Day 94

Psalm: Read here –https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2043&version=NASB

In a number of ancient Hebrew manuscripts, Ps42 and Ps43 are joined together as one. The psalmist repeated a familiar theme in both psalms – a cry for vindication. He felt unjustly accused and took his sense of injustice to the throne of God, and he left his vindication up to God.

The psalmist knew the difficulty of dealing with deceitful and unjust people. The four-fold asking, “why?” is familiar to the tested people of faith. V3, a prayer of submission, begins the psalmist’s procession of praise. He began in depression, but he will end up praising God. Led by the light and truth (v3) of God, the psalmist came to the tent of meeting with God. The psalmist wanted to go to the ‘Holy Hill’(church) because:  he knew the Lord was there in a special way. He knew that God’s people were there and he knew that it was a place where he could focus on God. This led him to the alter(v4) of sacrifice. When we follow the light and truth(v3) of the LORD, it will lead us to His altar – the cross where Jesus was given as a sacrifice for our sins. Here we will think deeply upon His work and victory and here (v4) we will find ‘exceeding joy as we bring the sacrifice of praise. (c.f.Hebrews13:15). Our words and songs of praise become a sweet-smelling sacrifice to God.

The psalmist had hope of God’s redemption, but it had not come yet. In the meantime, he would not surrender to his feelings of depression and discouragement. Instead, he challenged those feelings and brought them to God. He said to those cast down and disquieted feelings, “Hope in God. He will faithfully answer again, because He has before.”

We see that at the end of the psalm, none of the circumstances of the psalmist had changed – only his attitude, and what a difference that made. Is there a cure for despondency? Yes. But it is not in us. It is in God. The cure is to seek God’s face, so ours will not be downcast, which is what the psalmist does. In the present crisis don’t look around, look up!