Why Art Thou Cast Down

Psalm 42:5 Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him
For the help of His countenance.

Psalm 42:11 Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God;
For I shall yet praise Him,
The help of my countenance and my God.

Psalm 43:5 Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God;
For I shall yet praise Him,
The help of my countenance and my God. (NKJV)

Three times the psalmist asked himself why he was cast down, or discouraged or disquieted within himself. Three times he admonished himself to hope in God, for God shall surly raise him up and give him cause to praise and thank Him again. Three times he says this, twice in one psalm and once in the following. Three times the seraphim declared God to be holy(Is. 6). Three times the LORD called on the people of all the earth to hear the hear His word, saying, "O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD" (Jeremiah 22:29). Three times it is said God gave up or over those who will not repent of their sin and accept His truth (Rm. 1:24, 26, 28), meaning He would leave them to their own devices from then on. He would not visit them again or give them another opportunity to repent and be saved. They would be lost forever, having no more hope for redemption. They had made up their minds and He confirmed them in it. They cannot even want to repent now, for God will never again move on them with His Spirit.

But what I wanted to bring out by mentioning the times God said something three times is that when He does so He is demanding our attention to the fullest. He always means business, but at these times He is intensely trying to get our attention. We must hear and heed what He says, especially at these times. So here, in these Psalms, regarding this repetition of the psalmist, let us give heed. Though we should be cast down and depressed and disquieted within ourselves, God will yet make a way for us and we shall praise Him. There shall never be a time when He will not bring us back up from the doldrums of despair--even the worst sort. We shall ever praise Him for His goodness to us.

In praise we both glorify Him by telling of His goodness and greatness to others and even to ourselves and Him, and we give thanks to Him for His goodness to us. The same word (‏יָדָה‎ yadah) is translated both ways (praise and thanks) in the Psalms (here and Ps. 107, for instance). We never praise Him but what we give thanks, and we never give thanks to Him but what we praise. The two thoughts are ever together. We may be only intending the one, but the other is ever there. To praise God is to proclaim His worth. When we thank Him we declare His worth, for His kindness to us causes us to speak of what He did for us with a heart of rejoicing and gladness and appreciation.

We may be in the doldrums now, but we need not despair. We shall yet praise Him for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to us. Do not complain, but declare His praise!