Psalms 43:1-5: a reflection

1Vindicate me, God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation. Oh, deliver me from deceitful and wicked men. 2For you are the God of my strength. Why have you rejected me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? 3Oh, send out your light and your truth. Let them lead me. Let them bring me to your holy hill, to your tents. 4Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my exceeding joy. I will praise you on the harp, God, my God. 5Why are you in despair, my soul? Why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God! For I shall still praise him: my Savior, my helper, and my God.

This short psalm is the prayer of a discouraged heart reaching for God. Feeling wronged and oppressed, cast down and mourning, the psalmist asks God to send out his light and truth to lead him: let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill, to your dwelling. He longs to come again to God, whom he calls his exceeding joy. And he preaches to his own downcast soul: Why are you cast down, O my soul? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.

Notice two things the psalmist does with his discouragement. First, he asks God to lead him back: send out your light and your truth, and let them bring me to you. He does not try to climb out of his gloom by himself, but asks God to lead him home, to himself, the source of joy. And second, he speaks to his own soul, refusing to leave his discouragement unchallenged: Why are you cast down? Hope in God. He preaches truth to his own heart.

Both are worth doing when we are discouraged. When your heart is cast down, do not simply sink into the gloom, and do not try to lift yourself by your own effort. Ask God to send his light and truth to lead you back to himself, your exceeding joy; and preach to your own soul, as the psalmist did, refusing to let your discouragement go unchallenged: Why are you cast down? Hope in God. Turn your downcast heart toward God, ask him to lead you back to himself, and remind your soul that you will again praise him. Discouragement is not the last word for those who hope in God; ask him to lead you back to joy, and tell your soul to hope in him.

Lord, in this psalm a discouraged heart asks you to send out your light and truth to lead him back to your holy hill, to you, his exceeding joy, and preaches to his own soul, why are you cast down? Hope in God. Teach me to do both when I am discouraged. When my heart is cast down, keep me from simply sinking into the gloom, and from trying to lift myself by my own effort. Help me ask you to send your light and truth to lead me back to yourself, my exceeding joy; and help me speak truth to my own soul, refusing to let my discouragement go unchallenged: why are you cast down? Hope in God. Turn my downcast heart toward you, lead me back to yourself, and remind my soul that I shall again praise you. Discouragement is not the last word for those who hope in you; lead me back to joy, and help me tell my soul to hope in you, my salvation and my God.