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Christianity

Psalms 42As the Deer Pants for Water

Summary

Psalm 42 opens Book Two of the Psalter with the image of a deer longing for streams of water, as the psalmist's soul thirsts for God. Far from the temple, possibly in the region of the Jordan and Mount Hermon, he remembers leading festive crowds to God's house while others taunt him, Where is thy God? A refrain asks why his soul is cast down and answers, hope thou in God. It is a Maschil for the sons of Korah.

Key verse

“As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.”

Psalms 42:1

Themes

  • Longing for God
  • Spiritual Thirst
  • Exile from Worship
  • Hope Amid Despair

Text

1

As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.

2

My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?

3

My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?

4

When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday.

5

Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.

6

O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar.

7

Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.

8

Yet the LORD will command his lovingkindness in the day time, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.

9

I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

10

As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God?

11

Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

Text: King James Version (1611/1769), public domain.

Across traditions

  • Christianity

    Psalm 43: Send Out Thy Light

    Psalm 43 has no heading and repeats the refrain of Psalm 42, so many scholars and some Hebrew manuscripts treat the two as one poem.

  • Judaism

    Tehillim 42 in the JPS 1917 Tanakh

    The sons of Korah were a Levitical guild of temple singers. Jewish readers often hear in this psalm the voice of Israel longing for Jerusalem in exile.

  • Islam

    Surah Ar-Ra'd (13): Hearts Find Rest

    Quran 13:28 says that in the remembrance of God hearts find rest. Like the refrain of Psalm 42, it answers inner turmoil by turning the heart toward God.

Questions about Psalms 42

Who were the sons of Korah?

They were Levites descended from Korah, who rebelled against Moses in Numbers 16. Numbers 26:11 notes that his sons did not die, and their descendants served as temple musicians. Psalms 42, 44 to 49, 84 to 85 and 87 to 88 bear their name.

What does As the hart panteth after the water brooks mean?

Psalm 42:1 compares the soul's longing for God to a thirsty deer searching for water in a dry land, an image of deep spiritual desire.