Dr. Sam Storms of Enjoying God Ministries comments on Psalm 42-43:
What is one to do when all you’ve had for breakfast is tears, followed by a late night snack of sorrow? The answer of the psalmist sounds as strange as the question: Preach to your soul! Take yourself in hand, look yourself in the eyes, and preach this message: “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God” (Ps. 42:5,11; 43:5)…..
Dr. Storms continues,
There are countless lessons to learn from these two psalms, but I’ll note only three. First, the psalmist grieves, remembers, and composes himself with a sermon to his soul, not once, or even twice, but three times! David never felt as if he were being needlessly repetitive or that his pleadings were akin to nagging. Rather, he was spiritually relentless, refusing to concede the battle to his enemies, knowing that his God was the kind of God who quenches the thirst of those who faithfully seek him for the water of renewal and hope.
Second, we learn much of the nature of prayer in these psalms. David gives vent to his fears and confusion, not merely in emotional catharsis but in a focused expression of faith that the God who acted graciously on his behalf in the past would do so yet again in the future. He is up front with God, telling it to him straight away. “He assumes,” observes Goldingay, “that God is big enough to take it and loving enough to absorb it” (34).
Finally, the troubles that David endured (and dare I say, the troubles that you likewise often face), “come with God’s knowledge and according to his will, not by his oversight or weakness” (Goldingay, 35). Look again at 42:7 – “at the roar of YOUR waterfalls; all YOUR breakers and YOUR waves have gone over me.” The powers of chaos, trouble and evil that threaten David’s life are not beyond God’s sovereign control. They all must submit to his overarching Lordship.
“At first sight,” says Goldingay, “the belief that God is behind the trouble that comes to us is a frightening doctrine: what kind of a God is this, whose purpose includes so much distress? But the alternative – a God whose purpose is continually being frustrated by evil – is even more frightening. Better a God whose mystery we cannot understand (but who has given us grounds for trusting when we cannot understand) than one whose adequacy we cannot rely on, or whose interest we cannot be sure of” (35).
So, perhaps the time has come for you to take hold of yourself and preach a sermon, not to others, but to your own soul! Remember God’s ways! Recall his faithfulness! Compose and calm yourself with the reminder that he who acted powerfully in the past will do so yet again in the present and future.
Sam
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