Tabor Baptist Church

Overview

• Psalm 42 and 43 are essentially one psalm joined by a common verse (42:11, 43:5)
• A song of desire and longing
• The historical context is that David has been virtually hounded out of his kingdom
• Absolom is after his own throne
• David is a long way from Jerusalem in Mount Hermon (v6)
• David is with a group of loyal men
• This psalm reflects authentic Christian experience:
• Presence of contradictions in the Christian life
• Pouring out of the heart to God
• Practice of self communion
• How do the sons of Korah and we respond:
• There is a longing for satisfaction
• There is a longing for satisfaction
• There is a longing for certainty

Presence of Contradictions in the Christian Life

• Contradictory experiences:
• Despair and assurance
• Joy and mourning
• Sinking and confidence
• Surely Romans 7:24-25 emphasises this
• Hymn of John Newton
• Like the psalmists we must be honest and admit there are contradictions in our Christian life
• These contradictions will not be done away with until we are serving God in glory
• We are sinners saved by grace but we battle against sin
• Paul has paradoxes in his ministry
• When he is most low God is most glorified
• When he is most restricted (in prison) his ministry prospers and flourishes

Pouring out of the Heart to God

• We should not be surprised to find ourselves pouring out our heart to God
• 43:2
• The psalmists come before God not in pretense but in the reality of the situation
• The psalmists make progress in this
• They have reassurance
• There may be a 'but', a 'nevertheless' or a 'yet'
• "I shall yet praise Him"

Practice of Self Communion

• A fancy way of talking to yourself
• This is what the psalmist is doing
• This is not madness but the start of sanity
• It is a faculty that animals do not possess
• We can meditate on the issues and facts, we question what happened and why we feel the way we do
• It should not be over done - to be to analytical - this can make us depressed
• We are not indulging in 'psycho-babble'
• We are not questioning Scripture but questioning our experience in relation to this
• Are we forgetting what Scripture has promised?
• Are we being selfish (like Jonah)?
• Are we being angry?
• Why are we downcast?
• Are we thinking too much about money or the world?
• We bring ourselves to the sovereign God

How do the sons of Korah and we respond?

• Why do the sons of Korah cry out to God?
• Why do we cry out to God?
• God is a stronghold (43:2)
• The God of my strength will remember me (42:6-7)
• Jesus guards His sheep
• We are held in the hands of the Son and the hands of the Father

There is a Longing for Satisfaction

• The longing of the psalmist is to have his satisfaction
• The psalmist thirsts - 42:1-2,8 and 43:4
• Jesus satisfies our thirst
• Jesus is the bread of Life satisfying hunger - John 6
• Jesus presents Himself to the woman of Samaria and says if 'only you had asked for living water' - John 4
• How do we respond to pressure?
• Alcohol, gaming, TV
• Do we fill our life with noise and business?
• Not to have a moment to reflect and commune with one's self

There is a Longing for Certainty

• There is assurance and hope - 43:5
• Our hope is not in man, politics, money, therapy, medication
• Our hope is in God
• Matthew Henry quote
• Are we catching hold of the promise and power of Jesus' words
• God is my rock - 42:9

There is a Longing for a Saviour

• Jesus Christ is Prophet, Priest and King
• His verdict is final
• He is our Priest who intercedes for us and laid down his life for us
• The King who reigns and is Sovereign
• The Psalmists are longing for the Son to act in these ways
• It is in the cross that we satisfaction, certainty and a Saviour
• There is a great power in music - 43:3-4
• Bought individually and corporately
• The Psalmist is ultimately being brought to the Saviour
• The holy hill, the tabernacle, the altar of God
• It is to calvary that our longing is directed
• All longing is for God
• There is no longing that cannot be satisfied in the cross of Christ
• The longing for meaning, for relationship, to fill their life with better things - is ultimately a longing for God
• Pour out your soul before God - Isaiah