Psalm 42:1-11

A prayer when God seems far away

42:1This is the first psalm in Book 2 of the psalms. Psalms 42 and 43 were probably once one psalm.

1 God, I need you so much!

I look for you,

as a thirsty deer looks for streams of water.

2 Deep inside me,

I am very thirsty!

You are the God who lives for ever,

and I need life from you!

When will I be able to come near to you

and see you face to face?

42:2The writer is thirsty like a thirsty deer in the wilderness, but he is not thirsty for water. He is thirsty for God. He wants to come near to God again, as he remembers he did in the past.

3 All day and all night I weep.

My tears are my only food!

My enemies say to me all the time,

‘Where is your God?’

4 When I remember how my life was before,

I am very upset and I weep.

Once I walked with a big crowd of people

to worship God in his temple.

I led the people there as we sang happy songs,

and we praised God with loud voices.

42:4The writer remembers how he worshipped God in the temple. There were crowds of people there. It was like a great party or festival. But now he is far away from God's temple in Jerusalem. So he is very sad.

5 Now I ask myself,

‘Why am I so sad and upset?’

I must wait patiently for God to help me.

Then I will praise my God once again,

because he is the one who saves me.

6 Deep inside me I am very sad.

So I will turn to you, my God, from where I am.

I will pray to you from Mount Hermon

where the Jordan River begins,

and from Mount Mizar.

7 I hear your waterfalls make a noise like thunder.

It seems like all that water is pouring over me

and it knocks me down to the ground.

42:7A waterfall is a place where a river's water pours over the edge of a big rock. The water makes a lot of noise as it falls over the edge. The Jordan River started at Mount Hermon. When it rained a lot the river poured over the rocks and made waterfalls.

8 Each day, the Lord shows me that he loves me

with his faithful love.

Each night he gives me a song to sing,

as I pray to the God who lives for ever.

42:8Now the writer realizes that God is with him, even when he is far away from Jerusalem. God does not only live in Jerusalem. God is everywhere.

9 I say to God, who is my high rock,

‘Why have you forgotten me? Why must I be so sad?

How much longer must I continue to weep,

because my enemies do cruel things to me?’

10 My enemies laugh at me all the time.

It is like they are breaking all my bones.

They are always saying,