PSALM 43 - PRAYER FOR DELIVERANCE FROM DISCOURAGEMENT

PSALM 43

PRAYER FOR

DELIVERANCE FROM DISCOURAGEMENT

Psalm 43:1 Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man.

Susie: The psalmist asks the Lord to be both his judge and his defense attorney. God is the only completely righteous judge and for those who trust in Him, the best advocate.

1 John 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

Susan: He needs God to defend him against those hurling false accusations against him.

Psalm 43:2 For thou art the God of my strength: why dost thou cast me off? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

Susan: The psalmist acknowledges that God is the source from which all his strength originates.

Susie: Then he immediately turns around and asks why God seems to have withdrawn His support. He asks God and himself why he is discouraged by the attacks of the enemy.

Susan: He wonders why he has allowed himself and God has allowed him to be intensely negatively affected by the words of his enemy.

Susie: He indulges in a bit of a pity party, but then invokes God to bring him out of this state.

Susan: He pulls himself up by his sandal straps and remembers the power of the One to whom he is praying, the God with whom he has an intimate relationship. 

Psalm 43:3 O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.

Susan: Light makes me think of understanding and insight which comes from the word of God which is truth.

Psalm 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Susie: God Himself is Light and Truth as Jesus said:

John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Susie: The psalmist asks the Lord to bring him safely back to the temple, to the place of worship.

Psalm 43:4 Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God my God.

Susan: Once the Lord brings him back to the worship center, he will make a bee-line to the altar to express his exceeding joy with instrument and song, authentic worship from his heart.

Susie: He recognizes God as the source of his joy. External things, the gifts of God, are not his joy. God Himself is his joy. This is why he was so distraught when he did not feel the presence of God, when he felt rejected and abandoned.

Psalm 43:5 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

Susan: This is the same chorus used in Psalm 42, but we thought the Complete Jewish Bible captured the essence of the psalmist’s exhortation and encouragement to himself.

Psalm 43:5 (CJB) My soul, why are you so downcast? Why are you groaning inside me? Hope in God, since I will praise him again for being my Savior and God.

Susie: Note that the psalmist does not instantly recover from his spiritual depression, his desperation for feeling the power and presence of God again. He continues to work through it, being honest with God and himself, and turning back to God over and over.

Susan: We need to remember and respect that our spiritual life is a journey and a process. It is not something to be cooked in microwave. During a brother’s or sister’s time of spiritual depression, when he or she is in the valley, we are not to be there to judge their relationship to the Lord. We are to be there to bear one another’s burdens and encourage one another. We need to intercede for them until they are victorious in their battles.

Galatians 6:2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

QUESTIONS

1.               Jesus is our advocate with God the Father. What does an advocate do?

2.               Describe a time when you felt abandoned by God. What scripture(s) would be helpful to recall in such a situation? Memorize at least one of them.

3.               The psalmist needs God to be a light to lead him. How do we see God’s guiding light?

4.               The psalmist longs to be in the house of God, joyfully worshiping. Do you delight to worship God or see it as an obligation?

5.               He ends with the same chorus found in Psalm 42. For what does he praise God?

6.               List some ways you can help a brother or sister who is experiencing spiritual drought or depression.