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 roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves 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 do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?” 10 As with a deadly wound in my bones, my adversaries taunt me, while they say to me all the day long, “Where is your God?” 11 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.
Psalm 43:1–5 Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause against an ungodly people, from the deceitful and unjust man deliver me! 2 For you are the God in whom I take refuge; why have you rejected me? Why do I go about mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? 3 Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling! 4 Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God. 5 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.
I have reproduced Psalms 42 and 43 above, highlighting some common themes and phrases. They may originally have been a single Psalm, I believe. Certainly there is a continuity of thought and expression between them that strongly suggests they belong together.
These were written not by David but by the sons of Korah and they are very helpful for us when we become downcast, despairing and distressed, and when our souls are in uproar as was obviously the case for the writer here (note the repeated refrain in 42:5 and 11, and in 43:5). Clearly he had been the target of oppression and taunting (see 42:9 and 43:2), in which people had been asking him, mockingly, where his God was (42:3, 10). He had been hurt and brought to tears of anguish day and night (42:3), in part because he had no answer.
It would be very strange if true believers living godly lives in a fallen world never went through times like this. Something happens and people ask in a mean-spirited way, “Where is your God in this?” Like the psalmist, we sometimes have no good answer. Like him, we thirst and pant for God but we do not find Him (42:1-2). We feel (wrongly) that perhaps God has forgotten us (42:9) or rejected us (43:2).
It is so helpful to have this honest testimony of a godly man that true believers can pass through these experiences. It is perhaps even more helpful, though, to see how he reacted to this situation, because there is much here we can learn from. Here are the main activities that he gives himself to:
He remembers. Notice how the writer engages in acts of remembrance (42:4, 6). He calls to mind specific instances when he had known without doubt the blessing and the presence of God (42:4). He reflects on how God has been with him wherever he has been (42:6) and finally, he reminds Himself of Who God is and the promises He has made. Even if these difficulties are the displeasure of God unleashed in his life for a season, he hangs on to God’s steadfast love for him. He renews in his mind the fact that God is his rock (42:7-8). He reinforces these remembrances through prayer and singing (these are wonderful gifts from God and can serve as weapons in our warfare, setting our souls at rest when we are oppressed/afflicted).
Then, in the light of this remembrance, he takes two additional steps:
He reprimands his own soul. Look again at 42:5 and 11, and in 43:5. He is giving his soul a good talking to, asking it why it is so dejected when he has experienced such blessings and is heir to such promises! Do you ever talk to your soul and basically tell it off? “What right do you, of all souls, have to be in this condition? Look what God has done for you! Look at His great and precious promises to you! I will turn my attention to praising God, my salvation!”
He remonstrates with God. He asks why this is happening to him. Why is he mourning? Why is God apparently far off? (42:9, 43:2). He asks God to vindicate him before his enemies and to deliver him. In his darkness, he appeals that God would send His light and His truth (God's Word) to lead Him and guide him back to the Lord and His dwelling place, at which point he will renew his praise and adoration of the Lord with a glad and sincere heart (43:4).
Remember, reprimand, remonstrate. These are three excellent activities for us at all times, but especially in oppression and affliction which bring darkness and dejection into our hearts as their companions.
Some of us are going through distressing times right now. Perhaps people are taunting us about where our God is in the current problems and we are barely hanging on. It’s wonderful to have this example to help us to keep on keeping on. I have tried to lay them out in a way that is easy for us to recall. It’s also good to be open and honest with each other, and to seek someone we can sing, pray and read the Bible with for the strength and encouragement that fellowship brings!
