Bible study · Psalm 42:1-11
Psalm 42: As the deer pants
Read Psalm 42:1-11 before you meet.
In a few lines
Psalm 42's pants is a word the Hebrew Bible has only here and in Joel 1:20, where the animals pant at water brooks that have dried up. And its refrain, "Hope in God!" (42:5), comes three times across Psalms 42 and 43: in Hebrew 42:11 and 43:5 are the same, letter for letter, though the WEB words their endings differently.
The verse to carry
“Why are you in despair, my soul? Why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God! For I shall still praise him for the saving help of his presence.”
Psalm 42:5
To talk about
1. "As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants after you, God" (42:1). When have you felt a thirst like that for God, and what was it like?
2. The psalmist speaks to their own soul: "Why are you in despair, my soul? Why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God!" (42:5). What do you tell yourself when you are low, and how does it compare with what the psalm says?
3. "These things I remember" (42:4): the psalmist remembers going with the crowd to God's house. What do you remember of God's goodness that helps you when he seems far away?