Why Are You Cast Down, O My Soul?

Most of us have experienced seasons when the tears came day and night. In Psalm 42, David is struggling so badly that tears have been like food, probably because he can’t even eat. His soul is “cast down” and “in turmoil.” He’s mourning and being taunted by his enemies who say, “Where is your God?” David even asks God, “Why have you forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”

When we’re in desperate times, it can often feel like we’re trapped in a fog or a nightmare we wish to wake up from. So many voices offer distractions that do not satisfy. There are so many purchases, social media sites, movies, and even relationships that we can turn to hoping to escape the pit of despair. But these don’t save. These don’t satisfy. They may distract, but they don’t deliver.

What do we hope for from God? Do we hope that he will merely change our circumstances? Do we hope that he will bring immediate relief from the pain like a local anesthesia? Often, we want God to address our pain directly. “Fix it!” we tell him. But what he’s after far more than altering our issues is transforming our hearts. When we read David telling his soul, “Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God,” we can know that David found rest and hope and peace in the Lord. Having fellowship with the Lord was the greatest gift David could ever have, and it far surpassed the challenges he faced.

For David, he wants more than relief from the circumstances. He wants God himself. In his desperation, he writes,

“As a deer pants for flowing streams,

so pants my soul for you, O God.

My soul thirsts for God,

for the living God.”

David was a man after God’s own heart. He knew how wonderful it was to have fellowship with God. He knew that God’s “steadfast love is better than life” (Psalm 63:3). He could write, “The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup” (Psalm 16:5)'; and he’d say to God, “in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11). The one desire of David’s heart was to be with God (Psalm 27:4).

William S. Plummer describes David’s expression in Psalm 42:1 as “intense longings for communion with God.” Do we meet our difficulties with an intensity of affection for God? When the heat in life turns up, does our passion for God intensify or cool? Do we grasp for the mere anesthesia of distractions or do we trust and delight in our Savior?

When we’re in a desert of depression, is it God we thirst for?

He knew that God would ultimately save him. Even as he says to God, “Why have you forgotten me?” He calls God “my rock.” It may have felt like God had forgotten him, but David knew God was faithful. He could always trust the Lord. The Lord had “steadfast love” for David (v. 8).

Despite the voices of his enemies, David chose to speak truth to himself. Twice he writes to his own soul,