Interpreting Psalm 42- Parallelism, Picture, and Pattern.

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Psalm 42

1As the deer pants for the water brooks,

So my soul pants for You, O God.       

2My soul thirsts for God, for the living God;

When shall I come and appear before God?

3My tears have been my food day and night,

While they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”

4These things I remember and I pour out my soul within me.

For I used to go along with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God,

With the sound of a shout of joy and thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival.

5Why are you in despair, O my soul?

And why are you disturbed within me?

Wait for God, for I shall still praise Him,

For the salvation of His presence.

 

 

6O my God, my soul is in despair within me;

Therefore, I remember You from the land of the Jordan

And the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.

7Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls;

All Your breakers and Your waves have rolled over me.

8By day, Yahweh will command His lovingkindness;

And by night, His song will be with me,

A prayer to the God of my life.

9I say to God my rock, “Why have You forgotten me?

Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”

10As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries reproach me,

While they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”

11Why are you in despair, O my soul?

And why are you disturbed within me?

Wait for God, for I shall still praise Him,

The salvation of my presence and my God.

 

I.               Parallelism:

Verse 1- It is a Synthetic Parallelism because the first colon gives the image, “deer panting for water”, and the second colon applies it spiritually, “the soul panting for God.”

Deer panting for water brook- The soul panting for God

The psalmist longs for God for the satisfaction

Verse 2- It is a synthetic Parallelism because the first colon expresses psalmist’s thirst for the living God and the second colon extends the thought by asking a question on when he will appear before God.

My soul thirst for God- come and appear before God

The psalmist’s thirst will be quenched only in God’s presence

Verse 3- It is a synthetic parallelism because the first colon describes his grief and the second colon expand the thought by expressing taunting to him from outside.

My food day and night- say to me all day long- constant grief

The psalmist has been facing constant anguish both internally and externally (Question about provoking tears or God’s presence.

Verse 4- It is a synthetic parallelism because the first colon recalls past experiences of the psalmist and, second and third cola describe in details what the psalmist remembers.

These things I remember and pour out his soul within him - I used to go along with the throng- lead them in procession to the house of God (With the sound of a shout of joy and thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival).

The psalmist pours out his soul as he remembers of his past (leading joyful worship with the congregation in God’s house).

Verse 5- it is a blend of synonymous and synthetic parallelisms. The first and second cola are synonymous. And the third and fourth cola develop the thought further which gives the resolution of his presence conflict only through waiting for God.

Why are you in despair- why are you disturbed

Wait for God- For the salvation of His presence.

Although the psalmist is despair, he will wait for God and for the salvation of His presence.

 

Main Idea of the First Strophe: The psalmist, though in despair, pours out his soul with longing for God, remembering the past, and waits with hope for the salvation found only in His presence.

Or The scoffers provoke sorrow and longing for God’s presence to Psalmist and wait for God.

 

Verse 6- It is a synthetic parallelism because in the first colon the psalmist expresses his despair and the second colon expands the thought by describing how he remembers God.

(Progressing thought) my soul is in despair- I remember You from the land of…

Even in deep despair, the psalmist remembers God from distant places.

Verse 7- it is a synonymous parallelism because the second colon ‘all your breakers and your waves’ say the same thing which is stated in first colon ‘Deep at the sound of your waterfalls’

Deep at the soun

d of Your waterfalls- All Your breakers and Your waves have rolled over me- suffering (waves from God)

Though the psalmist feels despair by the depths of suffering, he recognizes that these suffering are from God (God’s waves)

Verse 8- It is a synthetic parallelism because the second and third cola expand what the first colon expresses.

Day and night, Yahweh’s care surrounds the psalmist which is expressed in lovingkindness by day and sustaining song by night.

Verse 9- It is a synonymous parallelism because the first colon ‘forgotten me’ is expressed as ‘go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy’

 You forgotten me- I go mourning

Because of the enemy oppression, the psalmist felt forgotten by God.

Verse 10- It is a synthetic parallelism because the second colon expands the thought of the first colon by specifying the taunt that deepens his anguish.

My adversaries reproach me- they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?

Verse 11- Same as verse 5

 

Main point of the second Strophe: Even in despair and under enemy reproach, the psalmist remembers God from distant places, acknowledges suffering as from His hand, trusts in Yahweh’s day-and-night care, and waits in hope for the salvation of His presence.

 

II.           Picture:

  • Deer panting for water (v.1) – Looking for the satisfaction/intense longing/ liquid reference
  • Thirst for the living God (v.2) – liquid reference
  • Tears as food (v.3) – liquid reference
  • I pour my soul within me – Liquid reference
  • Procession to the house of God (v.4) -
  • Deep calls to deep, waterfalls, breakers, waves (v.7)
  • Song by night (v.8) – day and night (verse 2)-
  • God as “my rock” (v.9)
  • Shattering of bones (v.10)
  • Salvation of His presence (vv.5, 11)

 

III.        Patterns:

  • Verses 5, 11, Repetition of line.
  • Pattern of water or liquid throughout the passage
  • Each strophe ends with same line (Verse 5 and Verse 11)
  • Pattern of places – house God and locations where Psalmist remembers
  • Day and night pattern- v.3: “My tears have been my food day and night.” And v.8: “By day Yahweh will command His lovingkindness; and by night His song will be with me.”
  • Pattern of questions- where is your God? in first strophe and second strophe.
  • The pattern of remember in first strophe and second strophe
  • The pattern of mentioning God in every line of strophe and in second strophe God is used in personal God (my).

Main Point of the Psalm: Though in deep despair and reproach, the psalmist pours out his soul with longing, remembers God from distant places, acknowledges suffering under His hand, trusts in Yahweh’s day-and-night care, and waits with hope for salvation found only in His presence.

Shorter: In despair and reproach, the psalmist longs for God, remembers Him from afar, accepts suffering under His hand, trusts His day-and-night care, and waits with hope for salvation in His presence.

            

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