30 A CRY FOR HELP F O O T ================================
- H O L D
READING
30 A CRY FOR HELP
PRAY Meet my need through the scriptures today, loving Father.
READ Psalm 42:1-11; 43:1-5.
THINK For what does the Psalm-writer thirst? What action does he take?
FOCUS All of us go through times when our worship appears dull and flat, and God seems far away. The writer of this Psalm knew feelings like that. He describes himself as thirsty for God. Like a deer in a rain- starved wilderness, he wants only one thing. He has a spiritual dryness and he thirsts to worship in God’s presence (1,2). This is accentuated by the misfortune of being a Levite exiled a long way from home. It is probable he lived in Dan during the reign of Jeroboam I. We are told in 1 Kings 12:28-31 that the people of the North were forbidden to go on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Later he probably moved south (2 Chronicles 11:13-17). He remembers great experiences in the Temple, when he joined happily in the festival. But these memories only make his present exile more painful (4). Recollection can lead in one of two directions: either to melancholy, despair or self-pity, or else to a new resolution and purposefulness. The psalmist chooses the latter. The past is for instruction, not mere nostalgia. Obviously Psalms 42 and 43 were each ending with the same refrain. In the words of this refrain the psalmist speaks bluntly to himself. Notice the question he asks himself. (42:5,11; 43:5). Self-pity asks ‘Why me?’ and stops there. Faith also asks why, but goes on to act. What does the psalmist resolve to do? If we do this, the change in the way we feel may not be ‘instant’, but if we go on trusting God even when it’s hard, things will improve. ——————————————————————
PRAY Pray for anyone you know who is in trouble.