Every verse here opens — tap a number for what that one means.
1As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.
2My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?
3My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?
4When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday.
5Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.
6O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar.
7Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.
8Yet the LORD will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.
9I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
10As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God?
11Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.
Commentary
Psalm 42, explained
What Psalm 42 is saying
Psalm 42, the first psalm of Book II and the beginning of the Korahite collection, is a lament of exile expressing intense longing for God's presence through the unforgettable simile: 'As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for You, O God.' The psalmist is geographically separated from the temple—near the Jordan's headwaters and Mount Hermon—and opponents taunt him: 'Where is your God?' The self-dialogue refrain ('Why, my soul, are you downcast?') appears three times across Psalms 42–43.
The background behind it
The Sons of Korah were Levitical temple musicians (1 Chronicles 6:31–38) whose ancestor Korah perished in rebellion against Moses (Numbers 16). Their survival and subsequent role in temple worship is itself a story of grace. Psalms 42–43 likely form a single original composition, as evidenced by the shared refrain and Psalm 43's lack of superscription.
Themes running underneath
The psalm develops the theology of spiritual thirst—desire for God as a physiological need rather than optional enhancement. The phrase 'deep calls to deep' (t'hom el-t'hom qore) evokes both the chaos waters of creation and the overwhelming waves of suffering, yet the psalmist's ultimate anchor is self-preaching: commanding his own soul to hope in God.
Why it still matters
Psalm 42 validates the experience of spiritual dryness and distance from God while modeling active resistance to despair. The discipline of preaching to oneself—interrogating one's own despondency and redirecting it toward hope—is a profound spiritual practice.
Scripture text: King James Version — public domain.