Psalms
Chapter 42
As the Deer Longs for Streams of Water,So I Long for You, Lord
As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I go and see the face of God?
Day and night, my tears have been my food, as people ask me, day after day, “Where is your God?”
Now, as I pour out my soul, I remember all this— how I used to lead the faithful in procession to the house of God, amid shouts of joy and thanksgiving, among the feasting throng.
Why are you so downcast, my soul, why so troubled within me? Hope in God; for I will praise him again, my Savior and my God.
My soul is downcast when I remember from these lands of Jordan and Hermon, “Where are you, small mountain?”
Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; your waves and torrents have gone over me.
May the Lord bestow his love by day, by night, his song is upon my lips— a prayer to the God of my life.
I say to God, my rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why do I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?”
My whole being suffers in mortal agony, as my adversaries continually taunt me, “Where is your God?”
Why are you so downcast, my soul, why so troubled within me? Hope in God; for again I will praise him— my savior and my God.
Commentaries
42
The Levite is far from Jerusalem, exiled to the land where the Jordan originates. The sound of its flowing waters is to him a lament for the lost joy of the Temple festivals. We, too, are in exile, and this psalm should enhance our awareness of it. But our desires are not for ‘this mountain’ (Jn 4:21) or that, as the psalmists longed for Zion. Our Lord has given us a higher hope: to ‘see the face of God,’ not merely through sacred ceremonies. We are to see him ‘as he is’ (1 Jn 3:2). Pray for God to stir in you a desire for heaven. Like the Levites, we remain in exile here as long as we do not see the face of God. It’s good that we aren’t too quickly satisfied with just a few beautiful ceremonies. Long for God as a deer longs for flowing streams, and your happiness will endure forever, not just for a little while.