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Psalms 42

Psalms 42 Summary, Context, and Full Chapter

Psalm 42 gives words to a believer who feels distant from God, mocked by others, and weighed down by grief. Even so, the psalm keeps turning back to hope. It is honest about despair, but it also speaks to the soul with steady confidence in God.

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What happens in Psalms 42?

The psalm opens with a vivid picture of longing for God, like thirst for water. The singer remembers worship in the house of God and feels the pain of being mocked by those who question God's care. In the middle of the psalm, he speaks directly to his own soul, urging it to hope again. He describes sorrow, overwhelming troubles, and a sense of being swept under. Yet he also remembers God's steadfast love and sings to the Lord by night. The chapter ends by repeating the call to trust God and expect praise again.

Psalm 42 begins Book II of the Psalms and is attributed to the sons of Korah. It stands at the start of a section that often gives voice to lament, memory, and renewed trust. The chapter links worship in Jerusalem with present exile-like distance, showing how faith can survive when a worshiper feels far from God's presence.

Themes to notice

  • Spiritual longingThe psalm pictures a deep thirst for God that is stronger than comfort or routine.
  • Honest lamentThe writer speaks openly about tears, oppression, and the pain of feeling forgotten.
  • Hope and self-talkThe repeated questions to the soul call the worshiper back to trust, praise, and confidence in God.

Questions for Psalms 42

  • What does the opening image of thirst teach about longing for God?
  • Why does the psalmist repeat the same question and call to hope more than once?
  • How can memory of past worship help in a season of sorrow or doubt?

Read the full text of Psalms 42 below, then open it in the reader to highlight, take notes, or ask follow-up Bible questions. No account is required to read.

Psalms 42

BOOK II

As the Deer Pants for the Water

For the choirmaster. A Maskil of the sons of Korah.

1As the deer pants for streams of water,

so my soul longs after You, O God.

2My soul thirsts for God, the living God.

When shall I come and appear in God’s presence?

3My tears have been my food

both day and night,

while men ask me all day long,

“Where is your God?”

4These things come to mind as I pour out my soul:

how I walked with the multitude,

leading the procession to the house of God

with shouts of joy and praise.

5Why are you downcast, O my soul?

Why the unease within me?

Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him

for the salvation of His presence.

6O my God, my soul despairs within me.

Therefore I remember You

from the land of Jordan and the peaks of Hermon—

even from Mount Mizar.

7Deep calls to deep

in the roar of Your waterfalls;

all Your breakers and waves

have rolled over me.

8The LORD decrees His loving devotion by day,

and at night His song is with me

as a prayer to the God of my life.

9I say to God my Rock,

“Why have You forgotten me?

Why must I walk in sorrow

because of the enemy’s oppression?”

10Like the crushing of my bones,

my enemies taunt me,

while they say to me all day long,

“Where is your God?”

11Why are you downcast, O my soul?

Why the unease within me?

Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him,

my Savior and my God.

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