NOTES for Psa 42:5

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⁵Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.

Isn’t it, this remarkable admonition, is addressed to his own soul? Who is- "my soul? And if it is not me, then who "am I"?

Probably, the psalmist discovers here his heterogeneity, diversity, which each of us knows according to his experience. Maybe, he doesn’t mean yet these three-parts of man, of which the Fathers of the Church speak about already at the time of the New Testament; such classification grows up all the same from the Greek philosophy, and not from the wisdom of the Old Testament. But he is indubitably very close to such view: indeed, his "soul" casts down and disquiets, that is in the grip of negative feelings, but "I" - is where there is a firm and not depending on feelings decision to glorify the Lord. As it is important also for us that our will doesn’t tag along our humors, but feeds on faith in God and the relationships with Him, bringing us to hope in God, the hope overcoming any sadness.

Other notes

For Psa 42:1-5

¹As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.

²My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?

³My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?

⁴When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday.

⁵Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.

This psalm is connected with the preceding one; their refrain even allows them to be joined together. But a new tone is also heard here... Read more

This psalm is connected with the preceding one; their refrain even allows them to be joined together. But a new tone is also heard here. We could join the two psalms and then see how a new mood gradually grows. Or we can perceive this psalm separately from the preceding one.

If the preceding hymn reflected the sorrow of abandonment by God, overcome through faith and hope in the Lord, here one senses vigor and sees a determination to follow the Lord actively along the paths of His truth, even to the point of readiness to defend that truth in court before the wicked.

The very cry addressed to God—Why have You rejected me?—is no longer the cry of a bewildered person, but the question of one who follows the Lord steadfastly. The one who walks with a confident step is heading toward the Lord, certain that He will not only give an answer, but also will not reject the one who asks and will receive him on His mountain. Even the address to the troubled soul—Why are you cast down?—sounds more vigorous here: there is no reason to be discouraged; forward and upward! We have Someone toward whom to strive, and He does not abandon us.

NOTES for Psa 42:5

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Readings for 21 April 2017

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