⁷ Troubles have come again and again, sounding like waterfalls. 
       Your waves are crashing all around me.
 ⁸ The Lord shows his true love every day. 
       At night I have a song, 
       and I pray to my living God.
 ⁹ I say to God, my Rock, 
       “Why have you forgotten me? 
    Why am I sad 
       and troubled by my enemies?”
 ¹⁰ My enemies’ insults make me feel 
       as if my bones were broken. 
    They are always saying, 
       “Where is your God?” 

 ¹¹ Why am I so sad? 
       Why am I so upset? 
    I should put my hope in God 
       and keep praising him, 
       my Savior and my God.

Psalm 42:7-11, NCV

The remainder of Psalm 42 is fascinating. It continues to carry us through many issues, that could be regarded as a challenge. I must admit, I really like this psalm.  It has good things embedded into it, like God’s chocolate chip cookie, lol.

When we come to it, there should be a reverence and a willingness to obey what we are reading. A disobedient heart will immediately short circuit this psalm. It would be better to have never read this, than to have read it, with a disobedient heart. We would do well, if we would settle certain issues, right at the start.

Commentary  (continued)

V. 7, this verse will stretch your imagination. David uses a word picture that makes us scramble as we try to catch up. It’s not the troubles part, but the waterfalls. David had this in his mind as he penned these verses. He remembers hearing the roar of the water, in his ears. He “saw” the turbulence, the whirlpool and he understood something. It worked through his thoughts. He felt as if he were a target, and the raging and roaring was a real effort to bring him down.

V. 8, “The Lord shows his true love every day. At night I have a song, and I pray to my living God.” This is a sponge that is over full, you can’t  add a drop. When you barely touch it, it leaks all over the place. There is God’s desire to bless us, and than there is a powerful response of worship and prayer. At night David would sing, and he would pray. He wanted to connect with God’s sweet presence, more than sleep.

V. 9, just because you know God, you think you are immune to certain things. This is not one of them. David has a deep sense that God is not listening to him. His darkest enemy seems more aware than God. David carries a significant sadness, he can’t seem to shake it. He is quite vulnerable, as the enemy has complete access to his heart and mind.

V. 10, David has a sense that he has just been beaten up. At least, it feels that way. He has the sensation of having his bones broken. The pain verges on the horrific. Too much pain. The enemy insults, there is a mocking tone in his voice. He insults, and mocks at will. He tries to damage us through his viciousness.

V.11, this is self assessment time. As David writes he processes all that concerns him. “Why am I so sad?” He is bewildered by his own heart, and David seems to struggle at this point. It’s funny, but reading our own hearts is extremely difficult.  But there is aspiration yet. David understands what he needs and requires. It is God’s presence, first and foremost.