Psalm 42
A white-tailed deer drinks from the creek;
I want to drink God, deep draughts of God.
I'm thirsty for God-alive.
I wonder, "Will I ever make it-arrive and drink in God's presence?"
I'm on a diet of tears-tears for breakfast, tears for supper.
All day long people knock on my door, pestering,
"Where is this God of yours?"
These are the things I go over and over,
emptying out the pockets of my life.
I was always at the head of the worshiping crowd,
right out in front, leading them all,
eager to arrive and worship,
shouting praises,
singing thanksgiving-celebrating,
all of us, God's feast!
Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul?
Why are you crying the blues?
Fix my eyes on God-soon I'll be praising again.
He puts a smile on my face.
He's my God.
When my soul is in the dumps,
I rehearse everything I know of you,
From Jordan depths to Hermon heights,
including Mt. Mizar.
Chaos calls to chaos, to the tune of whitewater rapids.
Your breaking surf, your thundering breakers crash and crush me.
Then God promises to love me all day,
sing songs all through the night!
My life is God's prayer.
Sometimes I ask God, my rock-solid God,
"Why did you let me down?
Why am I walking around in tears,
harassed by enemies?"
They're out to kill, these tormentors with their obscenities,
Taunting day after day,
"Where is this God of yours?"
Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul?
Why are you crying the blues?
Fix my eyes on God-
Soon I will be praising again.
He puts a smile on my face.
He's my God.
An excerpt from a Piper sermon:
Listen to Lloyd-Jones take hold of this verse:
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. You
have not originated them but they are talking to you, they bring back the
problems of yesterday, etc. 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 soul?" he asks. His soul had been
depressing him, crushing him. So he stands up and says, "Self, listen for
moment, I will speak to you." (Spiritual Depression, 20-21)
On this side of the cross, we know the greatest ground for our hope: Jesus
Christ crucified for our sins and triumphant over death. So the main thing
we must learn is to preach the gospel to ourselves:
Listen, self: If God is for you, who can be against you? He who did
not spare his own Son but gave him up for you, how will he not also with him
graciously give you all things? Who shall bring any charge against you as
God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ
Jesus is the one who died-more than that, who was raised-who is at the right
hand of God, who indeed is interceding for you. Who shall separate you
from the love of Christ? (Romans 8:31-35 paraphrased)
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