Psalm , Sarah Barry
MY SOUL PANTS FOR GOD
Passage: Psalm 42:1~11  
Key verse: 1
BOOK II
Psalms 42–72Psalm 42[a][b]For the director of music. A maskil[c] of the Sons of Korah.
1 As the deer(A) pants for streams of water,(B)
so my soul pants(C) for you, my God.
2 My soul thirsts(D) for God, for the living God.(E)
When can I go(F) and meet with God?
3 My tears(G) have been my food
day and night,
while people say to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”(H)
4 These things I remember
as I pour out my soul:(I)
how I used to go to the house of God(J)
under the protection of the Mighty One[d]
with shouts of joy(K) and praise(L)
among the festive throng.(M)
5 Why, my soul, are you downcast?(N)
Why so disturbed(O) within me?
Put your hope in God,(P)
for I will yet praise(Q) him,
my Savior(R) and my God.(S)
6 My soul is downcast within me;
therefore I will remember(T) you
from the land of the Jordan,(U)
the heights of Hermon(V)—from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep(W)
in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers
have swept over me.(X)
8 By day the Lord directs his love,(Y)
at night(Z) his song(AA) is with me—
a prayer to the God of my life.(AB)
9 I say to God my Rock,(AC)
“Why have you forgotten(AD) me?
Why must I go about mourning,(AE)
oppressed(AF) by the enemy?”(AG)
10 My bones suffer mortal agony(AH)
as my foes taunt(AI) me,
saying to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”(AJ)
11 Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.(AK)
For the director of music. A maskil[c] of the Sons of Korah.
1 As the deer(A) pants for streams of water,(B)
so my soul pants(C) for you, my God.
2 My soul thirsts(D) for God, for the living God.(E)
When can I go(F) and meet with God?
3 My tears(G) have been my food
day and night,
while people say to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”(H)
4 These things I remember
as I pour out my soul:(I)
how I used to go to the house of God(J)
under the protection of the Mighty One[d]
with shouts of joy(K) and praise(L)
among the festive throng.(M)
5 Why, my soul, are you downcast?(N)
Why so disturbed(O) within me?
Put your hope in God,(P)
for I will yet praise(Q) him,
my Savior(R) and my God.(S)
6 My soul is downcast within me;
therefore I will remember(T) you
from the land of the Jordan,(U)
the heights of Hermon(V)—from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep(W)
in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers
have swept over me.(X)
8 By day the Lord directs his love,(Y)
at night(Z) his song(AA) is with me—
a prayer to the God of my life.(AB)
9 I say to God my Rock,(AC)
“Why have you forgotten(AD) me?
Why must I go about mourning,(AE)
oppressed(AF) by the enemy?”(AG)
10 My bones suffer mortal agony(AH)
as my foes taunt(AI) me,
saying to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”(AJ)
11 Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.(AK)
Footnotes
- Psalm 42:1 In many Hebrew manuscripts Psalms 42 and 43 constitute one psalm.
- Psalm 42:1 In Hebrew texts 42:1-11 is numbered 42:2-12.
- Psalm 42:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
- Psalm 42:4 See Septuagint and Syriac; the meaning of the Hebrew for this line is uncertain.
Cross references
- Psalm 42:1 : S Ps 18:33
- Psalm 42:1 : S Dt 10:7
- Psalm 42:1 : S Job 19:27; Ps 119:131; Joel 1:20
- Psalm 42:2 : Ps 63:1; 143:6
- Psalm 42:2 : S Jos 3:10; S 1Sa 14:39; S Mt 16:16; Ro 9:26
- Psalm 42:2 : Ps 43:4; 84:7
- Psalm 42:3 : S Job 3:24
- Psalm 42:3 : ver 10; Ps 79:10; 115:2; Joel 2:17; Mic 7:10
- Psalm 42:4 : S 1Sa 1:15
- Psalm 42:4 : Ps 55:14; 122:1; Isa 2:2; 30:29
- Psalm 42:4 : S Ezr 3:13
- Psalm 42:4 : S Jos 6:5; Ps 95:2; 100:4; 147:7; Jnh 2:9
- Psalm 42:4 : Ps 35:18; 109:30
- Psalm 42:5 : Ps 38:6; 77:3; La 3:20; Mt 26:38
- Psalm 42:5 : S Job 20:2
- Psalm 42:5 : S Ps 25:5; S 71:14
- Psalm 42:5 : Ps 9:1
- Psalm 42:5 : Ps 18:46
- Psalm 42:5 : ver 11; Ps 43:5
- Psalm 42:6 : Ps 63:6; 77:11
- Psalm 42:6 : Ge 13:10; S Nu 13:29
- Psalm 42:6 : S Dt 3:8; S 4:48
- Psalm 42:7 : S Ge 1:2; S 7:11
- Psalm 42:7 : Ps 69:2; Jnh 2:3
- Psalm 42:8 : Ps 57:3
- Psalm 42:8 : S Ps 16:7
- Psalm 42:8 : Ps 77:6
- Psalm 42:8 : Ps 133:3; Ecc 5:18; 8:15
- Psalm 42:9 : Ps 18:31
- Psalm 42:9 : S Ps 10:11
- Psalm 42:9 : S Ps 35:14
- Psalm 42:9 : Job 20:19; Ps 43:2; 106:42
- Psalm 42:9 : Ps 9:13; 43:2
- Psalm 42:10 : S Ps 6:2
- Psalm 42:10 : Dt 32:27; Ps 44:16; 89:51; 102:8; 119:42
- Psalm 42:10 : S ver 3
- Psalm 42:11 : ver 5; Ps 43:5
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source:  BibleGateway
1. My soul pants for you, O God (1-4)
A deer running from the hunters longs for water, for he cannot stop to drink from cool streams. Men who are harassed and driven by the world become like a hunted deer. Their souls are thirsty for God. The Psalmist had been a servant of God, but personal problems or national tragedy or family troubles had cut him off from God. [He may be a captive in a foreign land.] Tears are his food day and night, and godless men mock him. Still he knows that the only solution is to meet the living God.
2. Why are you downcast, O my soul? (5-11)
He rebukes his soul for despairing amid the pressures of life. He knows that he must not despair, but put his hope in God. God is our hope, for he is our Savior. He is our God. He is our Rock; by day his love directs us, and by night his song is in our hearts. He is the God of my life; I must pray to him and not despair.
Prayer: Lord, I put my hope in you. My soul longs for you like a thirsty deer.
One Word: My soul thirsts for God