(Ps 42) Devotional

Apparently Psalms 42 and 43 belonged together at one time, many Hebrew manuscripts having them as one psalm. This is evident from the fact that the refrain is repeated twice in Psalm 42 (vv. 5, 11) and at the end of Psalm 43 (v. 5). Psalm 42 was the expression of the psalmist’s yearning for God, and Psalm 43 was his praise at the prospect of full communion with God.

Psalm 42. The psalmist recalls how he once worshiped in the Lord’s temple, but laments that he is now oppressed by enemies in a foreign land. Some medieval Hebrew MSS combine Psalms 42 and 43 into a single psalm.

Psalm 43. Many medieval Hebrew MSS combine Psalm 43 and Psalm 42 into one psalm. Psalm 43 is the only psalm in Book 2 of the Psalter (Psalms 42–72) that does not have a heading, suggesting that it was originally the third and concluding section of Psalm 42. Ps 43:5 is identical to the refrain in Ps 42:11 and almost identical to the refrain in Ps 42:5.

Psalms 42 and 43 are distinct psalms in the Hebrew (MT), Greek (LXX), Syriac, and Vulgate, which suggests that they were separate compositions. Yet the seamless relationship of the two poems is indicated by these factors: (1) they share a refrain (42:5, 11; 43:5); (2) Psalm 43 has no title (Ps. 71 is the only other exception in Book 2); (3) both psalms share the lament meter of 3+2; and (4) they share a similar subject.

The suppliant’s prayer for vindication against an “unfaithful nation” (43:1; see the comments on this verse) implies that, given his location in the northern kingdom, he keenly feels Israel’s unfaithfulness. One possibility is that the psalmist’s absence from Jerusalem was due to exile related to David’s flight from Absalom (but David fled in the opposite direction from Mount Hermon). Psalm 43 may very well have been written as a response to Psalm 42 (as Goldingay proposes), leaving the time quite undefined, but certainly before the Babylonian exile, since Book 3 concludes with a theological quandary about the implications of that event (Ps. 89).

sons of Korah. The superscriptions of Psalms 42; 44–49; 84–85; and 87–88 contain the phrase “sons of Korah.” The Korahites are first listed in Numbers 26:58 among the chief Levitical families. In the description of the temple bureaucracy in 1 Chronicles 24–26 the Korahites are listed as “gatekeepers” (1 Chron 26:1). Their association with praising the Lord in 2 Chronicles 20:19 may also be the basis for their mention in the Psalms and as a part of cultic psalmody.

Yearning in his soul for restoration to communion with the living God in Zion and lamenting the fact that his adversaries have prevented him, the psalmist encourages himself as he petitions the LORD to vindicate him and lead him back to the temple where he will find spiritual fulfillment and joy.