Psalm 42 - Don't Listen to Yourself, Preach to Yourself

Psalm 42 paints a beautiful picture of how to fight for joy by a crushed man. The author is a Son of Korah, one of the most notorious rebels in Israel’s history. God redeemed his sons, and gave them a place of honor in leading worship in his house. This Psalm, meant to be sung, is a brutally honest and desperate fight to put his hope in God. Even though God is far, even though he feels forgotten, even though he feels waves crashing over him, he remembers who God is, and commands his soul to put his hope in God.

Here’s the tension: He knows God loves him, that he will praise God again, and that God will save him, but he doesn’t feel any of it right now. The example he gives is by acknowledging his plight. He isn’t where he wants to be and he makes it known to his God. He also remembers who God is, what he has promised, and the times he was in God’s presence. With both of those in place, he preaches to himself that, in spite of his situation, he will hope in God and praise him again.

Main Idea – When we are cast down, we are called to fight for hope

The example in Psalm 42 shows 3 ways:

1. Acknowledge
2. Remember
3. Preach

Study Questions

1. Have you felt like the author before? Has there been power in acknowledging it before God? Others?
2. v8 is sandwiched in between 2 verses steeped in despair. It stands out as a testimony of God’s love and commitment to the Psalmist in the midst of abject misery. What are times when you, or someone you know, have had a “moon is always round” moment?
3. “Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do our Enemy’s will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys.” Screwtape Letters. This man is standing at a place the devils fear most. Reflect on this.
4. Do you believe God can bring forth praise and joy from affliction, and even those who feel abandoned by God can still be used to declare his mercy? Do you really?
5. Chuck Templeton hated God because he couldn’t worship a God who allowed suffering. When Lee Strobel asked him about Jesus, he broke down crying and said, “I miss him so much.” Do you see the beauty in his statement, relative to this Psalm? How does Jesus as “the knowable God” answer, or encourage us through times of Psalm 42.
6. “Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? Take those thoughts that come to you the moment you wake up in the morning… Somebody is talking. Who is talking to you? Your self is talking to you. Now this man’s treatment [in Psalm 42] was this: instead of allowing this self to talk to him, he starts talking to himself, ‘Why art thou cast down, O my soul?’ he asks. His soul had been depressing him, crushing him. So he stands up and says: ‘Self, listen for a moment, I will speak to you.” (Spiritual Depression, it’s in the church library). Take it from here… how do these conversations go? How can you talk to yourself in a way that will, eventually, lead to healing?