By Jim Barnette, Ph.D.
Samford University and Brookwood Baptist Church, Mountain Brook
When Circumstances Overwhelm
Psalms 42:1–3, 6-8; 43:3–5
There are times when we experience a longing for God because we feel abandoned. (42:1–3)
In these psalms David is despairing. He has the blues. Many think the blues started with the St. Louis blues or on the Mississippi Delta, but they actually began in Jerusalem with the King David blues. This is his song. This psalm, like some others, is called a “maskil,” which is the Hebrew word for “teaching.” Maskil psalms are identified because not only are they songs but they also are known to impart wisdom. This maskil offers us insight as to how to handle overwhelming circumstances that challenge us.
This psalm was written during Absalom’s rebellion. Late in David’s reign his son Absalom rebelled against his father and temporarily took over the kingdom. David was driven into exile outside Jerusalem.
Unable to return home and with his life in danger David is despairing. However, he refuses to succumb to it.
In the first nine verses David is transparent about symptoms he is battling. The symptoms echo many that people face today as they wrestle with depression. David is longing for God’s presence, and he experiences crying and loss of appetite. He is emotionally drained, grieving and alone.
When we experience overwhelming circumstances remember God is in our lives. (42:6–8)
“Remember” is a powerful word in the Hebrew thought and life. Remembering God’s blessings is a powerful weapon against despair. Remembering is an expression of determination. David is determined to remember how God has helped him in the past. When facing trials, we must practice the spiritual discipline of remembering how God has been faithful to us “through many dangers, toils and snares.” David reminds us that “each day” God pours His love and grace upon us. Each evening the king sings songs about the God who gives new life each morning. In life’s trials each morning we can join in the song of Psalm 118:24, “This is the day the Lord hath made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
We need to trust God’s guidance, knowing He is the source of hope. (43:3–5)
Psalms 42 and 43 are to be read as a unit and in verses 1–2 of 43, David begins speaking to God rather than himself. He goes directly to God with his petition. He calls for God’s active intervention. With this move in his Lord’s direction, things begin to change. This is where David’s outlook becomes truly hopeful.
David envisions a yearned-for visit to the temple, where he will be led to the “holy hill” by God’s “light” and “faithfulness.” Verse 4 articulates the joy of arriving at the temple, where the king will respond with praises on the harp. What made the difference? In part he stopped talking to himself and began talking to God. Further he expected God was already in the process of lifting him up and out.
These two psalms were used by early Christians as symbols for baptism. The panting deer represents thirsting souls. Immersed in the cool waters of the baptistery new believers “drank” deeply of the fountain of eternal life. These psalms were sung when Augustine was baptized on Easter Sunday in 387 A.D. Hence we recall his famous words of yearning in his “Confessions”: “The thought of You (God) stirs [a person] so deeply that he cannot be content unless he praises You, because You made us for Yourself and our hearts find no peace until they rest in You.”
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