Please read Psalm 43 (5 verses)

This Psalm could be a continuation of Psalm 42, as it contains similar expressions. It was certainly written at the same time and under a situation of strong duress. It could have been the result of the stress of the situation with David’s rebellious son, Absolom, who rebelled against his father and sought to kill him. 

David feels the injustice of the situation keenly. He is hurt by the opposition of other people and the insurrection and neglect around his person. He calls people deceitful and wicked, and has been deeply hurt by the insurrection of his son. He knows he is the Lord’s anointed and that God will keep him and the kingdom for him, but at the moment there is much suffering and insecurity. God is the stronghold of his life, but he feels rejected by God too. He is being tested to see if his faith will hold out and if he will trust in the Lord through it all. He asks himself a question as to why he is being neglected so. Why the constant oppression of the enemy? He pleads for the light of God in his life. He wants to know the abiding presence of the Lord and not the constant turmoil in his mind. He asks that the care of God will bring him to the holy mountain of the Lord and there he will find the peace he craves. He knows he will again experience the joy of the Lord and will praise him with the stringed instrument and know delight once again.

The psalmist recites the refrain from the previous Psalm and questions why his soul is so full of disquiet and so downcast with depression and sickness. He admonished himself by reminding himself what God has taught him and that it is not forever. He will hope always in the Lord his God and knows he will be able to praise Him soon.