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Song: As The Deer
Scripture: Psalm 42
The circumstances of the psalmist who wrote this petition and hymn are not given. But there are suggestions within the text that he was an exile being led away as a captive, probably to Babylon.
Being led with a rope along with other slaves through the northern, rugged terrain of Israel toward an uncertain end, perhaps he spied a deer searching for drink. Such a scene may have inspired his prayer, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for Thee, O God.”
The Babylonian captors, fondling their gold trophies and trinkets taken from the temple in Jerusalem, jeer and poke fun. They boast about how their idols have proven victorious over Jehovah. The psalmist wrote, “They say to me all day long, ‘Where is your God?’”
How different is the procession the psalmist now leads—a file of slaves in chains! He used to be at the front of the column when Hebrew pilgrims made their treks to the annual festivals in Jerusalem. Now the temple is in ruins and he is being carried as a tribute to the gods of Babylon.
Then while crossing the northern mountains where the headwaters of the Jordan flow, the hope of the psalmist is refreshed. Here is water for the panting deer. Jerusalem may be destroyed, its temple ruined, its people scattered, but God has not ceased to reign. He cared for the city. Will He abandon the citizen? He waters a lone deer. Will He not refresh this devoted pilgrim? Now the psalmist’s face is brightened. “Hope in God,” he concludes, “the help of my countenance, and my God.”
Jason Moore
