PSALM 42: I’VE GOT QUESTIONS: CONFRONTING THE HARD QUESTIONS IN LIFE
Key Point
We all encounter hard questions in life, the way to confront these difficult situations and the questions that they generate is NOT to ignore them rather it is to process them.
Introduction
Typically, we think of the Psalms as a book of praise, filled with expressive praise and thanksgiving to God. I think that for those of us from the Pentecostal tradition, this is why they appeal to us so much, because our faith tends to be loud, it tends to be expressive.
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Lament A passionate expression of grief or sorrow |
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Yet the Psalms themselves are varied, there is indeed praise, thanksgiving, there are “Royal Psalms” that talk about the King in Israel and or/about King Jesus the coming messiah. There are hymns and psalms of trust in God. But surprisingly perhaps the biggest category of Psalms are psalms of “lament”. This is the wonderful thing about the Psalms-they keep it real. The Psalms of Lament express the pain that people feel and document how they deal with the pain and suffering that they go through.
But the Psalms of Lament teach us that suffering happens to all people. Psalm 42 that we have read today is one such Psalm of lament.
Psalm 42:
One of the most noticeable things about Psalm 42 are the questions that the author asks. In fact the entire Psalm is a Psalm of questions. In the 11 verses there are 8 times a question is asked
2b When shall I come and appear before God?
3b …they say to me all the day long,
“ Where is your God?”
5 Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
9 I say to God, my rock:
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning
because of the oppression of the enemy?”
10 … they say to me all the day long,
“Where is your God?”
11 Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
3 Key Questions in the Hard Times of Life
1.) When will my suffering end?
2.) Why has your God abandoned you?
3.) Why are you in despair, my soul?
Conclusion
Psalm 42:11 (ESV)
11 Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.
Speak:
- Faith in God
- Speak of the Future
- Speak of who he is to you