Focus Scripture: Psalm 42 (KJV)
As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.
My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God? When 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. Why 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. O 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. Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me. Yet the LORD will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.< >I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? As with a sword in my bones, mine enemiesreproach me; while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God? Why 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.
Introduction
As the Psalms—this is one of the longest books in the Bible—and the book of Psalms speaks the language of the soul. Every emotion that we as humans go through, you can find it in the book of Psalms: ecstasy, joy, delight, hope, sorrow, anger, jealousy, and the list goes on.
So the Psalms speak the language of the soul. And one of the things I know many of you here know is that the Psalms are authentic. Whether it’s David or the sons of Korah, we know many of the Psalms are written by David, but this one, Psalm 42, and many theologians believe Psalm 42 and Psalm 43 are one book, but they broke it up. So it’s two books. And the Psalms are like poetry, and they are sung. There’s a Psalm that says, “As the Deer Pants for the Water,” somebody wrote a song about it.
But this morning I want to encourage us—if you really spend some time in this scripture, you’ll see that this Psalmist is encouraging himself, preaching to his soul. And in verse 5, he said, “Why are you cast down, O my soul? Why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance.”
The Psalmist asks this question. His soul has shifted, and he wanted to know why. And he even made this declaration to God in honesty. In verse 6 he said, “O my soul is cast down within me.” He was honest with the Lord, and that’s what the Lord requires of us.
Love the Lord With All Your Soul
When the Pastor spoke about Matthew, he said, “Love the Lord with all of your heart, with all of your soul.” He explained that the Lord wants us to bring everything to Him, even the good parts, the emotions. He talked about the soul as being the seat of our emotions. The Lord wants us to come and be honest with Him, tell Him what’s going on in our soul.
We can come to church and say, “Blessed and highly favored,” but sometimes we put on a facade that all is well, but within us our soul is crying out. There’s something going on, a shift that’s taking place in our soul. But like the Psalmist, we have to preach to ourselves. We have to challenge our soul. We have to make a decision.
Remember the Faithfulness of God
Lamentations 3:22–23 (KJV)
It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
And when we find that our soul has drifted or shifted from the One we love, we have to remember. We have to preach to ourselves. We have to remember that His mercies are new every morning. Great is His faithfulness.
Bless the Lord, O My Soul
Psalm 103:2–5 (KJV)
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
What do you have to preach? You have to remind yourself of the benefits of being a child of God. He forgives all your sins. He heals all your diseases. He redeems your life from destruction. He crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies. He satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle.
We have to remind ourselves of who God is. He is the great I Am. He is the suffering One. He is the One who loves us with an everlasting love. We have to remind ourselves of what the Lord has done for us—how Jesus has saved us. He has redeemed us from the kingdom of darkness into His marvelous light.
We are now sons and daughters of the Most High. We are joint heirs with Jesus Christ. We are the bride of Jesus. He’s coming for us again. Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us. We have to remind ourselves of what the Lord has pledged. He said He will never leave you nor forsake you.
When the Enemy Taunts
And sometimes even in this, the Psalmist said, the enemy comes to taunt. The enemy said, “Where is your God?” And sometimes we find ourselves in those seasons, when it looks like there is dry ground, that there is nothing, and the enemy comes and says, “Where is your God? Why isn’t He changing that situation? That God has abandoned you?”
You have to remind yourself you cannot listen to the lies of the enemy. You have to remind yourself that He has not forgotten me. He has not forsaken me.
Isaiah 49:14–16 (KJV)
But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.
Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.
Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.
I just want to remind you that you are loved with an everlasting love. And even when you find yourself in situations where the enemy comes and is taunting you, like the Psalmist—his enemies were taunting him—they were approaching him, but we have to remember that God has not forgotten you.
Romans 8:28 (KJV)
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
We have to do like this Psalmist. We cannot surrender to our feelings of discouragement and depression.
When It Feels Like God Is Not Responding
No matter the circumstances, if you read the entire chapter of Psalm 42, you’ll notice that through it the Psalmist was discouraged because he was far from the house of God. You can see that in verses 2 and 6. He was being taunted, in verses 3 and 10. He remembered the memories of better days.
We sometimes remember the good old days; remember Bethel Gospel Tabernacle and how things were. And sometimes that can cause us to live by what our eyes see, but we have to walk by faith and not by sight.
He was in a hard place in verse 10, and then even in verse 9, it seemed like God was not responding. And sometimes in our situations it seems like the Lord is not moving, but the Lord is working behind the scenes. He is perfecting you. Like even the Pastor talked about preparing for what you are praying for. God is preparing us for the prayers, for whatever you are praying for. God is preparing you in this season. He is perfecting your heart. He is refining you, so that when you get that blessing, you’re able to be a good steward over that blessing.
Encourage Yourself
Regardless of the reason, the Psalmist chose to hope in God, and you and I have to do the same. You have to encourage yourself. I have to encourage myself. I have to say, “Andrea, listen, you need to get it together.” Like, what’s going on?
Sometimes there are days I don’t get it together, but there are moments when I have to say, “Andrea, look what the Lord has done for you. Think about the goodness of Jesus and all that He has done for you, how He has saved you, how He has protected you from danger.”
When I go running in the morning, when there’s no light out, and people are backing out of the driveway, God spared my life so many times. Being in this country, God has provided for me. I have never known what it’s like to sleep out on the floor. God has been good. He has been good.
So I have to encourage myself in the Lord. There’s that song, “When I think of the goodness of Jesus,” and I know each one of you can testify of His goodness, how He healed you.
I know I’m always calling our Pastor Cheryl, and she talks about how she was at death’s door and the doctors had given up, but she yet praised God. And that’s what we have to do—yet praise God. She always talks about that yet praise, and that’s what the Psalmist said, “For I shall yet praise Him.”
Go Back Into His Presence
Praise Him for His goodness, for all that He has suffered, that He is great, that He is mighty, that He is with you. We have to find our hope. We have to preach to ourselves. And the Psalmist talked about how help was found in God’s countenance.
When you enter His presence, when you enter His gates with thanksgiving, when you spend time with the Lord—when you find that your soul has shifted from the One you love—go and spend some time in the presence of God.
Psalm 16:11 (KJV)
Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
God will restore your hope.
Romans 15:13 (KJV)
Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
God loves you.
Final Exhortation
The Psalmist affirmed that God will command. He said in verse 9, “I will say to God, my rock.” And that’s who we have. That’s who we serve—God, our Rock of our salvation. The Psalmist affirmed that God will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me.
So I encourage you: if you find that your soul has shifted, if you find that it is disquieted within you, hope in the Lord. Preach to yourself. Talk to yourself instead of listening to yourself. Speak the Word of God over your life. Speak the words of what God has said. Don’t listen to the lies of the enemy.
The Bible talks about bringing those thoughts into captivity to the obedience of Christ. So encourage yourself in the Lord. There is yet reason for you and I to hope. We who trust in God, also who trust in the Lord, will not be ashamed.
Whatever your challenge, whatever your circumstances this morning, know that God is with you. He is a present help in times of trouble. He will be the lifter of your head. He will vindicate you. If your soul is in tears, you will reap in joy.
That’s the God we serve. So no matter where you find yourself, preach to your soul. If you find that you have shifted, that there is leakage, use the Word of God to fill up those gaps. Remind yourself of the faithfulness of God. Hope thou in God, for He is yet worthy to be praised.
Amen.
Prayer
Father God, we thank you. We thank You, God, that You, O God, have done so much for us. O God, each one of us on this line, if we name Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we have a track record. We can remember Your faithfulness in past seasons. God, we have seen, we have evidence all around us of Your goodness toward us. O God, though man has failed us, You will never fail us, God.