Our psalm this week, Psalm 43, is a sister psalm or twin psalm with Psalm 42. Some people have suggested that the two psalms were originally one psalm, and that our psalm of today was the ending to Psalm 42. One main reason for this thought is the repeating of one particular verse three times over, a plea to God for help in the midst of deep depression.
Have you ever felt like situations in your life have just become so overwhelming and difficult; that God is just so far away and He just doesn’t hear or see your cries? If this seems like you right now, then this psalm is for you. I know that so many times in my life the dark cloud of depression has enveloped my life, and I can relate to our psalmist. This was the way he was feeling at the time of writing this and probably Psalm 42, as well. As a believer in the Lord God, he knew, though, that he needed to call out to Yahweh in time of trouble, and put his trust in Him.
As verse 1 starts us off, we see that the psalmist is dealing with a situation involving other people who have treated him unjustly and wrongfully, was deceitful and false in their dealings with him. I’m sure we have all had dealings with such people. Rather than taking the situation into his own hands, he turned to God for help. He called upon God to be both the Divine Judge and Defense Attorney for him in this situation.
Then, though, as the psalmist called out to God for help, he felt like the Lord had turned His back on him (vs. 2). Why, God, why? He had the Lord Yahweh as his refuge and strength. He was relying on the Lord for help, not on himself, others, or false gods. So why does it feel like God has cast him off? How often can we cry out the same plea as we see in verse 2? Why do You cast me off? Why do I cry because of what others are doing? Not only do I have multiple troubles, but when I pray to God, He doesn’t seem to even be there. My depression, and the psalmist’s likely worsens.
The psalmist didn’t give up and sink deeper into his depression, and neither should we. As we resume reading in verse 3, we see he continued to beseech the Lord, now praying for His light and truth. He wanted divine guidance and direction. When we seek that as well, God’s truth will instruct us on the right path. God’s light will show us the way to follow. When darkness surrounds you, whether it is emotional or spiritual, follow God’s light and truth.
The “holy hill” is Mount Zion in Jerusalem, which is where the Temple was built. It was there that the children of Israel came together to worship, and where our psalmist knew he should go. Today we don’t have just one place to go to worship, which may be hundreds of miles away. God says that where two or more are gathered together, He is in the midst (Matthew 18:20). God’s Word encourages us to get together with believers to hear His truth, and to praise Him together. Praising God, getting into His Word, and worshipping with other believers is a good cure for depression (vs. 4).
The dark depression cloud may continue to come around, and like the psalmist here, we may continue to wonder (vs. 5), but like the psalmist, I tell myself what he did. Hope in God. He is our help. If we are born-again, and have put our faith and trust in Jesus, we can know for certain that He is with us, regardless of what we may be going through. God is the God of hope. We, as His children, must throw off the chains of hopelessness and despair (Romans 15:13). Believe and accept that He will be there for us, and will work everything for our good (Romans 8:28).
Seek God in times of discouragement, and He will provide hope. God gives us a Word of hope in the Scriptures. When we’ve brought God into our life, there is no hopeless situation. With Jesus, the hopeless have hope. He brought the dead back to life, and He can bring new life to your situation. We may have nothing, but with Him in our life, we have everything that we need. And we have a sure hope knowing He will be returning for us one day soon.
Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!
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