Sermon on Psalm 42, for Advent 1 Midweek, "Hope in God"

* We had a wonderful service of Evening Prayer, at which I preached this message, and we sang many beautiful variations of Psalm 42 and hymns inspired by it or echoing themes of it. Our sermon hymn was "As the Hart" by Dewey Westra, from the Genevan Psalter, and we also sang "When Peace Like a River" (It is Well with my Soul), and "The Night Will Soon Be Ending". I wish I had made a recording to share with you the beauty of the singing! Truly stirring, with rich words of Scripture as the foundation. 

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Advent is a season of waiting and hopefulness, symbolized by the blue that adorns the altar, as we long for our coming King. Perhaps it seems out of place to you that in a season of hope, I would choose such a seeming “downer” of a Psalm to open our series. But we’ll see that in the midst of all that darkness, the Psalmist still directs us to hope in God. Psalm 42 trembles and paces back and forth with deep emotion and some have even called this Psalm a description of “spiritual depression.” The subtitle and the author’s descriptions in the Psalm indicate he is one of the music leaders of the ancient Temple—the person who would lead the crowds of worshippers in celebration and music, leading them with glad shouts and songs of praise.

It was a joyful duty, but now he is utterly laid low. Shattered—dried up in soul but drenched in tears. The memories of joyous worship now seem bittersweet to him, and joy seems impossible. Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? From the very deepest recesses of his being, there’s only a churning storm and aching sadness as he tosses and turns with sleepless nights, longing for some answer, some hope from God. And to make matters worse, his enemies pile on his misery, mocking: “Where is your God?” Under this heavy assault on his soul he feels like he is tumbling and pummeled helplessly under the waves breaking on the seashore. Anyone who has been caught in a strong shore break and been slammed down underwater and been completely disoriented, has had a taste of what the author means. This storm rages inside and outside his soul.

Why did I choose such a dark Psalm on the Advent of our Hope, as we embark on our journey of waiting for the Savior? For one, because dark times like these in life are common to almost everyone, even and especially around the holidays. Also from this Psalm we see how he is not “out of the woods yet” when he writes Psalm 42. For some people, depression can be just a dark episode after some loss in life, but for many others it can also be a long-lasting physical, mental, and spiritual battle. Whether those possibilities describe us—or may at some future point in life—there are dozens of Psalms of lament just like this one, that give expression to grief and sadness. They show us how to cry out to God in grief while still leaning firmly on the Lord and trusting Him for help, even when the end is not in sight. Relief is not always speedy; nor is it often “our way.” But we need not abandon faith. Rather, he twice asks and twice gives the answer: Psalm 42:5, 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. While he cannot bring himself to joy at the present, he knows the day will come when he will again praise God, His salvation. So his hope rests in God to restore his joy.

Have you been in a dry and thirsty place in life? Has suffering ever felt as relentless and disorienting as the shore break? Have you ever cried out to God: Why have you forgotten me? Then together with the Psalmist, you need the words of Psalms like these, and the rich and even mournful melodies of hymnody and song, to be impressed upon your heart, so that together you may answer with the Psalmist: By day the Lord commands His steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life. Psalms such as these help us pour out the sorrows of our heart to God, but not to lose hope or despair. Whether in physical or spiritual darkness, when we pray to God, we can sing Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, making melody in our hearts to God. His song is with us, a prayer to the God of our life. As the hymn we’ll sing describes it—our prayer transcends distance, seeking the God of our existence. Prayer links us to God, and His Word richly supplies us with His promises and answers.

Probably many of you have had the experience of a consoling word of Scripture or a line of a song or hymn come rising out of your heart and memory, in a time of trouble or distress. If not, that’s all the more reason to immerse yourself in the word of God, that it might dwell in you richly. This is one of the ways the Holy Spirit ministers to our hearts, comforting us in times when our road is dark. But God knows the way, and His Word is a Lamp to our feet and a light to our path. Jesus Christ is the Light of the world, the light no darkness can overcome.

So however deep the darkness becomes, it cannot overcome the light of Christ. However the waves and billows roar and pour over our troubled soul—God’s steadfast promise remains, and He is our rock, the God of our Life. Consider Christ praying this same Psalm, thirsting for God as He groans and dies on the cross; cheeks drenched in tears as He remembers the times of joyful worship in the Temple, but then filled with aching grief. But His hope in God was unshaken. He knew the day of praise and salvation in God would return. And from three day’s sleep in death, Jesus, God’s Son has risen! Psalm 42 captures the deep longing of the individual soul for salvation, and where is that hope and longing is met and fulfilled, but in Jesus Christ.

Probably few of us have ever experienced severe and life-threatening dehydration and that desperate thirst for life-giving water. But a deer panting for water is an image for us of the thirst of the soul, the deep inner thirst for God, the living God. God has made us all to be filled and satisfied by Him, and without Him we can experience a deep, life-threatening dehydration—a thirst for His life-giving water. And in our Gospel reading we heard Jesus say He is the very spring of living water. Come to Him and never grow thirsty! Jesus says, “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow streams of living water.’” By faith in Jesus, not only is our spiritual thirst satisfied, but we can also share Christ, the Living Water, with others! In Isaiah we hear God offering His refreshing waters and rich food to satisfy and nourish us, without money, and without cost. The answer to the hungry and thirsty soul is Jesus. The cost to us is free—it’s provided at God’s expense. The hope for the one who is cast down in soul, weighed down by depression, is Jesus Christ—Hope in Him, my salvation and my God. The way out of the darkness of sorrow is into the light of Christ. He is our soul’s desire, and the only person who can truly satisfy that thirst. Trust in Him and you will not thirst! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.