Psalm 42

0 To the leader. A Maskil of the Korahites. 
1As a deer longs for flowing streams,
  so my soul longs for you, O God.
2  My soul thirsts for God,
  for the living God.
 When shall I come and behold
  the face of God?
3  My tears have been my food
  day and night,
 while people say to me continually,
  “Where is your God?”
4  These things I remember,
  as I pour out my soul:
 how I went with the throng,
  and led them in procession to the house of God,
 with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving,
  a multitude keeping festival.
5  Why are you cast down, O my soul,
  and why are you disquieted within me?
 Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
  my help 6 and my God.
My soul is cast down within me;
  therefore I remember you
 from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,
  from Mount Mizar.
7  Deep calls to deep
  at the thunder of your cataracts;
 all your waves and your billows
  have gone over me.
8  By day the LORD commands his steadfast love,
  and 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 walk about mournfully
  because the enemy oppresses me?”
10  As with a deadly wound in my body,
  my adversaries taunt me,
 while they say to me continually,
  “Where is your God?”
11  Why are you cast down, O my soul,
  and why are you disquieted within me?
 Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
  my help and my God.

Daily Prayer (based on Psalm 42:5)

O Lord, I can put my hope in so many places other than in You. I hope that physical exercise will give me a long, healthy life. I hope that good parenting will help my children to grow up well. I hope that if I'm attentive to the needs of my congregation, they'll let me lead them as their pastor. I hope that scientists will discover a vaccine for bird flu. I hope that our nation won't be hit again with terrorist attacks. And on, and on.

Postscript

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,  and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,  who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.  In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials,  so that the genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.  Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy,  for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

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Except for the Scripture text, all material of The Daily Psalm Copyright © 2006 by Mark D. Roberts

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The Scripture text used in The Daily Psalm is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved