodus section of the book of Psalms. The Lord’s people were suffering in Egyptian bondage. Trouble had been constantly on them for generations. In the first forty-one psalms, God is often referred to as Jehovah, who redeems and keeps His people. In this Exodus section, He is often called Elohim, the God with all power.

There are many ways to apply this psalm. This psalm is a “Maschil,” a teaching psalm, and so can be instructive in many ways to the people and us in the past. Some descriptions apply to Israel in Egypt and Israel in the tribulation. From David in exile to our Lord Jesus when He was suffering on the cross, the expressions of longing for the presence and fellowship with God are applicable. When they were in Egypt, the people of Israel had the same longing. For us today, this psalm is full of expressions with which we can identify when we think of the times of joy we have when we are walking with the Lord and the times of depression when we wonder why this problem has happened to us. Our memories of the good times of joy and thanksgiving when the people of God come together in happy fellowship are tempered when we remember the loneliness of being separated from God’s people and away from His house.

One way this book begins can be applied to Israel in Egypt as slaves under great oppression, and then as we move to the next psalms, particularly Psalm 45, we are given a view of Israel in the millennium when Christ reigns. Israel does have a future in the plans and purposes of God. Like those who are saved today and compose the real church that is invisible in organized Christendom, not all Jews do or will believe in the Lord Jesus as the Messiah. The organized church today is not all composed of saved people. Invisible to all but God who knows the hearts of all men, are those who have put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as their own personal Savior.

The first five verses of the psalm describe the nature of his longing, and the last verses the depths of his despair. In these first verses, his expressions of longing for God are spiritual thirst compared to that of a deer in a dry place, desperate for water. Circumstances prevented the psalmist from being where God’s people meet and enter God’s presence in communion with Him and each other. Spiritual thirst during this exile from where God dwelt with His people brought soul-suffering even when he tried to pray.

Faith is our needed response to situations like this. God is the Source of our faith, and His word takes us line by line back to where our hope is in God alone. Enemies may say, “Where is God now?” but in faith, we look through the darkness to Him, who is the Light of Life. In Him is our hope because He is our Hope. Our life depends on experiencing daily fellowship with the Lord. That relationship is like water to a thirsty soul. The one who wrote the psalm remembered feast days when the Lord’s people came together, remembered the days past and blessings they received, and looked forward to the promises of the future. In exile, he remembered the joy of close fellowship with God and His people and wondered at the cause of his present situation, but he was not without hope.

We can challenge ourselves as the psalmist did to put our eternal hope in God. A spiritual desire for God is as real as physical thirst. Such thirst takes away the desire for food. A person away from God can read and study the Bible, but get no real benefit from it. In that condition of soul, it is just a book to be studied instead of the words of holy communion with God. Encouragement comes from being in the presence of God (seeing His “countenance”). That is why endless faith is an important part of the life of a believer. When true, we experience enduring peace and ultimately everlasting joy that shall “be upon thy head.”

From the depths of despair comes the plaintive calls of one who is downcast in spirit and is feeling forsaken. He was likely in the mountains of the northern part of the country, where the sound of rushing waters drowned out the still, small voice of the Lord. In that condition, he was in a state of emotional turmoil. Deep waters from above him called to the deep waters below him, describing his distress. Waves and billows were like the uncontrollable ocean waters that overwhelmed him. But faith encourages more faith.

Even there, the Lord was the Source of comfort day and night to him. The Lord’s lovingkindness was directed like a messenger of love to do His will during the day. In the night, the song of the Lord was a blessing that calmed his spirit and comforted the anxiety in his soul. A song of praise and a prayer to God belong together. God was the One who had the strength, security, and stability he needed. Unbelief had blinded him to where his faith had become shattered under the reviling mockery of enemies. Unbelief blinds us, but faith and hope in God are the proper responses to every test and temptation that comes.

Not being where the Lord’s people meet is a cause of great discouragement to one who loves the Lord and His people. Depression is a common emotional ailment that comes when we focus our attention on ourselves or our present situation. Unrealistic expectations of ourselves or other people also discourage those who look at the wrong places and people for help. An antidote for depression is to read the scriptures and meditate on the goodness of God to us and His mercy toward us, undeserving people. Then we begin to hope that our situation will improve because we have focused on God’s ability and willingness to help us, rather than on our inability and depression when we look at ourselves. Psalm 42 is a real antidepressant psalm that opens our eyes and turns our hearts and hopes toward God.