# Psalm 42 📖: Thirsting for God [[📚 Explore the Bible Books]] [[-Psalm Overview]] | [[Psalm 41]] | [[Psalm 43]] > [!info] Table of Contents > [[#📜 Scripture Text (NET)]] > [[#📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary]] > [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]] > [[#🧠 Chapter Summary]] > [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]] > [[#🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application]] > [[#💬 Discussion Questions]] > [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]] > [[#🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference]] > [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]] > [[#📂 Internal Notes]] ## 📜 Scripture Text (NET) (The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005) # Book 2 ([Psalms 42-72](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ps.42-Ps.72&version=NET)) ## Psalm 42 ## For the music director, a well-written song by the Korahites. [[#Verse 01.]] As a deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God! [[#Verse 02.]] I thirst for God, for the living God. I say, “When will I be able to go and appear in God’s presence?” [[#Verse 03.]] I cannot eat; I weep day and night. All day long they say to me, “Where is your God?” [[#Verse 04.]] I will remember and weep. For I was once walking along with the great throng to the temple of God, shouting and giving thanks along with the crowd as we celebrated the holy festival. [[#Verse 05.]] Why are you depressed, O my soul? Why are you upset? Wait for God! For I will again give thanks to my God for his saving intervention. [[#Verse 06.]] I am depressed, so I will pray to you while in the region of the upper Jordan, from Hermon, from Mount Mizar. [[#Verse 07.]] One deep stream calls out to another at the sound of your waterfalls; all your billows and waves overwhelm me. [[#Verse 08.]] By day the Lord decrees his loyal love, and by night he gives me a song, a prayer to the God of my life. [[#Verse 09.]] I will pray to God, my high ridge: “Why do you ignore me? Why must I walk around mourning because my enemies oppress me?” [[#Verse 10.]] My enemies’ taunts cut me to the bone, as they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” [[#Verse 11.]] Why are you depressed, O my soul? Why are you upset? Wait for God! For I will again give thanks to my God for his saving intervention. ## 📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary ###### Overall. ###### Verse 01. ###### Verse 02. ###### Verse 03. ###### Verse 04. ###### Verse 05. ###### Verse 06. ###### Verse 07. ###### Verse 08. ###### Verse 09. ###### Verse 10. ###### Verse 11. ## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights 1. Psalm 42 opens Book II of the Psalms (Psalms 42 to 72). 2. It is the first of a group of psalms attributed to the sons of Korah (Psalms 42 to 49). 3. Korah led a rebellion against Moses (Numbers 16), but his sons did not die (Numbers 26:11). Their descendants became temple singers and gatekeepers (1 Chronicles 9:19). 4. Psalms 42 and 43 share the same refrain (42:5, 11; 43:5), and many manuscripts treat them as one psalm. 5. The heading calls it a *maskil*, a term that may mean a skillful or instructive song. 6. Psalms 42 to 83 are sometimes called the "Elohistic Psalter" because they use the name *Elohim* (God) far more often than *Yahweh* (the Lord). 7. The land of the Jordan, Mount Hermon, and Mount Mizar (42:6) place the writer in the far north, away from Jerusalem. 8. "Deep calls to deep" (42:7) may picture the roaring waterfalls near the sources of the Jordan River. 9. Enemies taunt him by asking, "Where is your God?" (42:3, 10), a challenge to his faith. 10. Mark 14:34 uses the same Greek word for "deeply grieved" that appears in the Greek translation of this psalm's refrain. ## 🧠 Chapter Summary > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter Christ is the living water for which our souls thirst (John 7:37-38). In Gethsemane Jesus spoke of His own deep sorrow (Mark 14:34) in language that many hear as an echo of this psalm's refrain (42:5). ## 🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## 💬 Discussion Questions 1. The psalmist compares his longing for God to a deer panting for water (42:1-2). When have you felt that kind of spiritual thirst? 2. He speaks to his own soul and tells it to hope in God (42:5, 11). What truths about God do you need to preach to yourself right now? 3. He remembers leading worship with the crowds (42:4). How can past memories of God's goodness help us through dark seasons? ## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember - 📖 verses 1-2: As a deer longs for streams of water, the psalmist's soul thirsts for the living God. - 📖 verse 5: Why are you depressed, O my soul? Wait for God. - 📖 verse 8: By day the Lord shows His loyal love, and at night His song is with me. ## 🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference - 🔗 [[John 07#Verse 37.|John 7:37-38]] - Jesus offers living water to the thirsty. - 🔗 [[Psalm 63#Verse 01.|Psalm 63:1]] - My soul thirsts for You in a dry land. - 🔗 [[Mark 14#Verse 34.|Mark 14:34]] - Jesus' soul is deeply grieved. - 🔗 [[Lamentations 03#Verse 21.|Lamentations 3:21-24]] - Hope comes when we remember God's faithfulness. - 🔗 [[Isaiah 55#Verse 01.|Isaiah 55:1]] - Come, everyone who is thirsty. ## 🙏 Devotional Reflection 📝 SOAP: [[Psalm 42- SOAP|The Antidote for Discouragement]] ## 📂 Internal Notes