Psalm 42 & 43 : spiritual thirst and conflict
Psalms 42 and 43 are one poem in most Hebrew manuscripts because they repeat the same chorus. This Psalms is a song of the Korahites. The psalmist is in a state of distress and asks his soul why it is so downcast and troubled. He urges his soul to wait for God and declares that he will praise God once again.
The psalmist's situation is compared to that of a deer that is thirsty and searching for water. His suffering is not physical but spiritual, as he is experiencing a thirst in his soul. People have mocked him by asking where his God is, but this is actually the psalmist's own inner voice. He is in spiritual conflict.
In church or in gatherings for worship, Christians may feel a sense of community, but their souls can still feel a thirst like the psalmist. The silence of God can be experienced as his absence. The psalmist decides once again to wait for God and believes that he will praise God once again.
In the New Testament, Jesus also experienced spiritual thirst at Gethsemane and on the cross. The psalmist seems to be experiencing the same conflict as Jesus at Gethsemane. However, compared to Jesus, the psalmist has not yet reached the depths of spiritual thirst. Jesus also prayed, "Your will be done," at Gethsemane like the psalmist's decision to wait for God. But Jesus' conflict did not end there. He showed the pinnacle of spiritual thirst and conflict by crying out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" at the cross. This cry cannot be compared to the psalmist's three decisions (ps
42:5, 11; 43:5) to build his faith.
The psalmist and Jesus both needed proof of God's existence. Could the psalmist praise God again as he wished? God proved His existence by resurrecting Jesus. Therefore, the psalmist could also have praised God again.