Today, Monday April 3
“Therefore I Will Remember You”
Psalm 42:6-11
“O my God, my soul is cast down within me; Therefore I will remember You from the land of the Jordan, And from the heights of Hermon, From the Hill Mizar. Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls; All Your waves and billows have gone over me.
The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, And in the night His song shall be with me-- A prayer to the God of my life. 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? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.”
As you read Psalms 42 and 43 you can’t help but feel the despair of the writer. At least three times in these two Psalms he asked the question, “Why are you cast down, O my soul, why are you disquieted with me”? (vv. 42:5, 11; 43:5)And he begins this section of verses with the statement, “My soul is cast down within me” (42:6). He feels like God has forgotten him (v. 9). He is hearing the enemies of God mocking him and his God by asking, “Where is your God?” (vv. 3, 10).
This sounds a lot like the mockers and enemies of God in our country today! Whenever there is a shooting or something bad happens and the Christians say they are praying for our country and the situation, they mock and declare, “Where is your God now”. “Your prayers didn’t help at all!”. Basically, they are saying, “We don’t need God! We need more laws and gun control”.
So, what was the response of the Psalmist in these two chapters? He first expressed a deep longing and desire for His God (vv. 1-2). He went on to say that when he remembered their mocking and disdain, and what it used to be like when he was free to go and worship with the multitudes that loved the Lord, he was overwhelmed with sadness (v. 4).
Now in verses 6 and 7, the emotional and spiritual landscape changes from drought to a storm, with the writer feeling like he was drowning in sorrow and pain. The Jordan River has its source in the Hermon range, and the rains and melting snow would turn the rivulets into cascades of water and dangerous cataracts, a picture of intense suffering (69:1-2; 88:7; Jonah 2:4). "Mizar" means "littleness," and certainly the writer felt very small in the midst of that storm.
But he made a wise decision when he decided to remember God and not "the good old days" (v. 6). The cascades, cataracts, and waves were in God’s hands and the psalmist had nothing to fear. This reminds us of the night Jesus walked on the water and frightened His disciples, yet He was in full command of the situation (Matt. 14:22-33). God was in command (v. 8; see Psalm 33:9; 44:4; 71:3; 91:11), a new day would dawn, and the situation would look different. Like David's storm experience recorded in Psalm 29, we should see God on His throne and anticipate the glory and peace after the storm.
Especially this week, believers should remember that the waves of God's wrath went over Jesus on the cross when He experienced His Calvary "baptism" (Matt. 20:22; Luke 12:50). It might be “Friday”, but Sunday is coming!!!! Meanwhile, God can give us "songs in the night" (v.8) as we wait for the dawning of a new day (Psalm 77:4-6; Job 35:10; Matt. 26:30; Acts 16:25). In verse 8, the writer used Jehovah instead of Elohim, and this was a turning point in his difficult experience. Jehovah is the God of the covenant, the faithful God who cares for His people. He is the God who showers His people with lovingkindness, gives them promises they can claim when they pray, and hears them when they praise and worship.
The writer didn't have to go to Jerusalem to worship; he could worship God right where he was! The hand of God was with him in the daytime and the song of the Lord in the long hours of the night. Everything might be changing, but the Lord was still his Rock—stable, strong, and unchanging. (See Psalm 18:2, 31, 46; Ex, 33:22; Deut. 32:4; 1 Sam. 2:2.)
Today, may the Lord help us to remember how great and powerful our God is, despite how bad the storms of ungodliness and evil rage around us! And we should always remember that He never changes and has promised to always be with us and never forsake us (Hebrews 13:5-8)!
God bless!