Psalm 42 (Gladness in God, Jeff Kliewer)

Taste and See That the Lord Is Good

Oh, Father, you tell us to taste and see that you are good, and we see that, Lord. I feel your presence in this place today, and I taste the bread and the cup and recognize that you are good, so good that you have given the body and blood of Jesus Christ for our salvation to take our sin away.

We are thankful, Lord. We pray now that you would open the bread of your word to us, that we would feast upon it. Lord God, we pray that Psalm 42 would be alive to us this morning like never before in Jesus' name.

Amen. I went to CCEF, which is a counseling ministry, for a pastor lunch this week, and the speaker there gave some warning signs of spiritual decline. He said, one of the things that you need to watch out for is living off of yesterday's spiritual experiences.

It's possible that the longer that we live in this Christian life, we accumulate experiences of God, and we have spent time in the word, and we have understandings of the scripture, but there's a temptation for us then to begin to fall back on those things and no longer remain thirsty for new and fresh encounters with God in his word.

I thought that was a good warning, and I don't want to fall into that trap, so on Friday night I spent some time just devoting time to God, and what emerged was a poem that reminds me, and I hopefully will remind you, to remain thirsty.

It's called Thirsty Again. Thirsty again, though much I drink, quench not desire to hear of thee, feed my soul with thoughts to think of glory shared among the three. Thirsty again, though much I drink, quench not desire to come and see, feed my soul with thoughts to think of the Savior fastened to the tree.

Thirsty again, though much I drink, quench not desire to taste and see, feed my soul with thoughts to think of the Lord so good to rescue me. Thirsty again, though much I drink, quench not desire to live for thee, feed my soul with thoughts to think of well done my son said to me.

Till thirsty no more, and still I drink, desires fully satisfied in thee, thoughts made sight across the brink, no unmet thirst for all eternity. We need to remain thirsty in this life. There is coming a day, according to Revelation chapter 22, where there will be a stream of living water flowing through Jerusalem.

And we will be satisfied in God, but in this life, until we see him with eyes, until we're physically in his presence, we must not get content with the things of this earth. But we must hunger and thirst after righteousness.

We must hunger and thirst for more of the living God. We remain thirsty as long as we're in this body. And so we set our mind on things and thoughts that would stir our devotion and stir our hearts. We think about the Trinity.

We think about Christ fastened to a tree. We think about how it is that we were dead in sin and yet he rescued us. And we think about that coming city of God. These are the thoughts that stir us to thirst after God.

We all, in this life, will face spiritual droughts, times where we don't drink deeply of the fountain of living water that's given to us of the Holy Spirit. There will be spiritual droughts in our lives, but they're not meant to be long-lived.

They should be the aberration, not the norm. We should not live for year after year after year in spiritual drought and then become content there in a barren place. The final portion of every Christian is to be fully satisfied in God, to be glad in him, to have perfect delight in God.

The struggle in this life is to fight for that joy, to fight for that gladness, to be thirsty and hungry and never be satisfied with the things of this earth. Psalm 42 is an amazing passage. Turn with me now.

Here you have one of the Korahites, one of the sons of Korah, who is tasked with writing praise music for Israel, but he finds himself in a place of distress. He finds himself thirsty for God in a barren land, in a wilderness, a spiritual wilderness.

In fact, it could very well be that he's going through some life-threatening illness and he's depressed. He's at the end of his rope, but you see through this psalm how he preaches the gospel to himself and encourages himself to thirst after God.

The words are so powerful. Many of you know these words. As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?

So here we have a thirsty heart, a thirsty heart. Many of you know what it's like to have thirsty flesh. When it's been too long since you had a drink of water, maybe you're running a marathon and the next water station is still a mile away and you're just thirsty.

I remember playing basketball one time. I was about 36 years old and I hadn't played for about five years, so I joined a men's league and I jumped in on it and I was coming in off the bench, so my teammates didn't know if I could play or not, and within the first play on defense, I ran down the court and I jumped up and got a rebound.

Now, what my teammates didn't see is that a guy hit me in the rib and it knocked the wind out of me, so I came down with the rebound and I couldn't breathe. So I called timeout and my teammates looked at me like, what is wrong with this guy?

I called for a sub. The sub comes in and I walk off the court and get a drink of water. They all thought that I was the least conditioned athlete in the history of the world. One time down the court and I'm calling for a timeout to go get some water.

Hopefully that doesn't repeat itself very often on the court, but it was a sad experience. But I knew what it was like to feel thirst. You just wanted a drink of water. Have you ever felt that kind of thirst?

Almost like you can't breathe, but it was a spiritual thirst for God. Have you ever desired God like you desire air? Have you ever desired God like you desire water? Or are you content to live a comfortable Christian life until he comes?

I know for all of us, we tend to get comfortable in this life. We don't pant after God like a deer pants for flowing water. You guys ever notice that there's deer that live out here in our field? A lot of them.

There's about nine deer, that little family that lives here. And sometimes I think, these deer have a really pitiful life. I mean, they're great to look at. You know, you're writing a sermon and you look out and there are the deer.

And then you notice that their watering hole is that muddy patch of grass right outside there. That water that sits on our grass, that's their portion. One time, my kids and I, we took a hike up in North Jersey.

There's a mountain up there called Mount Tammany. And as you go on the hike, you climb and it's very, it was summer, so you're getting hot, you're tired. Little did I expect that as we circled around after two hours of hiking, on the other side of the mountain is an amazing water course.

Flowing rivers, there's little waterfalls. And as we came across this part of the hike, not expecting at all, it was amazing to see. Flowing water, beautiful. And I thought, you know, that's where deer should live.

Not near Mount Laurel, but near Mount Tammany. Question, what kind of water do you drink from? Is it stale, muddy and old, or is it fresh and living and flowing? Look how the deer pants in verse one. He pants for flowing streams.

He wants the flowing water, not the old and stale water that's mixed with dirt. He wants the flowing water. Do you know that the Christian life is meant to be enjoyed? That the promise of the Holy Spirit is the promise of a fountain inside of you that springs up so that your cup overflows.

That is the portion of the Christian. That's normal. And that's what all of us will have when we make it to heaven. Don't settle for something less while we're here. Like a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.

My soul thirsts for God. You notice that desperation. He has to have God. Now, as you look to verse three, you'll see what the problem is. What made him so thirsty? My tears have been my food day and night.

While they say to me all the day, where is your God? Now, this is an interesting verse because you would think that Israelites would say, your God is Yahweh. After all, the Korahites are the singers. They're of the Levitical line.

They're priests, descendants of Korah who had led a rebellion. And yet, from a subgroup of these sons of the Koathites, of Korah, these priests are the leading worshippers of Israel. They write the songs of Israel.

And yet, someone is saying to them, where is your God? Well, a clue to understanding what's going on here is that the Korahites are probably writing later than the first book of Psalms. The first book, there's 150 Psalms.

The first book includes 1 through 41. The second book of Psalms begins at chapter 42. And they're probably written later, many of them. David has some of them, but they're probably written later than the first ones.

This is later in Israel's history. Under David, all of the nation gathered together to worship the true God. His son built the temple. Look at verse 4. He longs to go back to where he's been, which is the temple.

Now, what that tells me is the house of God has already been built because he remembers going to the house of God, going to the temple. So this is later than David, later than Solomon, but Solomon had a divided heart.

And he married, catch this, it's hard to believe, 700 wives. And he had 300 concubines beside. Many of these women worshipped other gods. So now idolatry has been introduced into the nation. And yet there's a faithful remnant.

And these sons of Korah belong to that faithful remnant. And they are proclaiming the truth of Yahweh in the midst of what's becoming a hostile culture. Sound like anything that we experience? They're preaching the truth when many are departing after lies.

And so as they stand for truth, thumping their Bible, this is the true God. There's many who don't want to hear what they have to say. And evidently, when something bad happens to this Korahite, the mockers come.

Look at the end of verse 3. It's not just that he's sick. It's not just that he's dying. It's not just that he's in distress. He's being taunted all the day long by enemies of Yahweh who say, where is your God?

Guys, hear this. Even truly spiritual people will experience seasons of drought. Some of the most great and godly men who have ever lived have wrestled with spiritual drought. John Piper shares about some of his struggles.

Spurgeon struggled mightily. It's almost a pattern amongst the mighty men of God that sometimes they have to battle the enemy in the depths of depression. William Cooper, his name is spelled Cowper, C-O-W-P-E-R, was the author of many of the greatest hymns ever written in the history of the church.

God moves in mysterious ways, his wonders to perform. He wrote, there is a fountain filled with blood. But Cowper struggled mightily with depression. In fact, he was hospitalized in England. On many occasions, near the middle of his life, he had a dream that was so dark and devastating that from that time on, he was convinced that he was under the wrath of God, that he was condemned.

But after that, he turned again to the gospel. He preached the gospel to himself. And his friend John Newton, who wrote Amazing Grace, reminded him of the gospel. Hearing the gospel again and again, he continued to hope in Christ.

He faced that battle until the day he died. And yet he was truly spiritual and truly saved. William Cooper, an example for us of enduring those spiritual droughts. And now, he has eternity without that struggle.

No longer a battle with depression. He has been set free. All the chemicals in his brain have been made right. And he's delighting in God. Just because you face spiritual darkness and emotional darkness at times in your life, that does not mean that you are forsaken by God.

In fact, it could mean quite the opposite. You're very much in a war. There's a war for your soul and for your heart. And the God that you've known from your youth, since you accepted and trusted him, he is still with you.

If you've ever trusted in him, and if you haven't yet, turn to him. The darkness is not forever. The morning comes. The dawn breaks. You will be set free. Turn to him and trust in him. Psalm 42 verse 4.

See, the Korahite here, he knew that there was a better thing. Verse 4, these things I remember. I love these words. Hear the poetic beauty. These things I remember as I pour out my soul. How I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God.

With glad shouts and songs of praise. A multitude keeping festival. A history of gladness in God will help you endure the droughts. I go to the gym sometimes and I notice the guys walk up to the mirror and they're no longer shy about it.

They flex their muscles right in the mirror and examine themselves. You can even see them smiling. Big guys at the gym. And I think, okay, well, they're working on their body. They're building up the body, right?

Nothing wrong with that. I've never had the experience of looking at my body in the mirror and being in awe. Quite the opposite. But one thing I do admire about these guys is they build muscle through discipline now.

So that if they're ever in a fight, I think they're going to win. If they're ever in a situation, when they're ever battling, they have something to fight with. Spiritually, we need to build muscle now.

Not physical muscle, but spiritual muscle. While you're healthy, to take time to go into the Word and build up that strength on a Sunday morning, as you're here doing today, to gather with the assembly.

Look in verse 4. I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God. At this point, at the depths of his depression, he can fall back on the memory of times with God. Aim to be the leading voice of praise on a Sunday morning.

Build that kind of spiritual muscle now. If you're in a good time, don't take it for granted. Like those bodybuilders, work out spiritually. Praise now. Pour out your heart with glad shouts and songs of praise.

Psalm 34 says those who look to him are radiant. They're joyful. Verse 5. But this is not the case for the Korahite right now. Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise him.

My salvation and my God. Now he's in the depths of depression. And what does he say? He preaches the gospel to himself. Guys, we have a real advantage over the olden days, because nowadays we have cell phones.

So when you're talking to yourself in the car, they will assume you're talking to somebody on your cell phone. Preach the gospel to yourself. Have a conversation with your own soul. When you recognize that the thoughts that are going through your head are not of God.

Guys, hear this. Not every thought that you think comes from you. Did you know that? Not every thought that you think comes from you. Sometimes the thought that you think is implanted by the evil one.

And these dark thoughts need to be taken captive. So you need to speak to your soul and say, soul, why are you downcast? And begin to preach the gospel to yourself. If we had time, we'd go to 1 Peter chapter one, and I'd preach the gospel to you.

I plan to do that. But now I'll just give it to you as an assignment. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He's preaching to believers. According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

When your soul is sinking within you, when you're battling with depression, preach the gospel to yourself that though Jesus was put in a grave, yet he rose. And the same God that raised Jesus from the dead can resurrect you as well.

And this dark night does not end in death and in the grave and in separation. It ends in light and hope and life. It's a living hope that we have. Preach that gospel to yourself. That's what he's doing here.

He's actually talking to himself. And that's okay. Sometimes I find myself to be a pretty good conversationalist. Why are you cast down? Oh, my soul. Verse six and following. My soul is cast down within me.

Therefore, what do I do? I remember you from the land of Jordan and of Hermon from Mount Mizar. What is that? This is the source of the Jordan. Mount Hermon is a three-peaked 7 ,000-foot mountain range between Syria and Israel.

And in a dry and arid climate because of its altitude, it can capture moisture from the air and bring that down the mountain to form the Jordan River. I think the Korahite, because he says from Mount Mizar, which is a smaller hill, it just means small hill.

This little hill outside of Hermon, I think he went and sat on that little hill and looked at the mountain. And he listened to the waterfalls coming off of Hermon, the land of Jordan. And here's how he describes it.

Verse seven. Deep calls to deep. The waters spilling off. Deep calls to deep. Matthew Henry thinks that that means one trouble follows another trouble at the roar of the waterfall. The Bible knowledge commentary agrees on that.

That this is one trouble after another pouring forth off the mountain because the next verse says, at the roar of your waterfalls, all your breakers and all your waves have gone over me. He's being tossed by the water.

Deep calls to deep. I also think it means the depths of his pain, the only one who can meet that depth of his soul is the deeper God who gives these things. Notice it says all your breakers. Whose breakers are these?

Whose waves are these? Whose waterfall is this? They belong to God. Guys, it's no comfort to think that God was too far removed and that's why bad things happen to you. No, the circumstances that you're facing are called here God's waterfalls, his breakers, his waves.

God was bringing them for a reason, for a purpose, for a good purpose to work all things together for good. All your breakers and your waves have gone over me. By day the Lord commands his steadfast love and at night his song is with me.

A prayer to the God of my life. You guys remember the story of Jonah? I was reading that story again this morning and I came to the conclusion that when Jonah was thrown off the boat he actually was thinking about Psalm 42.

You want to know why? As he's sinking down in the water he uses the very language of the psalmist. He says, I am a driven away from your sight yet I will look upon you in your holy temple. Jonah chapter 2 verse 3 and 4.

You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas and the flood surrounded me. All your waves and your billows passed over me. Your breakers passed over me. Yet as Jonah was sinking down deeper and deeper even then as hopeless as that was he said in verse 4, yet I shall look upon your holy temple.

How did Jonah expect to see the temple of God? While he was sinking deep into the ocean. Psalm 42. He remembered the hope of the psalmist from that depth as the waterfalls crashed as the waves stirred him up.

Verse 8, by day the Lord commands his steadfast love and at night his song is with me. A prayer to the God of my life. Verses 9 and 10. When you're being taunted, when you're being mocked, when people come against you, take it to the rock who's stronger than them.

I say to God, my rock, why have you forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? As with a deadly wound in my bones, my adversaries taunt me while they say to me all the day long, where is your God?

I picture the taunting of Elisha when the boys came out and taunted him saying, go on up, you bald head, go on up, you bald head, mocking him for being bald. God sent bears from the woods to maul those boys.

It was not a good idea to taunt and mock the prophet. Hopefully they survived that, we're not told. Go on up, you bald head, where is your God? Guys, you will be mocked and taunted for believing in the truth of the word of God.

You'll be called a Bible thumper, Bible thumping wingnut. You'll be called intolerant and every kind of ism that can be invented. But if you stand upon the rock, you will be delivered. Let's see how this psalm ends, last verse.

He's preaching to his soul again. Why are you cast down, oh my soul? And why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. Guys, be dissatisfied with this world.

No matter what it has to offer, don't let it satisfy you. Stay hungry, never be okay with a waterless spiritual life. If you're in a season of drought, it's not over. We're doing a study, the Myers are gonna be hosting a study that's called When I Don't Desire God, How to Fight for Joy, starts this Thursday night.

If that's you, if you're in that depth, go fight for joy, go fight for joy. Aim to be the leading voice in the congregation. You'll need to remember these days. At some point, we will all face trials and troubles.

The depths of depression, perhaps. But in those days, you are not forgotten. You are never forsaken. Continue to hope in God. It is not over. It is not over. This is not the end of the story. It wasn't for William Cooper.

It wasn't for the son of Korah. He wrote this psalm and it's blessing us here today. So let's close in a word of prayer. Let's thank God. Let's turn our eyes to the source of the Jordan. Let's ask for that fountain of living water.

Let's pray. God, I just picture this son of Korah being taunted and mocked. Perhaps he's dying of an illness, feels forsaken. And what does he do? He leaves Jerusalem and he goes far off to the north, alone in the wilderness.

And he looks to the source of the Jordan. He sits on Mount Mizar and he looks at Mount Hermon and the flowing waters and he feels tossed and turned in many troubles. One trouble after another, deep calling after deep.

And yet he preaches the gospel to himself and he tells his soul, hope in God. And so now Lord, I pray that you would speak that same thing to every person who's gathered here this morning. Hope in God.

Hope in God. You can be reborn to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Revive our hearts this morning and make us thirsty, Lord. Let us be satisfied with nothing else. Let nothing else do but the fountain of living water, which is your Holy Spirit.

Help us to desire you, to have fresh encounters with you, to spend time in your word and write poetry. Lord, I pray that somebody here will go off to the wilderness this week, alone with you in their Bible.

Just be revived. Revive us again, Lord, with your living water. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Let's stand.