RETURN TO
SYLLABUS
PSALMS 42 AND PSALMS 43
LESSON #02/P2
WHY ARE YOU DOWN IN THE DUMPS?
MEMORY VERSE: PSA 42:1
THE SUB-TITLE:
THE WORD, "MASCHIL" IN THE SUB-TITLE MEANS = TEACHING, WISDOM, OR
UNDERSTANDING.
BACKGROUND:
THIS PSALM WAS WRITTEN BY ONE OF THE SONS OF KORAH.
WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THESE MEN AND WHY HAVE THEY WRITTEN SOME OF THE PSALMS?
KORAH AND HIS GREAT REBELLION:
KORAH WAS A PRIEST WHO WANTED A MORE IMPORTANT POSITION:
READ NUM 16:1-33
READ NUM 26:10-11
KORAH’S SONS:
ACCORDING TO SCRIPTURE, KORAH’S SONS WERE SPARED FROM GOD’S JUDGMENT.
READ 1CHR 9:19
READ 1CHR 6:31-33, 37
SOME OF THE SONS OF KORAH WERE INVOLVED IN GUARDING THE TEMPLE. THEY WERE DOORKEEPERS.
SOME OF THE SONS OF KORAH WERE SINGERS IN TEMPLE WORSHIP.
THOSE SONS INVOLVED IN SINGING ARE PROBABLY THE ONES WHO WROTE SOME OF THESE PSALMS AS
PART OF THEIR TEMPLE DUTIES.
READ PSA 42:1-11 AND PSA 43:1-5
THESE TWO PSALMS BELONG TOGETHER, SO WE WILL TREAT THEM AS ONE PSALM.
HOW DO WE KNOW THEY BELONG TOGETHER?
THERE IS AN OFTEN REPEATED PHRASE THAT RUNS THROUGH BOTH PSALMS.
THE PHRASE IS "CAST DOWN". (42:5, 6, 11, AND 43:5)
NOTICE THE AUTHOR IS TALKING TO HIMSELF. HE ASKS HIMSELF WHY HE IS DOWN IN THE DUMPS.
THIS IS A QUESTION WE WILL ANSWER LATER IN OUR STUDY.
THE CURRENT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE WORSHIPER AND GOD: (42:1-2)
IN THE OLD TESTAMENT TIMES, THE BELIEVING JEW CONSIDERED GOD’S PRESENCE IN A VERY
RESTRICTIVE MANNER:
HE WAS TAUGHT THAT GOD INHABITED THE HOLY OF HOLIES IN THE WILDERNESS TABERNACLE.
THEN HE WAS TAUGHT THAT GOD INHABITED THE HOLY OF HOLIES IN THE TEMPLE.
HE KNEW THAT THE PROMISED LAND OF ISRAEL WAS A GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION WHERE GOD BLESSED
HIS PEOPLE AS LONG AS THEY WERE IN THE LAND.
THEREFORE, IF YOU WANTED TO BE IN CLOSE CONTACT WITH GOD, YOU HAD TO BE IN THE PROMISED
LAND, AND YOU HAD TO GO TO THE TEMPLE.
THE BELIEVER THAT THE AUTHOR DESCRIBES DESIRES THAT CLOSE PRESENCE WITH GOD. HE IS LIKE
A VERY THIRSTY DEER IN SEARCH OF WATER. THE DEER HAD TO LEAVE THE MOUNTAINS TO FIND WATER
IN THE VALLEYS. EVIDENTLY THIS BELIEVER HAS BEEN SEARCHING FOR THAT CLOSE RELATIONSHIP
WITH GOD FOR SOME TIME.
HOWEVER, THE WRITER DESCRIBES A BELIEVER WHO CANNOT ENTER GOD’S PRESENCE. HE ASKS,
"WHEN SHALL I COME AND APPEAR BEFORE YOU?" (42:2)
THE REASON THIS BELIEVER CANNOT ENTER GOD’S PRESENCE IS BECAUSE HE IS A JEW NOT IN
THE PROMISED LAND. THE AUTHOR IS SPEAKING AS THOUGH HE IS A BELIEVING JEW WHO CANNOT GO TO
THE TEMPLE WHERE GOD’S PRESENCE RESIDES.
FROM OUR INTRODUCTION, WE HAVE LEARNED THAT THESE TWO PSALMS ARE IN THE SECTION OF THE
PSALMS CALLED, EXODUS. IN THE BOOK OF EXODUS, THE ISRAELITES WERE OUTSIDE THE PROMISED
LAND. THEY WERE IN SLAVERY IN EGYPT.
THEREFORE, THE WRITER IS SPEAKING AS THOUGH HE IS A DISBARRED BELIEVER WHO IS OUTSIDE
THE PROMISED LAND AND CANNOT GET BACK HOME. HE DOES NOT KNOW WHEN HE WILL BE ALLOWED TO
RETURN TO THE PROMISED LAND.
THE DISBARRED BELIEVER IS SURROUNDED BY NON-BELIEVERS: (42:3)
THE ISRAELITES IN EGYPT WERE SLAVES SURROUNDED BY NON-BELIEVING MASTERS. THEY DID NOT
HAVE THE POWER TO LEAVE AND RETURN TO THE PROMISED LAND WHENEVER THEY WANTED.
REMEMBERING THE PAST: (42:4)
THIS BELIEVER, WHO IS THIRSTY FOR GOD, REMEMBERS HIS PAST EXPERIENCES IN THE PROMISED
LAND. HE RECALLS WHEN HE WOULD TO WORSHIP GOD AND EXPERIENCE GOD’S CLOSE PRESENCE IN
THE TEMPLE. HE RECALLS HIS TIMES OF JOYFUL WORSHIP WITH ALL THE OTHER JEWS ON THE FEAST
DAYS.
WHY ARE YOU DOWN IN THE DUMPS? (42:5)
WELL, NO WONDER HE IS SO DEPRESSED. THINGS SEEM PRETTY HOPELESS:
HE FEELS DISTANCED FROM GOD.
HE IS FAR FROM HIS HOMELAND.
HE IS SURROUNDED BY NON-BELIEVERS.
HE IS A SLAVE AND DOES NOT KNOW IF HE WILL EVER GET HOME TO ISRAEL AGAIN.
BUT THERE IS HOPE! (42:5b-6)
DESPITE THIS HOPELESS SITUATION, WE CAN SEE THE BELIEVER’S FAITH IN A GOD HE DOES
NOT FEEL IS CLOSE TO HIM.
"I SHALL YET PRAISE HIM FOR THE HELP OF HIS COUNTENANCE."
IN OTHER WORDS, NO MATTER HOW DARK THE SITUATION BECOMES, NO MATTER HOW FAR AWAY I FEEL
FROM GOD, I WILL PRAISE GOD ANYWAY BECAUSE BY FAITH I KNOW HE WILL HELP ME. I KNOW HE IS
THE ONLY HOPE.
BECAUSE THIS DISBARRED BELIEVER IS SO DEPRESSED, BY HIS OWN WILL, HE DETERMINES TO
CONTROL HIS THOUGHTS. HE WILL ONLY THINK ABOUT THE GOOD MEMORIES OF THE PAST.
READ PHI 4:8
THIS DISBARRED BELIEVER IS PRACTICING EXACTLY WHAT PAUL SAID IN PHI 4:8.
HOWEVER, AS WE ALL KNOW, WHEN WE TRY TO CONTROL OUR THOUGHTS AND STEER OUR MIND AWAY
FROM THE DEPRESSION AND THE ADVERSE SITUATIONS, OUR THOUGHTS SEEM TO QUICKLY RETURN TO THE
SAME ROUND OF DEPRESSED THINKING.
THOSE UPS AND DOWNS ARE EXACTLY WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THIS DISBARRED BELIEVER.
IN 42:7 = AT NIGHT ALL HIS TROUBLES AND DEPRESSION WASH OVER HIM AGAIN TO THE POINT THAT
IT SEEMS HE IS DYING.
THE AUTHOR USES A LITERARY PICTURE OF DEATH IN THIS VERSE.
IN 42:8 = HE STRUGGLES WITH CONCENTRATING ON GOD. HE TRIES TO PRAY IN THE DAY SO THAT AT
NIGHT HE CAN SING GOD’S SONGS.
IN 42:9 = HE QUESTIONS GOD’S PRESENCE AND HELP.
IN 42:10 = HE IS LISTENING TO THE DOUBTS AND TAUNTS WITH WHICH THE NON-BELIEVERS HAVE
BOMBARDED HIM.
IN 42:11 = HE IS BACK UP AGAIN, CONTROLLING HIS THOUGHTS AND THINKING BY FAITH ON GOD.
APPLICATION OF THE PSALM:
THERE IS NOT ONE OF US WHO CAN’T RELATE TO THIS DEPRESSED BELIEVER. THERE IS NOT
ONE OF US WHO HAS TRIED TO CONTROL HIS THOUGHTS AND THINK POSITIVELY, EVEN THOUGH THE RIDE
MAY SEEM TO BE BUMPY AND YOUR MOOD RISES AND FALLS WITH THE SUN. HOWEVER, FOR VICTORY OVER
THE DEPRESSION, WE MUST KEEP PRACTICING PHI 4:8. IT IS A SPIRITUAL WARFARE THAT REQUIRES
MENTAL STRUGGLE ON A SPIRITUAL LEVEL.
THE PROPHETIC ASPECTS OF PSA 42 AND PSA 43:
THE WRITER OF THESE PSALMS EXPRESSES THE THOUGHTS OF A BELIEVER OUTSIDE THE PROMISED
LAND.
HE LOOKS BACK IN ISRAEL’S HISTORY TO THE TIME OF SLAVERY IN EGYPT THAT OCCURRED IN
THE BOOK OF EXODUS. THIS IS THE HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE.
HOWEVER, THE WRITER ALSO LOOKS FORWARD IN TIME WHEN SLAVERY IN EGYPT WILL OCCUR AGAIN
FOR THE JEWS.
READ DEU 28:64-68
MOSES WROTE THE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY AFTER THE ISRAELITES WERE FREED FROM EGYPT UNDER THE
LEADERSHIP OF MOSES. HE TELLS THEM THAT SLAVERY IN EGYPT WILL OCCUR AGAIN.
TO THIS DATE WE HAVE NOT SEEN THIS PROPHECY FULFILLED. WHEN WILL IT OCCUR?
THE PROPHECY OF DEU 28:64-68 WILL OCCUR IN THE FUTURE TRIBULATION PERIOD OF SEVEN YEARS
WHEN THE ANTI-CHRIST REIGNS. IN THE MIDDLE OF THESE SEVEN YEARS, THE ANTI-CHRIST WILL TURN
ON THE JEWS, BREAK HIS PEACE TREATY WITH THEM, AND BEGIN TO PERSECUTE THEM. HE WILL ROUND
UP MANY JEWS AND INTERN THEM IN EGYPT.
IF WE CONSIDER THESE PSALMS FROM A FUTURE PERSPECTIVE, WE SEE A JEWISH BELIEVER OUTSIDE
THE PROMISED LAND UNABLE TO WORSHIP GOD IN THE TEMPLE.
HOW DO WE KNOW THESE PSALMS HAVE A FUTURE PROPHETIC PERSPECTIVE?
READ PSA 43:1
THE DISBARRED BELIEVER IS AN INNOCENT CAPTIVE UNJUSTLY IMPRISONED IN AN UNGODLY NATION.
HE PLEADS WITH GOD TO FREE HIM FROM "THE DECEITFUL AND UNJUST MAN". WHO IS
THIS UNJUST MAN?
HE IS THE ANTI-CHRIST WHO RULES THE WORLD IN THE TRIBULATION PERIOD.
PSA 43:3 = HE CRIES FOR GOD TO SEND OUT HIS LIGHT AND TRUTH TO COME TO HIM, LEAD HIM,
AND BRING HIM INTO GOD’S HOLY HILL.
JESUS CHRIST IS THE PERSONIFICATION OF GOD’S LIGHT AND TRUTH.(JOH 8:12 JOH 14:6)
THE TRIBULATION BELIEVER IS LOOKING FORWARD TO THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS CHRIST, THE
PERSONIFICATION OF GOD’S LIGHT AND TRUTH.
THE TERM, GOD’S "HOLY HILL", HAS A DOUBLE SIGNIFICANCE.
IT IS A GEOGRAPHICAL REFERENCE TO THE JEWISH TEMPLE IN JERUSALEM.
IT ALSO HAS A BROADER UNDERSTANDING THAT REFERS TO CHRIST’S MILLENNIAL KINGDOM OF
1,000 YEARS ON EARTH.
APPLICATION OF THESE TWO PSALMS:
EVEN THOUGH THESE PSALMS REFER TO JEWS WHO CONSIDERED GOD’S MANIFEST PRESENCE ON A
VERY LIMITED GEOGRAPHICAL LEVEL, THE NEW TESTAMENT BELIEVER KNOWS THAT GOD’S PRESENCE
IS ACCESSIBLE ANYWHERE AND EVERYWHERE.
READ JOH 4:19-24
JESUS TOLD THE WOMAN AND THE WELL THAT WORSHIP IN GOD’S PRESENCE WAS NOT CONFINED
TO A PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION.
READ HEB 10:19-20
THESE VERSES TELL US THAT THROUGH THE SHED BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST ON THE CROSS, WE CAN
ENTER INTO GOD’S PRESENCE JUST AS THOUGH WE WERE LITERALLY WALKING INTO THE OLD
TESTAMENT TEMPLE.
WITH THESE THOUGHTS IN MIND, THE BELIEVER IS NEVER WITHOUT IMMEDIATE ACCESS TO GOD. EVEN
THOUGH WE MAY NOT FEEL GOD’S PRESENCE, HE IS BUT A PRAYER AWAY.
THE DISBARRED BELIEVER REMEMBERED THE JOY HE EXPERIENCED WHEN HE WORSHIPPED WITH OTHER
BELIEVERS IN GOD’S TEMPLE.
THERE IS AN ENCOURAGEMENT IN WORSHIPPING WITH OTHER BELIEVERS IN CHURCH. IF YOU CONTINUE
ATTENDING CHURCH DURING DEPRESSING TIMES, YOU WILL RECEIVE ENCOURAGEMENT.
HOMEWORK
PSALM 44
THIS IS A SELF-STUDY. PLEASE DO NOT SEND HOMEWORK ANSWERS TO THE TEACHER FOR
CORRECTION.
APPLICATION OF PSA 42 AND PSA 43:
IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR PERSONAL LIFE RELATE TO THIS PSALM?
WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM YOUR EXPERIENCE AND THIS PSALM THAT WILL HELP YOU THROUGH
ROUGH TIMES IN THE FUTURE?
PREPARATION FOR PSA 44:
READ PSA 44:1-26
THE WORD, "MASCHIL" IN THE SUB-TITLE MEANS = TEACHING, WISDOM, OR
UNDERSTANDING.
WHAT SPECIFIC WISDOM DO YOU SEE IN THIS PSALM?
THIS PSALM WAS SUNG AT PASSOVER CELEBRATIONS. WHAT REFERENCE DO YOU FIND TO THE FIRST
PASSOVER?
WHY DOES PAUL QUOTE PSA 44:11, 22 IN ROM 8:36 AND 2COR 4:11?