“My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?”
Could this psalm be entitled “the dark night of my soul”?
Psalm 42:2 (NIV)
This psalm is very well known because of the praise song we sing called “As the Deer”, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5pZkLWZv-E which is a beautiful song, a beautiful expression of a worshiper desire for God and yet this psalm reveals something very ugly going on inside this worshiper. It is somewhat of a dichotomy- for the psalm is beautifully constructed and yet the experience of the writer is ugly. For example the psalmist gives a picture of thirsting after the streams of living water we can only find in God (beautiful picture), and then transitions into the truth that all he has to drink day and night is his own tears (ugly experience), with no one to comfort him- actually people spend their time mocking him and ridiculing his faith in God. (even uglier)
This ugly experience is expressed repeatedly through the “soul” language used in the psalm.
These things I remember as I pour out my soul
Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me?
My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you
I say to God my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me?
Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me?
It is a reminder that the desperate situations worshipers of God find ourselves in, create a deep desire for restored fellowship with God and our fellow worshipers.
This psalmist's situation reminds me of a friend who has been in this state for over a year
Oh Lord fill him with your living water, restore him, bless him.
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