The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Psalm 43:2,
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
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"You are God my stronghold.
Why have you rejected me?
Why must I go about mourning,
oppressed by the enemy? "
Many manuscripts have psalm 42 and 43 combined as a single psalm. There certainly are refrains that are common to the two:
Verse 42:5 is repeated in 42:11 as well as 43:5. The phrase, "Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?", that is found in 42:9b is repeated in 43:2b.
Both psalms hold a common theme, that the psalmist feels abandoned by God to suffer at the hands of his enemies. In both he looks to the Lord, in spite of feeling as though he was abandoned by him, as his coming refuge. He also anticipates his joy when that relief comes.
He speaks of a coming time when he will praise God, 42:5, as a result of the hope he places in him during his current difficulty. He repeats that anticipation in 42:11. He speaks of a future time, following his being rescued by the Lord when he will go about God's altar and that the Lord is "my joy and my delight." 43:4.
I can't help but feel the experience the psalmist went through of being both threatened by his enemies and a felt abandonment by God was designed by God to build his hope, his faith, his anticipation in the Lord such that he could say, "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?" 42:1-2.
I suspect the Lord takes us all through just these kinds of experiences in our walk with him. I am reminded of Paul's exhortation in Romans 12:11-12, "Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."
Many manuscripts have psalm 42 and 43 combined as a single psalm. There certainly are refrains that are common to the two:
Verse 42:5 is repeated in 42:11 as well as 43:5. The phrase, "Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?", that is found in 42:9b is repeated in 43:2b.
Both psalms hold a common theme, that the psalmist feels abandoned by God to suffer at the hands of his enemies. In both he looks to the Lord, in spite of feeling as though he was abandoned by him, as his coming refuge. He also anticipates his joy when that relief comes.
He speaks of a coming time when he will praise God, 42:5, as a result of the hope he places in him during his current difficulty. He repeats that anticipation in 42:11. He speaks of a future time, following his being rescued by the Lord when he will go about God's altar and that the Lord is "my joy and my delight." 43:4.
I can't help but feel the experience the psalmist went through of being both threatened by his enemies and a felt abandonment by God was designed by God to build his hope, his faith, his anticipation in the Lord such that he could say, "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?" 42:1-2.
I suspect the Lord takes us all through just these kinds of experiences in our walk with him. I am reminded of Paul's exhortation in Romans 12:11-12, "Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."
As we may see the experiences of the Sons of Korah in Psalms 42 and 43 in our own lives, possibly it is the Lord working within us to bring us to an aggressive pursuit of Paul's admonition in Romans 12 in our own lives.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
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