Psalm 42:1-8 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 42:1-8 on biblegateway.com
Verse 1As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God.
Verse 2My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God?
Verse 3My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me continually, "Where is your God?"
Verse 4These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I went with the throng, and led them in procession to the house of God, with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival.
Verse 5Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help
Verse 6and my God. My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
Verse 7Deep calls to deep at the thunder of your cataracts; all your waves and your billows have gone over me.
Verse 8By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.
Devotion
Some scholars think Psalm 42 comes from the time of the Babylonian exile. Enemies cruelly taunt the exiles: "Where is your God?" In the face of overwhelming sorrow, the psalmist remembers how they used to go in joyful procession to the temple. There is yearning for those times to return: "As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God." Memory seems to be one of the keys to waiting, memories especially of God's never-ending love.
The psalmist speaks confidently: "By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me ... " Is this a claim that you are able to make? Maybe at some times more than others? We have our share of sorrow and tears. If anyone asks, "Where is your God?"—or even if you ask it yourself—try remembering some of the ways that God's love has been present for you over the years. And as you name these things, ask God to fill your heart with longing.
Prayer
God of steadfast love, help me to remember those times when you have come to me. Fill my heart with a longing for your presence. Amen.