The Lord Will

Psalms 42

Old Testament · King James Version

Psalm 42 gives language to a worshiper who deeply longs for God while feeling far from the sanctuary, surrounded by tears and taunts, and repeatedly cast down within. Memory does not erase the pain: recollection of former worship intensifies the loss, while the imagery of waterfalls and waves portrays distress as overwhelming. Yet the psalm keeps addressing God, remembering steadfast love, praying through the night, and speaking hope to the troubled self. Its repeated refrain does not command instant emotional recovery; it holds lament and future praise together.

1

As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.

2

My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?

3

My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?

4

When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday.

5

Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.

6

O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar.

7

Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.

8

Yet the Lord will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.

9

I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

10

As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God?

11

Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

Context

The superscription attributes Psalm 42 to the sons of Korah and opens Book II of the Psalter. Verses 1–5 move from thirst for the living God through tears, taunts, and remembered festival worship to the first refrain of self-addressed hope. Verses 6–8 remember God from the Jordan region, Hermon, and Mount Mizar while the poet describes deep waters and waves, then recalls divine steadfast love and a song-prayer at night. Verses 9–11 return to protest, oppression, bodily anguish, and taunts before repeating the refrain. Psalm 42 and Psalm 43 are closely linked by the repeated refrain, but this commentary treats the canonical Psalm 42 as presented on the site.

Themes & application

  • Thirst for the living God
  • Lament without denial
  • Memory of worship and community
  • Overwhelming distress without despair theology
  • Prayer by day and night
  • Hope that coexists with a downcast soul

Psalm 42 gives language to a worshiper who deeply longs for God while feeling far from the sanctuary, surrounded by tears and taunts, and repeatedly cast down within. Memory does not erase the pain: recollection of former worship intensifies the loss, while the imagery of waterfalls and waves portrays distress as overwhelming. Yet the psalm keeps addressing God, remembering steadfast love, praying through the night, and speaking hope to the troubled self. Its repeated refrain does not command instant emotional recovery; it holds lament and future praise together.

Key verses

Psalm 42:1

The deer thirsting for flowing water becomes an image of the worshiper’s intense longing for God; spiritual desire is real, but it must not be used to neglect ordinary bodily needs or care.

Application: The deer thirsting for flowing water becomes an image of the worshiper’s intense longing for God; spiritual desire is real, but it must not be used to neglect ordinary bodily needs or care.

Commonly misread: Do not spiritualize thirst in a way that discourages hydration, nutrition, sleep, medicine, or other ordinary bodily care.

Psalm 42:5

The speaker asks the downcast, disturbed soul why it is cast down and tells it to hope in God for future praise; this is faithful self-address, not an order to instantly stop feeling pain.

Application: The speaker asks the downcast, disturbed soul why it is cast down and tells it to hope in God for future praise; this is faithful self-address, not an order to instantly stop feeling pain.

Commonly misread: “Hope in God” is not “cheer up.” Do not use the refrain to dismiss depression, grief, trauma, suicidal thoughts, or the need for professional help.

Psalm 42:7

“Deep calls to deep” appears amid waterfalls, breakers, and waves passing over the speaker; the imagery communicates overwhelming distress, not a secret technique for mystical revelation.

Application: “Deep calls to deep” appears amid waterfalls, breakers, and waves passing over the speaker; the imagery communicates overwhelming distress, not a secret technique for mystical revelation.

Commonly misread: Do not turn “deep calls to deep” into occult practice, numerology, guaranteed revelation, or a claim that overwhelming suffering is spiritually desirable.

Psalm 42:8

By day the LORD commands steadfast love, and at night the speaker has a song and prayer to the God of life; prayer can accompany darkness without turning sleeplessness into a required spiritual practice.

Application: By day the LORD commands steadfast love, and at night the speaker has a song and prayer to the God of life; prayer can accompany darkness without turning sleeplessness into a required spiritual practice.

Commonly misread: Night prayer does not require sleep deprivation; chronic insomnia or dangerous exhaustion deserves practical and medical attention.

Psalm 42:11

The psalm closes by repeating the question to the downcast soul and the call to hope in God, anticipating future praise while the present struggle remains honestly named.

Application: The psalm closes by repeating the question to the downcast soul and the call to hope in God, anticipating future praise while the present struggle remains honestly named.

Commonly misread: Hope may be repeated before feelings change; do not measure another person’s faith by how quickly distress resolves.

Common misreadings of Psalms 42

Misreading: Do not spiritualize thirst in a way that discourages hydration, nutrition, sleep, medicine, or other ordinary bodily care.

In context: The deer thirsting for flowing water becomes an image of the worshiper’s intense longing for God; spiritual desire is real, but it must not be used to neglect ordinary bodily needs or care.

Misreading: Longing to “appear before God” does not guarantee visions, voices, signs, or supernatural experiences on demand.

In context: The soul thirsts for the living God and longs to appear before God; the verse expresses desire for divine presence rather than a demand for a vision, manifestation, or answer on command.

Misreading: Persistent tears, grief, depression, or trauma symptoms are not proof of weak faith; seek appropriate human support and clinical care when needed.

In context: Tears become the speaker’s food day and night while others ask where God is; sustained grief can coexist with faith and does not prove that God has abandoned the sufferer.

Misreading: Remembered worship should not be used to shame people who are isolated, disabled, displaced, deconstructing, or unable to attend a congregation.

In context: The speaker pours out his soul while remembering leading the festive worshiping crowd; memory can preserve belonging and truth even when it also sharpens present loneliness.

Misreading: “Hope in God” is not “cheer up.” Do not use the refrain to dismiss depression, grief, trauma, suicidal thoughts, or the need for professional help.

In context: The speaker asks the downcast, disturbed soul why it is cast down and tells it to hope in God for future praise; this is faithful self-address, not an order to instantly stop feeling pain.

Misreading: The geographical references do not create a required pilgrimage route or make one place spiritually superior to all others.

In context: Because the soul is downcast, the speaker deliberately remembers God from the Jordan region, Hermon, and Mount Mizar; remembrance can orient prayer without making a sacred journey mandatory.

Misreading: Do not turn “deep calls to deep” into occult practice, numerology, guaranteed revelation, or a claim that overwhelming suffering is spiritually desirable.

In context: “Deep calls to deep” appears amid waterfalls, breakers, and waves passing over the speaker; the imagery communicates overwhelming distress, not a secret technique for mystical revelation.

Misreading: Night prayer does not require sleep deprivation; chronic insomnia or dangerous exhaustion deserves practical and medical attention.

In context: By day the LORD commands steadfast love, and at night the speaker has a song and prayer to the God of life; prayer can accompany darkness without turning sleeplessness into a required spiritual practice.

Misreading: Feeling forgotten by God can be prayed honestly, but it should not be weaponized to prove that God has literally rejected a suffering person.

In context: The worshiper calls God “my rock” while asking why he seems forgotten and why oppression continues; covenant trust is strong enough to voice protest without treating the feeling of abandonment as the final truth.

Misreading: The bodily language of anguish does not diagnose a disease, and enemy taunts do not authorize threats, harassment, or revenge.

In context: The opponents’ taunts feel like a deadly wound in the bones as they repeatedly ask where God is; the verse names severe embodied anguish without offering a medical diagnosis or authorizing retaliation.

Misreading: Hope may be repeated before feelings change; do not measure another person’s faith by how quickly distress resolves.

In context: The psalm closes by repeating the question to the downcast soul and the call to hope in God, anticipating future praise while the present struggle remains honestly named.

Cross-references

  • Psalm 43:5 — Keep this verse within Psalm 42’s movement from thirst and remembered worship through overwhelming distress and protest toward repeated hope in God.
  • Psalm 63:1 — Keep this verse within Psalm 42’s movement from thirst and remembered worship through overwhelming distress and protest toward repeated hope in God.
  • Psalm 84:2 — Keep this verse within Psalm 42’s movement from thirst and remembered worship through overwhelming distress and protest toward repeated hope in God.

Frequently asked questions about Psalms 42

Does Psalm 42 say a faithful person should never feel depressed or downcast?
No. The psalm repeatedly names a downcast and disturbed soul while continuing to pray and hope. The refrain is not a command to manufacture a better mood or a substitute for appropriate mental-health care.
What does “deep calls to deep” mean in Psalm 42:7?
In context the phrase belongs to the roar of waterfalls, breakers, and waves that picture overwhelming distress. It should not be detached into an occult formula, a promise of mystical revelation, or a claim that suffering proves special spiritual status.
Why does Psalm 42 repeat “Hope in God”?
The repeated refrain gives the lament a recurring orientation toward future praise without pretending the present pain has already disappeared. Biblical hope here lives alongside tears, questions, memory, and prayer.

Sources & editorial notes

Translation
Commentary anchored in the public-domain Psalm 42 text used by the site.
Authorship
The superscription attributes Psalm 42 to the sons of Korah; no datable historical crisis is identified.
Editorial process
Chapter-specific synthesis checked against Psalm 42’s movement from thirst and remembered worship through overwhelming distress and protest to repeated hope, with mental-health, medical, pastoral, and anti-occult safeguards.

References

  • Psalm 42 — Primary text and literary movement.
  • Psalm 43:5 — The repeated refrain links the adjacent psalm closely to Psalm 42.

Author: The Lord Will Editorial Team · Reviewed by: Ugo Candido · Updated: 2026-08-12