Big Idea: Even in adverse circumstances of place, atmosphere, and our own troubled thoughts, we can rally our hearts to joy and hope in God.
Understanding the Text
Psalms 42 and 43 are distinct psalms in the Hebrew (MT), Greek (LXX), Syriac, and Vulgate, which suggests that they were separate compositions. Yet the seamless relationship of the two poems is indicated by these factors: (1) they share a refrain (42:5, 11; 43:5); (2) Psalm 43 has no title (Ps. 71 is the only other exception in Book 2); (3) both psalms share the lament meter of 3+2; and (4) they share a similar subject.1
The psalm is an individual lament, stating the reason for the lament, which is the psalmist’s inability to visit the Jerusalem sanctuary (42:1, 4, 6; 43:3–4) and the mockery of his compatriots (42:3, 9; 43:2), evidently because of his religious devotion (43:1). There is no resolution to his dilemma, except in hope that God will in time resolve it.
The suppliant’s prayer for vindication against an “unfaithful nation” (43:1; see the comments on this verse) implies that, given his location in the northern kingdom, he keenly feels Israel’s unfaithfulness. One possibility is that the psalmist’s absence from Jerusalem was due to exile related to David’s flight from Absalom (but David fled in the opposite direction from Mount Hermon). Psalm 43 may very well have been written as a response to Psalm 42 (as Goldingay proposes),2leaving the time quite undefined, but certainly before the Babylonian exile, since Book 3 concludes with a theological quandary about the implications of that event (Ps. 89).
Book 1 ends with the psalmist’s confident assertion that the Lord sets him in his presence forever (Ps. 41:12), and Book 2 begins with longing for that same intimacy with God, which did or should characterize every age of Israel’s national history. Indeed, this longing characterizes the kingly line (David is its representative) in Psalms 16; 23; 26; 27; and 63. Further, one would expect the sons of Korah, a Levitical family (representing the priestly line), to long for restoration to their temple and profession. The fact that Book 2 begins with this longing, now applied specifically to the Levitical line (“sons of Korah”), partially completes the picture of the appropriateness of this longing as stretched across the lines of ancient Israel, kings, priests, and commoners alike. The geographical provenance of this Psalm in the northern kingdom may be a hint of the origin, or most likely the adaptation, of the Elohistic Psalter. Here the soulful longing of David for the temple and encounter with God has, in an editorial way, been planted firmly in the hearts of the Levites by this powerful liturgy of yearning to see God’s face. Behind the king himself (Ps. 41), it was only reasonable that the priestly/Levitical officiants longed too for the temple and the awesome presence of God and that this longing be represented in the Psalter.
Psalm 84, a key psalm in Book 3, helps us to position Book 3 in the same theological frame. In fact, Delitzsch insists that Psalm 84—also a “psalm of the sons of Korah”—and Psalms 42–43, were written by the same author, and he draws attention to their verbal correlations: 3
“Living God” (Ps. 42:2)… “Living God” (Ps. 84:2)
“The place where you dwell” (Heb. Is plural; Ps. 43:3)… “Your dwelling place” (Heb. is plural; Ps. 84:1)
“Altar of God” (Ps. 43:4)…. “Your altar”/ “altar of God” (NIV: “a place near your altar”; Ps. 84:3)
As for their general emotional range, both poets acknowledge their absence from the sanctuary, and both deeply yearn to be there.
Two collections of the Korah psalms serve as bookends to the Elohistic collection of psalms (see below), with a cadre of eight Korah psalms beginning Book 2 (Pss. 42–49) and a second collection (Pss. 84–85; 87–88) concluding Book 3. In between, heading up Book 3, is a collection of eleven Asaph psalms (Pss. 73–83), also a Levitical collection (see 1 Chron. 25), giving the Levitical stamp to Book 3 as well. Even with the stamp of the Davidic seal on Book 2 (“This concludes the prayers of David son of Jesse,” Ps. 72:20),4the Elohistic collection of psalms in Books 2 and 3 still, with the positioning of the Korah and Asaph psalms,5gives the impression of the unmistakable Levitical seal. We might suggest that, by the time Books 2 and 3 were edited, it was quite obvious that the psalmic material belonged to the sanctuary and thus to the Levites who composed its musical staff, and such an editing as we see in Books 2 and 3 was both the Levitical seal of approval and the Levitical contribution. The question of why ’elohim is overwhelmingly used as the divine name in this section of the Psalter has been much discussed (see the sidebar). Although the substitution of ’adonay for the divine name YHWH was a practice that developed, probably a bit later, in Judaism, we may have here an early development in this direction. The preference for ’elohim over YHWH to protect the sacredness of the covenant name may have an early history in the preexilic age.
Outline/Structure
The refrain, with slight deviations, divides these two psalms into three strophes:
Strophe 1: Lament (42:1–4)
Refrain: Hope (42:5)
Strophe 2: Lament (42:6–10)
Refrain: Hope (42:11)
Strophe 3: Prayer for vindication (43:1–4)
Refrain: Hope (43:5)
Historical and Cultural Background
The attribution of the psalms to the “sons of Korah” follows a long history of this family in the Jerusalem sanctuary. Korah was the grandson of Kohath, one of the three sons of Levi (1 Chron. 6:22). Korah himself was a victim of God’s wrath that resulted from his rebellion against Moses and Aaron (Num. 16), but his sons were spared (Num. 26:11). They are an example that the sins of the fathers were not always visited on the next generation, for in David’s time the house of Korah was one of the most famous families of the Levitical house of the Kohathites, with some of them, at least, supporting David’s claim to the throne (1 Chron. 12:6). In David’s revision of the temple service, the Korahites retained their role as gatekeepers of the temple, along with the family of Merari (1 Chron. 26:1–19). According to the Chronicler, they even had a place in the postexilic temple as gatekeepers, among other functions (1 Chron. 9:19, 31–32).
Interpretive Insights
Title A maskil of the Sons of Korah. The enigmatic term maskil (a Hiphil participle of the verb skl) occurs in the headings of thirteen psalms (Pss. 32; 42; 44; 45; 52; 53; 54; 55; 74; 78; 88; 89; 142).6It occurs internally in Psalm 14:2/53:2, where it means “to act wisely” (NIV: “understand”). The other internal occurrence is 47:7, where it designates, as in the thirteen headings above, a type of psalm. Kraus proposes that, in view of its use as a type of psalm, and based on 2 Chronicles 30:22, which describes Levitical activity with this word, it may mean “well-crafted songs.”7This of course raises the question whether they were well-crafted musically or stylistically, or both. I suspect both. For the reference to the “sons of Korah,” see “Historical and Cultural Background.”
42:1 As the deer pants for streams of water.The verb “pants” also occurs in Joel 1:20, where the nuance is to stretch the head in a certain direction.8In 42:1 the impulse for relationship with God is found in the psalmist (“so my soul pants for you”), while in 43:3 the imagery changes, and the impulse is with God. There the suppliant prays that God might send forth his light and truth (NIV: “your faithful care”) and lead him to the house of God. Both are valid ways of talking about our longing for God, and both have their source in God, whose loving character creates the spiritual thirst.
my God.The occurrence of the divine name Elohim twelve times, in comparison to only one appearance of the covenant name Yahweh, alerts the reader to the change in presentation but not theology that occurs in Books 2 and 3 (see “Historical and Cultural Background”). This is especially noticeable in light of the frequent use of the covenant name in Book 1, and particularly the six occurrences of the covenant name in the neighboring Psalm 41, with only one occurrence of Elohim, a virtual reversal of pattern. As we have suggested above, this is more a liturgical accommodation than a theological change, although it may also have political implications.
42:2 My soul thirsts . . . when can I go and meet with God?See Psalm 63:1, where the verb “thirst” is also used metaphorically for the human longing for God. “When can I go and meet with God” is literally, “When can I go and appear before [or “see”] God?” The suppliant is longing for the sanctuary. The expression “appear before God / the Lord” occurs in Exodus 23:17 and 34:23 in the sense of appearing in the sanctuary. It is the Niphal form of the verb “to see,” whereas the Syriac and Targum boldly have “see” rather than “appear.” Perhaps the Niphal form, a bit more indirect (literally a passive verb), is intended to avoid the direct sense of “seeing” God, which, according to Exodus 33:20, would mean death. Here, however, it is in a spiritual sense, or a liturgical sense, that the psalmist sees God, but it still reflects the ultimate spiritual gravity of seeing God. Amid his hopelessness, the psalmist’s faith and confidence produce the hopefulness that this reality will eventually materialize, and he affirms this hope three times (42:5, 11; 43:5). That indeed is the heart of the psalm, highlighted by the refrain.
42:3 My tears have been my food day and night . . . “Where is your God?”The terms of the psalmist’s longing are “tears” and “day and night,” one indicating the emotional depth of his longing and the other the extent of it in time. The concluding question is a summary of the taunting words of the psalmist’s enemies who deride him because he cannot go to the temple, obviously in view of their knowledge that he longs so deeply to do so. See also Psalm 115:2.
42:4 These things I remember . . . how I used to go to the house of God.The phrase “these things” connected to the verb “remember” implies that he is thinking about the past joys of pilgrimages (so NIV’s punctuation).
42:5 Why, my soul, are you downcast? . . . I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. This refrain occurs for the first time here and is repeated almost verbatim in 42:11 and 43:5. The psalmist’s inner struggle of faith is intense, and he does not allow it to be recast by his depressed spirit.9
42:6 heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar. The noun “Hermon” is plural (lit., “Hermonites,” hence the NIV rendering “heights of Hermon”), which is perhaps a textual error. “Mount Mizar” means “little mountain,” which some would take as a gentle jibe, in view of Mount Zion, which was considered to be the high point of the whole land, but in theological importance only, since Mount Hermon was a much higher elevation. Mount Mizar has never been identified. Perhaps it was one of the peaks of Hermon.
42:7 Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls. These “waterfalls” produce wafts of roaring waves that make each wave seem to summon the next. Such falls can be found near the sources of the Jordan River, south of Hermon.
42:8 By day the Lord directs his love.The Hebrew reads, “Yahweh commands his love [hesed],” Yahweh being the Master and “love” being his servant. Note the personification of “light” and “faithfulness” (NIV: “faithful care”) in 43:3.
42:10 My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me.It is the taunting question, issued over and over by his “foes,” that causes the “crushing” (lit., “killing”; see HCSB; cf. Exod. 20:13, same root) agony in his soul, so similar to the comparable agony in his bones.
43:1 plead my cause against an unfaithful nation. Rescue me from those who are deceitful and wicked. The “deceitful” and the “wicked” are evidently the same “foes” of 42:10, and corporately, the “unfaithful nation” of 43:1. The term “unfaithful [lo’-hasid] nation” could very well be a reference to Israel, the northern kingdom, in whose territory the psalmist now is confined. Since the adjective hasid (“faithful”) is a derivative of the key covenant term hesed, the description here is reminiscent of Hosea’s description of Israel as a land of ’en-hesed (“no love,” Hosea 4:1).
43:3 Send me your light and your faithful care.“Light” and “truth” (’emet; NIV: “faithful care”) are personified, as is also “love” (hesed) in 42:8. The NIV’s “faithful care” obscures the fact that the psalmist mentions two distinct character traits of God, “light and truth,” that become his emissaries of grace. See “Teaching the Text.”
43:4 Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and delight . . . O God, my God.This is the goal of his longing, the moment of return to the temple, where he experiences the God of his greatest joy (lit., “God of the joy of my delight”; ESV, “God my exceeding joy”). The psalmist calls the deity “God, my God,” in place of “Lord, my God” (YHWH ’elohay; e.g., 7:1, 3), which we would expect to find in the non-Elohistic psalms.10
43:5 I will yet praise him.The psalmist, for the third time, expresses his hope that he will yet worship in the sanctuary in Jerusalem.
Theological Insights
There is a pattern of prayer in Psalms 42 and 43 that is characteristic of the psalms of lament. The psalmist moves from complaint to confidence, a movement powered by faith and guided by hope. His circumstances, foreign to his former way of life (42:4), have been exacerbated by the mockery of his compatriots, enhancing the agony of his soul. Yet he cannot permit the scornful atmosphere of the alien circumstances to triumph over the power of faith that someday, not merely in memory but in reality, he will return to the sanctuary and experience the intimate presence of God (42:5, 11; 43:5). It is so easy for circumstances to tower over faith, a fact that the writer to the Hebrews recognizes (Heb. 11); yet faith by its very nature is stronger than circumstances. And that is a truth the psalmist has to keep reminding himself of in the refrain. Nor does it happen all of a sudden, but, as Delitzsch remarks, in the third stanza (43:1–5) “resignation and hope are rendered complete by the addition of confident prayer.”11To consider resignation and hope as common links in the same chain as confident prayer may seem bold, but they belong there in the spiritual reality of saints who have struggled with God and their own inner consciences and have found their way through the maze of faith to the open presence of God.
The personification of “light” and “truth” (see comments on 43:3) as the psalmist’s guides to the sanctuary in Jerusalem remind us of the same phenomenon in Psalm 23:6, where “goodness” and “mercy” (or “love”; hesed) gently pursue David into the sanctuary of God. Here “light” and “truth” are the vanguard; there in Psalm 23 “goodness” and “mercy” are the rearguard (cf. Isa. 52:12; see “Teaching the Text”). Prior to this wonderfully guided pilgrimage as formed in the eyes of faith, we have already seen God “command” his love (hesed), like a master his servant (42:8). So God is totally in control of the pilgrim’s circumstances, making his hope secure.
The psalmist, presently in the region of Mount Hermon rather than Mount Zion, thinks of that moment when he will again “go to the altar of God” (43:3), and neither the mockery of his enemies nor the surroundings of an “unfaithful nation” (43:1) can repress the joy that begins to swell up in his soul. And its source is the God whom he longs to meet, “God, my joy and my delight” (43:4). This image draws him all the more toward the sanctuary. Over against the lamentation, the anger, and the deep anguish of the psalmists’ souls runs a joy that is unspeakable, a joy whose fullness is only experienced in the presence of God (Ps. 16:11).
Teaching the Text
We can begin a lesson or sermon on these two psalms by observing that the idea of faith as a journey is basic to understanding these twin psalms. While the suppliant is somewhere in northern Galilee, he is prevented from making his journey to worship in the Jerusalem temple. His yearning to make that journey is as severe as the thirsty deer’s panting for streams of water (42:1). To exacerbate the restrictive circumstances, the people he lives with have mocked him for his faith in God (42:3b).
We should also observe that in this difficult and depressive situation, our psalmist prays that God may send his “light” and “truth” (NIV: “faithful care”) to conduct him to the house of God (43:3). This is a personification of these divine attributes, unseen but nevertheless very real (see “Illustrating the Text” for the ideas of vanguard and rearguard). If we want to make a connection to the incarnation of God in Christ, we may point out that Christ is not a personification of light and truth but their incarnation, the perfect Guide (John 8:12; 14:6).
To connect with the tone of the psalm, we should note that the psalmist calls God his “joy” and “delight” (43:4), quite an elevated description for one who is depressed, deprived, and derided. This is a strong point, and one that can further advance our New Testament appeal, particularly if we look at the message of Hebrews 12:1–3, where the saints of the ages are gathered in the grandstands of history to watch us as we take up their torch and begin to run our stage of the race, looking not to the right or left but to Jesus, who is our Guide.
If we would like to extend the lesson and expand on the imagery of the vanguard, we can appeal to Psalm 23:6 to find the imagery of “goodness and mercy” pursuing us all the way to the house of God, not so much as guides, but as one commentator remarked, as “collie dogs,”12making sure we get home (see “Teaching the Text” in the unit on Ps. 23). They are again personifications, acting as the rearguard rather than the vanguard. Isaiah puts the two together and describes the Lord as Israel’s vanguard and rearguard leading Israel home from exile (Isa. 52:12).
Illustrating the Text
Guarding the flanks
History: The Scriptures speak of divinely appointed guides that lead and pursue believers to the house of God (Ps. 43:3; see “Teaching the Text”). James S. Stewart, chaplain to the queen in Scotland (1952–66), related this story in a sermon called “Vanguard and Rearguard.” Before Napoleon began his retreat from Moscow to return to Paris in 1812, he appointed Marshal Ney to serve as his rearguard and protect his decimated flanks from the Russian army at any cost. One day, after Napoleon’s army had safely reached Paris, some officers heard a knock at the door while they were playing cards in their quarters.
When they opened the door, there stood before them the most disheveled figure they had ever seen, old and bent and emaciated, his clothing tattered, his hands trembling and lines of terrible suffering carved deep into his features. “Who are you?” they cried, startled. But suddenly, to one of them, there came a flash of recognition. “Why,” he exclaimed, springing to his feet, “it’s the Marshal! It’s Marshal Ney!” And the others rose and saluted. “Tell us, Marshal,” they said, when they had conquered their astonishment, “tell us—for we have been wondering—where is the rearguard?” And the bent, broken figure squared his shoulders a moment, and looked them in the face: “Sirs,” he said, “I am the rearguard!” And it was a fact. He alone had seen it through.
Dr. Stewart’s application continues:
Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah, this that is red in His apparel, His garments stained in blood; this whose visage is marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men; this from whose head and hands and feet sorrow and love flow mingled down? This is the Christ. “I am the rearguard,” says Jesus.13
A hunger for God
Biography: Frank Laubach. There have been many Christians in history who have earnestly sought the Lord, reminiscent of the psalmist in 42:1–2. One example is Frank Laubach (1884–1970), who served for many years as a missionary to the Philippines. It is estimated that through his efforts one-half of the ninety thousand people who lived in the region in which he ministered learned to read and write. Laubach sought not only to educate and plant churches but also to live each moment with a sense of God’s presence. He hungered and thirsted for God. In Letters from a Modern Mystic, letters written by Laubach while he was in the Philippines, he says, “There has been a succession of marvelous experiences of the friendship of God. I resolved that I would succeed better this year with my experiment of filling every minute full of the thought of God than I succeeded last year.”14