Joy in the Joyful Assembly – Psalm 42

“To the Chief Musician. A Contemplation of the sons of Korah. As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, while they continually say to me, ‘Where is your God’ When I remember these things, I pour out my soul within me. For I used to go with the multitude. I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast.” Psalm 42:1-4

Psalm 42 was composed either for or by the sons of Korah and sent to the chief musician to be set to music. The song was composed to help people remember the goodness of the Lord during difficult days. “The writer, perhaps one of this Levitical family of singers accompanying David in exile, mourns his absence from the sanctuary, a cause of grief aggravated by the taunts of enemies, and is comforted in hopes of relief.” [1]

By authorizing the publication of this song, David expressed his soul’s earnest desire for God. When David had to flee from King Saul, he was not able to worship with God’s people as he did before. He missed that. At that time, he found himself asking, “When shall I come and appear before God ?” The hours and days seem to drag while he was kept at distance from the sanctuary. He described his tears as his daily diet due to people questioning his relationship with God. How did David respond to such mistreatment? He poured out his soul to God.

David remembered going with crowds of worshippers into the house of God. How did his fellow worshippers enter the sanctuary? They did so with joy and praise. This multitude pilgrimaged a great distance to come and worship the Lord. Thus, they, like David, also loved the Lord greatly.

David compared his thirst for our Lord to a deer panting for water. His soul earnestly desired communion with God. The Lord refreshed his soul.

Praise God for preserving the Psalms of David. In Acts 13:22, Paul quoted from 1 Samuel 13:14 where God said, “I have found David, son of Jesse, to be a man after My heart, who will carry out all My wishes.” The Psalms are filled with expressions of love for God, which is the first and great commandment of God. We are blessed to have them. They help us express love to God.

“Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance. O my God, my soul is cast down within me.” Psalm 42:5

As David grieved the loss of being with a multitude of people joyfully praising God, his soul became disturbed and cast down. He loved the Lord. He wanted to express his love for the Lord with other worshippers. He was an outcast from his own people.

Why was David an outcast from his own people? The answer is that King Saul wanted to kill him. 1 Samuel 18:12 says, “Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul.” Saul’s evil hatred of David reminds me of Cain’s evil hatred of his brother Abel. 1 John 3:11–12, says, “For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.” The Lord loved David and David loved the Lord. 1 Samuel 15:12 says that Saul set up a monument for himself. He wanted the glory that belonged to God. He loved himself more than the Lord.

Mark 15:10 states that the chief priests handed Jesus over to be crucified because of envy. John 1:11 says that Jesus came to His own, but His own did not receive Him. Like David, Jesus had to find His fellowship with other lovers of God outside of established religious institutions due to the jealousy of those in authority.

David told his soul, “Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance.” It is good to grieve losses, but not to stay sad too long. When the Holy Spirit starts feeding your soul hope and reminding you to start praising the Lord for what you do have, it is time to change course. Better days are ahead! Romans 8:28 says that God makes all things work together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.

In Hebrew, “the word for ‘help’ is the same word for Joshua, Jesus, salvation, and deliverance.” [2] David praised God for the “Jesus” of God’s face. Jesus, God’s Son, showed us the Father.

“Therefore, I will remember You from the land of the Jordan, and from the heights of Hermon, from the Hill Mizar.” Psalm 42:6

David fled to the land of Jordan, to Mount Hermon, and to the hill of Mizar to escape from his son Absalom. Absalom turned the people of Jerusalem against David. Despite his horrible circumstances, David did not abandon God. He communed in his heart with the Lord.

Mizar means “small.” “So, most likely, the psalmist is referring to Mizar as a small or obscure hill in Israel. Thus, the psalmist is saying he will remember the Lord from the highest mountain, Mount Hermon, to the fertile and fruitful Jordan Valley, to the smallest, lowest hill of Mizar. David is telling us that whether we are on the highest, snowcapped, desolate mountain or the smallest, most obscure, forgotten place, the presence of God is our health and deliverance.” [3]

Absalom turned so many Jerusalemites against David that he had to flee to save his life. It is worth noting that Jesus also experienced a coup in Jerusalem. On Palm Sunday, a large crowd praised Him with joyful songs, but by Good Friday, the religious leaders in the city convinced a large crowd of the people to demand His crucifixion.

“Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls. All Your waves and billows have gone over me. The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me—a prayer to the God of my life. I will say to God my Rock, ‘Why have You forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?’ As with a breaking of my bones, my enemies reproach me, while they say to me all day long, ‘Where is your God?’ Psalm 42:7-10

Deep waters, noises of waterfalling, waves and billowing winds are metaphors for repetitive afflictions. Despite his trials, David was not without hope. He believed that the Lord would command lovingkindness to greet him during the daylight hours and give him songs to preserve him in the night seasons. The Holy Spirit empowered David to verbalize to God the thoughts that were on his mind. He asked God, “Why have You forgotten me?” Why were enemies allowed to oppress him and to bring him to tears?

It has been said, “Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never harm me.” But for David, the continuous insults of his enemies, made his bones feel like they were breaking. He had killed a giant and he had killed 200 Philistines in a battle, but now, he was running for his life and his enemies were asking him, “Where is your God.”

“Why are you cast down, O my soul? and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God.” Psalm 42:11

When our souls are downcast and disquieted, it is good to change course. Don’t stay there. Hope in God! Better days are ahead. Praise God! He’s as close as the mention of His Name. God will lift your countenance from it’s fallen state as you lift your prayers to Him. In 2 Corinthians 4:17, Paul wrote, “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” In Revelation 2-3, the Lord promised rewards to those who overcome the trials of their faith. In Revelation 21:4, He promised us His followers a place where there is no more death, mourning, crying or pain. Those things will be gone.

Hebrews 12:22 speaks of the city of the living God as a place of thousands and thousands of angels in joyful assembly. David is with them now. He is enjoying being with a multitude in God’s city who are worshipping with voices of joy and praise.


[1] Matthew Henry’s Commentary
[2] markhamby.net/marks-blog/where-in-the-world-is-mizar
[3] Ibid