Encouraging Yourself In The Lord: Psalm 42

Psa.
42:1    As
the deer pants for the water brooks,

         So pants my soul for You, O God.

Psa.
42:2    My soul thirsts for God, for the
living God.

         When shall I come and appear before
God?

The Psalmist has a deep hunger and longing for God.

Psa.
42:3    My tears have been my food day and
night,

         While they continually say to me,

         “Where is your God?”

As an exile, being far from God’s presence in the temple in
Jerusalem, this man is also battling disappointed and discouragement. 

Psa.
42:4    When I remember these things,

         I pour out my soul within me.

         For I used to go with the multitude;

         I went with them to the house of God,

         With the voice of joy and praise,

         With a multitude that kept a pilgrim
feast.

He remembers how it was when he was in Jerusalem. 

Psa.
42:5    Why are you cast down, O my soul?

         And why
are you disquieted within me?

         Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him

         For
the help of His countenance.

In the midst of discouragement and depression the Psalmist is
encouraging himself in the Lord. Sometimes we need to talk to ourselves and
encourage ourselves to put our hope in God and praise Him. 

Psa.
42:6    O my God, my soul is cast down
within me;

         Therefore I will remember You from the
land of the Jordan,

         And from the heights of Hermon,

         From the Hill Mizar.

In his cast down condition he choses to remember God.

Psa.
42:7    Deep calls unto deep at the noise
of Your waterfalls;

         All Your waves and billows have gone
over me.

Psa.
42:8    The LORD will command His
lovingkindness in the daytime,

         And in the night His song shall be with me—

         A prayer to the God of my life.

Psa.
42:9    I will say to God my Rock,

         “Why have You forgotten me?

         Why do I go mourning because of the
oppression of the enemy?”

The Psalmist is vacillating between his deep love for and faith in
God and his disappointed and discourage over his condition. This is normal for
the believer suffering depression.

Psa.
42:10   As with a breaking of my bones,

         My enemies reproach me,

         While they say to me all day long,

         “Where is your God?”

Psa.
42:11   Why are you cast down, O my soul?

         And why are you disquieted within me?

         Hope in God;

         For I shall yet praise Him,

         The help of my countenance and my God.

In his depressed state he again encourages himself to praise God. 

God loves the depressed and provides a way to break free. If you have not yet heard the message on Freedom from Depression it is at http://radiantchurch.org/node/426 or you can view the service at http://radiantchurch.org/resources/watch-services/break-free-part-13-may-6-2012.