The occasion and situation of Psalm 42 are historically unspecified; however, what is obvious is that the psalmist’s situation was intense and greatly aggravated by his surrounding mockers.
Consequently, Psalm 42 is a dirge of two stanzas.
I. Stanza One: The Psalmist Sings of His Drought (42:1-5).
B. The Chorus of This Dirge (42:5).
II. Stanza Two: The Psalmist Sings of His Drowning (42:6-11).
A. The Content of This Stanza (42:6-10);
B. The Chorus of This Dirge (42:11).
“Title”:
The references to “the choir director”, i.e., the worship director, and Maschil, a “contemplation” or lesson, are not new, but the reference to “the sons of Korah”.
Psalm 42:1 As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God.
The word is strong, and expresses that eagerness and fervency of desire, which extreme thirst may be supposed to raise in an animal almost spent in its flight from the pursuing dogs.
Psalm 42:2 My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?
My soul.
All my nature, my inmost self.
Thirsteth.
Matthew 5:6 Blessed [are] they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.Psalm 42:3 My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where [is] thy God?
Psalm 42:4 When 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
Psalm 42:5 Why 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.
Psalm 42:8 [Yet] the LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night His song [shall be] with me, [and] my prayer unto the God of my life.
In seasons of affliction the servants of God will be distinguished from others by their ready perception and acknowledgment of the hand of God in their trials."
BooksOfTheBible/Charles Spurgeon
