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Seeing Jesus in Psalm 42

 Psalm 42


Please always read the Psalm before you read these notes. Maybe you should read it a couple of times with as few distractions as possible and good concentration. 

"Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again—my Savior and my God!" (Psalm 42:5 NLT)

There are things that should discourage you or you shouldn’t be surprised when they discourage you. If you are not saddened by these things then it is a symptom of a cold heart towards God.

Main Point: Being filled with the love of God will regularly take you on a journey of emotional rediscovery of your love for God.

  1. Some things will discourage the person who is filled with the love of God.

    1. Recognising you have wandered away from God.

    2. Being discouraged in your love of God by unbelievers’ actions and words. 

      1. When people “cheat” God’s laws and look like they are getting away with it.

      2. When people mock our love for God and our need for God. v.3, 9-10

    3. Observing how many people have fallen away from a love for God. v.4 

  2. Some things encourage the person who is filled with the love of God.

    1. Recognising you have enjoyed the presence of God and long for it again. v.1

    2. Being in the presence of the living God v.2

    3. Worship v.4

      1. Fellowship with other worshipers v.4

      2. Singing v.4

      3. Giving thanks v.4

      4. Celebration v.4

    4. Observing God’s presence in all situations (discouragement, distance, exaltation, tumult, drowning, being filled, singing and praying, being mocked.) These emotional situations and extremes of life remind us of our need for God and our healthy dependance who He is and what He does.

  3. Some of the things we see in our discouragement and tumult show who God is and what God does.

    1. God is alive. v.2

    2. God is worthy of joyful worship v.4 (God is something to get excited about)

    3. God is a personal savior. v.5

    4. God is a personal God. v.5

    5. God is powerful and overwhelming v.7 (your waves and surging tides sweep over me)

    6. God pours out unfailing love. v.8

    7. God gives life. v.8

    8. God is worthy of our hope. v.11

In my quest to find Jesus in the Psalms, I have obviously seen that the God above, whom the Psalmist seeks and desires, is the loving, living savior revealed in the gospels and epistles.

But could it be that Jesus also was resonating these words (I know it is clearer in Psalm 22 but it is no less true in thematic similarity here in Psalm 42): Psalm 42:9 as similar to Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34? And didn’t Jesus suffer this same sort of mocking while on the cross in Matthew 27:39-43 as the Psalmist mentions in verses 3 and 10?

Conclusion: We can be discouraged by so many things in this sinful world and because of our own sinful straying hearts. But these things show a spiritual life, hope, and love that God has placed in you. So let these tumults of emotional spiritual discouragement be signposts to remind you of how good God is and how He is going to keep filling you up with His love. Let God teach you how to go on the tumultuous journey of turning your discouragements into praise of His great love.

Handwritten Psalm 42
Handwritten Psalm 42
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Location: Heverlee, 3001 Leuven, Belgium

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