Meditation
Psalm 42:5-6 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise my God for the salvation of His presence. 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.[1]
What is wonderful about this attribute:
The psalmist’s enemies are way out of line and should be rebuked. But in verse 5 he does not speak about them. They aren’t the problem. His soul, which buys into the enemies’ taunts, is the problem. Yes, they should be rebuked – but much more urgent and more important is the rebuke of his own soul. It is irrational to be downcast when you belong to a God whose very presence is salvation. He is so good that His nearness alone automatically brings deliverance.
What effect would it have on your heart if you were to consciously experience worthiness of hope today?
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Experiencing this attribute:
This psalm teaches us how to deal with a divided heart. So often we are like this psalmist - simultaneously a man of convictions and a creature of change. Our resolve remains steadfast in its course while our soul – that part of us driven by appetites – wavers and falters. Steadfastness of resolve is important, but alone it is not enough. The wavering and faltering of your affections and appetites must be reigned in and set on the right course as well.
Teach me more, Father, about how to live in this life as a divided man; how to fight against my renegade soul when necessary; how to speak to my soul instead of listening to it; how to preach to myself.
He requires his soul to give an account for the way it is feeling. That is an excellent practice. When your soul is pulled the wrong way by some appetite or emotion, demand an accounting from it – forcing it to put into words the justification for the way it is feeling, so that when you hear your own attempt at justification the inadequacy of the circumstances to warrant such a response will be obvious.
And at that point, exhort your soul. Once its folly has been exposed, preach to yourself and exhort your own soul to do what it should do. And what should you preach? Preach about the great God, whose presence (face) is salvation. Why should you be in distress? If you have the Lord, what more do you need? If your soul is not satisfied with Him, what could possibly satisfy it? And if the problem is that God has turned His face away from you for a time, you have hope! God has promised not to do that forever, and that if you seek after His face He will turn to you and shine His face upon you! That kind of fellowship with God is never out of your reach! He has called upon you to seek after Him, and He has promised that such seeking will not be in vain (Isa.45:19). What a blessed condition! All that you need – all that you could possibly need – always available!
Think: What irrational anxieties are present in your heart right now? Take some time to preach to your soul.
Promise to trust today:
Isaiah 55:2 Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.
Write your own prayer:
