Psalm 42 (KJV): My soul thirsteth for God

From Psalms

Psalm 42
(A special psalm for the people of Korah and the music leader.)

¹As the hart panteth
      after the water brooks,
so panteth my soul
      after thee, O God.
²My soul thirsteth for God,
for the living God:
      when shall I come and appear before God?
³My tears have been my meat
      day and night,
while they continually say unto me,
      Where is thy God?

⁴When I remember these things,
      I pour out my soul in me:
for I had gone with the multitude,
      I went with them to the house of God,
with the voice of joy and praise,
      with a multitude that kept holyday.
⁵Why art thou cast down, O my soul?
and why art thou disquieted in me?
      hope thou in God:
for I shall yet praise him
for the help of his countenance.


⁶O my God, my soul is cast down within me:
      therefore will I remember thee
from the land of Jordan,
and of the Hermonites,
      from the hill Mizar.
⁷Deep calleth unto deep
      at the noise of thy waterspouts:
all thy waves and
      thy billows are gone over me.
⁸Yet the LORD will command
      his lovingkindness in the day time,
and in the night his song shall be with me,
and my prayer unto
      the God of my life.

⁹I will say unto God my rock,
      Why hast thou forgotten me?
why go I mourning
      because of the oppression of the enemy?
¹⁰As with a sword in my bones,
      mine enemies reproach me;
while they say daily unto me,
      Where is thy God?

¹¹Why art thou cast down, O my soul?
and why art thou disquieted within me?
      hope thou in God:
for I shall yet praise him,
who is the health of my countenance,
      and my God.

Oh, it's good to get back reading psalms.  Like a breath of fresh air they calm my soul and give me strength.  Unfortunately, when I got to the end of book 1 I was out of scanned images of my psalms.  So, I had to take several days getting those ready.  Thankfully though that is mostly behind me and I can get back to reading, writing and praying psalms because that's where God guides me and assures me.

There is a lot of things going on in my life, at work and at home.  I need this time to read and meditate and pray to help put things into perspective and remove the worry and anxiety.  Neither worry or anxiety are productive - and both tend to put me in a risky place where my addictive reflexes start to show through in my thoughts.  However, with prayer, and the perspective that comes with it, that worry and anxiety slips away.

It's easy to relate these thoughts to this psalm.  My soul doesn't just thirst right now - it downright aches.  Thankfully I have God, my rock.  Sometimes I ask God, "Why have you forgotten me?"  I realize then, after a week or so without solid prayer - it is I who has forgotten him.  Again, I put my hope and trust in the Lord and am strong, again.  At night his song is with me.  During the day I am blessed with his love.

Thanks for letting me share.