From Newsgroup: alt.bible

Psalm 42 confronts the experience of spiritual thirst, grief, and the
struggle of faith under distress. The text raises several significant questions and provides direct answers to others.

Questions Psalm 42 raises:

Where is God when His presence is not felt?

Scripture declares that God remains omnipresent, near, and active, even
when hidden from human sight or emotional perception.

Psalm 139:7-10 establishes that there is no place where one can flee
from His presence: "If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my
bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and
dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead
me, and your right hand shall hold me."

Isaiah 45:15 acknowledges that God sometimes conceals His working:
"Truly, you are a God who hides himself, O God of Israel, the Savior."
Yet Isaiah 41:10 gives His unconditional promise to His servant: "Fear
not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will
strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous
right hand."

In the darkness, His presence is a matter of covenant promise, not felt perception. As Psalm 42:8 itself answers, "By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of
my life."

Why does the believer experience profound soul-turmoil and dejection?

Scripture reveals several reasons why the soul of the believer
experiences dejection:

First, believers live in a fallen, broken world subject to corruption, awaiting ultimate redemption. Romans 8:22-23 states: "For we know that
the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth
until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for
adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies."

Second, God uses deep trials and inner turmoil to refine faith, strip
away self-reliance, and produce spiritual endurance. 2 Corinthians 1:8-9 explains this purpose: "For we were so utterly burdened beyond our
strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on
ourselves but on God who raises the dead." 1 Peter 1:6-7 likewise
affirms: "Though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been
grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your
faithrComore precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by firerComay be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the
revelation of Jesus Christ."

Third, the spiritual warfare and taunts of adversaries directly assault
the believer's peace, as Psalm 42:3 and 42:10 indicate: "My tears have
been my food day and night, while they say to me all the day long,
'Where is your God?'"

Can God be the source of the overwhelming trials that afflict His servant?

Yes. The Scriptures testify to God's absolute sovereignty over both
prosperity and adversity, using affliction deliberately for His divine purposes.

Jonah 2:3 echoes the language of Psalm 42:7: "For you cast me into the
deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me; all your
waves and your billows passed over me." Jonah recognized that the sea
that overwhelmed him was directed by the Lord.

Isaiah 45:7 proclaims God's supreme authority: "I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the Lord, who does
all these things."

Job 1:21 and Job 2:10 state the same truth: "The Lord gave, and the Lord
has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord... Shall we receive good
from hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?"

Hebrews 12:6-7, 11 explains the loving fatherly purpose behind these
severe trials: "For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises
every son whom he receives... For the moment all discipline seems
painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."

Why would the God who is a rock seem to forget His servant?

God does not, and cannot, actually forget His covenant people; the
perception of being forgotten is the frailty of human perspective during prolonged suffering.

Isaiah 49:14-16 directly addresses this cry: "But Zion said, 'The Lord
has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me.' Can a woman forget her
nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her
womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before
me."

Psalm 77:7-10 captures the same struggle and resolves it by turning to
God's eternal deeds: "Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable? Has his steadfast love forever ceased? Are his promises at an
end for all time? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut
up his compassion? Then I said, 'I will appeal to this, to the years of
the right hand of the Most High.'"

Hebrews 13:5 records His unchanging pledge: "I will never leave you nor forsake you." The sense of abandonment is temporary, designed to cause
the believer to look beyond physical circumstances and rest entirely
upon the unshakeable word and character of God: "Hope in God; for I
shall again praise him, my salvation and my God" (Psalm 42:11).

Questions Psalm 42 Answers:

What is the true object of the soul's deepest longing?

The soul was created to thirst for nothing less than God Himself. Verse
2 declares, "My soul thirsts for God, for the living God." Real
spiritual longing cannot be satisfied by rituals, memories, or
circumstances, but only by communion with the living God.

How should a believer respond to spiritual depression and inner turmoil?

The text answers that the believer must preach truth to one's own soul
rather than merely listening to its distress. The command in verses 5
and 11 is: "Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and
my God." The remedy is an intentional re-anchoring of the mind on God's character and future deliverance.

Does God abandon the afflicted soul during the darkness?

Verse 8 answers that God's covenant loyalty remains unbroken: "By day
the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me,
a prayer to the God of my life." Even when outwardly surrounded by
reproach, the Lord sustains the believer by His steadfast love and gives
a song in the night.

Where does true salvation and stability originate?

God is not merely a helper from afar; He is the source of preservation.
The text names Him as "the God of my strength" or "rock" (v. 9), and
"the salvation of my countenance, and my God" (v. 11), demonstrating
that deliverance and inner restoration flow directly from who God is to
the individual soul.
--
Good News rCa

Jesus took our place on the cross to settle our debt with God
(Colossians 2:14), and God confirmed the acceptance of this payment by
raising Him from death (Romans 1:4). Thus, God remains holy while
justifying the ungodly (Romans 3:26) and shielding them from future
wrath (1 Thessalonians 1:10). This blessing is a free gift given to
those who believe (Romans 6:23). Place your confidence in Christ and
call on Him for salvation (Romans 10:9-13):

How to be saved: christrose.news/salvation
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2