Praising Scripture - Dec 18

Introduction...

12/18 Psalm 42:6-11,43:1-5 Praise God In the Midst of Distress
（Memorization Scripture: vv. 3-4）

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.
7 Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls;
All Your waves and billows have gone over me.
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.
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?”
10 As with a breaking of my bones,
My enemies reproach me,
While they say to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”

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.
……
Psalm 43:1-5
1 Vindicate me, O God,
And plead my cause against an ungodly nation;
Oh, deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man!
2 For You are the God of my strength;
Why do You cast me off?
Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
3 Oh, send out Your light and Your truth!
Let them lead me;
Let them bring me to Your holy hill
And to Your tabernacle.
4 Then I will go to the altar of God,
To God my exceeding joy;
And on the harp I will praise You,
O God, my God.

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,
The help of my countenance and my God.


[Sharing]
When people get upset, emotion comes and goes. One moment ago, the psalmist said “Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.” ; then the next second, the psalmist got upset again. Yet when he was thirsty and cast down, he remembered God in the deserted land (the land of the Jordan, and from the heights of Hermon, from the Hill Mizar). Have you ever remembered God when you were in the midst of a toast during a class reunion? Have you ever sought for the presence of God while you richly enjoyed life? Perhaps, at this moment, you miss the presence of God? Maybe the reason behind His absence is that you have not prayed to God, read scripture, or you have not been to church to worship the Lord with the saints.
God so loves us that once we remember Him, He responds to us, “Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls; All Your waves and billows have gone over me.” (Psalm 42:7) This response excited the psalmist so much he immediately said, “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.” And then the chorus (v. 11) repeated itself again (v. 5). The verse “Deep calls unto deep” (v. 7) portrayed vividly how people and God are having a candid spiritual conversation. There is only the deep well that echoes the deep sound; and there is only water in the deep well that feeds the endless need and longing.

When it comes to psalm 43, the psalmist had seemingly gone out of the Valley of Baca, and remembered that He is a righteous God who gave him strength. The psalmist started to hope and pray that God would take him back to the holy mountain, back to the dwelling of God, so that he could once again praise the Lord with harp in the temple of God. And then again, the psalm ended with the chorus.

Psalm 42 and Psalm 43 together is the song that is prized and frequently sung by Christians and pilgrims. Have you ever gone through difficulty and realized that He who helps us with His countenance is our God? Can you have such a candid and truthful conversation with God in your difficulty, just like the psalmist? In difficult times, would you long for His presence, and even praise the Lord for standing and being your help and salvation?