Psalm 42:6-11 (CB)

6 My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar. 7 Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. 8 By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me—a prayer to the God of my life. 9 I say to God my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?” 10 My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, “Where is your God?” 11 Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

SELF-COMMUNION.

 “I will yet praise him” (vv5, 11; Ps 43:5) is not just a prediction of change but an active exercise. When we are discouraged, we listen to the fearful speculations of our hearts. “What if this happens?” “Maybe it’s because of that!” Here instead we see the psalmist not merely listening to his troubled heart but addressing it, taking his soul in hand, saying, “Remember this, O soul!” He reminds his heart of the loving things God has done (vv 6–8). He also tells his heart that God is working within the troubles—the waves sweeping over him are “your” waves (v 7). This self-communion is a vital spiritual discipline.

Prayer: Lord, I need to learn how to preach to my own heart, rather than just listening to its foolish or panicky chatter. Help me learn how to effectively say to my unruly inward being, “Put your hope in God!” Amen.