Psalm 42, let's read verse one. It says, as the heart panteth
after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, oh God. What a verse that is. What a
verse that is. Do you ever get tired? Do you ever get tired? And I'm
not talking about physically tired. I'm not talking about
the tired that comes from work. Last Saturday at the end of that
day, we were all tired. I'm not talking about that kind
of tired. I'm talking about tired of the struggles of this world. Tired of the heartaches of this
world and tired of the disappointments of this world. Tired of how difficult
the ruin of sin has made everything to be. Until sin came, it was
not like this. Sin just infected everything. The whole creation groaneth. And it has just ruined everything.
David said, as the heart panteth, A heart is a deer, that's what
a heart is. As the heart panteth, that word
means longs for, cries for. Can't you picture a deer just
crying for the water brooks? The place of refreshing, the
place of satisfying, the place of peace, the place of rest,
David said, as the heart panteth after the water Brooks. So panteth
my soul after the, Oh God. He said, my soul longs for, and
my soul cries for the refreshing and the satisfying and the peace
and the rest, just the, that rest and relaxation that
only comes, David said, from being with you. It only comes
from being with you. Being near you. He said, I wanna be with you
so badly. That's what he was saying. I
wanna be with you so badly. You don't know what that feels
like and you don't experience that until you start to pant. and thirst because of this ruin
and this lack. That's what he said in verse
two. He said, my soul thirsteth for God. You know what thought went through
my mind when I read that? Thank God. David said, my soul
thirsteth for God. This is what our response ought
to be. Thank God. Thank God. Any soul who can say
that with David and truly say, my soul is so thirsty, just so
thirsty for you. That soul ought to cry, thank
God. Thank God that he put that thirst
in me. Thank God that he created a parched
place in me. Thank God he created a lack in
me. Thank God. Thank God. Do you know what I'm talking
about? The way a person becomes thirsty, have you ever been thirsty?
I mean, really thirsty? The way that a person becomes
thirsty is by not having any water. That's how, it's how you
become thirsty. That thirst is what tells you
you have a need. That's what, that's the body
saying there's something wrong here. This is not right. You have a need, you have a deficiency,
you have a lack. There's a lack in you. Any sinner
who has that thirst ought to cry from the bottom of his heart.
Thank God. You know, all men and women have
this lack, but not all men and women have this thirst. And any man who has this great
thirst ought to cry, thank God. Any woman who has this great
thirst ought to cry, thank God. Because this is what God has
to say to any soul who has a thirst for him. This is what he said. He said, if any man or woman
thirst, let him come unto me and drink." That's what he cried
on that great day, that last day of the feast, the great day
of the feast. He stood up and cried, if any man thirst, let
him come unto me and drink. How gracious. How gracious. This is what he has to say to
every soul in that condition. He says, ho, everyone that thirsteth,
come ye to the waters. He said, if you ask of me, I'll
give you living water. He said, if you ask of me, if
we ask, that's the thirst. He put it there. He's using that
to draw us to himself. But if any man thirst, if any
man has a thirst, he said, if you ask of me, I'll give you
living water. Verse two, David said, my soul
thirsteth for God, for the living God. The living God, the living
God. Our God is not a theology. People love, men love theology.
Our God is not a theology. Our God is not a doctrine. It
is not a doctrine. Does it not bring absolute comfort
to your heart to know that our God is a walking, talking, active,
reigning, ruling, living God? When I was a young child, I used
to think of God, I had a picture in my mind of the Lincoln Memorial
in Washington, D.C., this big statue. That's all he did. And then one day I realized God
is a living, walking, moving, acting, ordering, doing, reigning, ruling,
controlling, keeping, protecting, providing God, the living God. David said, my soul is panting
for you. You, the living person, the living
God. Who is the living God? Who is the living God? Jesus
Christ is his name, the Lord Jesus Christ. Sweetest name I
know. Sweetest name I know. David said,
Oh, my soul is so thirsty to be with you. He said in verse two, when shall
I come and appear before God? The end of verse two, when will
it be time for all of my darkness and all of my sorrow to be over? When will I stand physically
faultless before the presence of your glory with exceeding
joy? When will I do that? David said,
I'm tired. He said, I'm thirsty. But he
said, I know that the day will come when I get to appear before
you. I know it will come. Hold your place right here and
turn over to Psalm 27. Psalm 27, verse 13, David said,
I had fainted unless I had believed
to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. All
of this tiredness, all of this panting, all of this thirsting,
David said, I would have fainted. I would have fainted. Unless and that's a big word. I would have fainted unless this
was the only thing that kept me going. This was the only thing
that kept me from fainting and falling. He said, I would have
fainted unless. I believed to see the goodness
of the Lord in the land of the living. If I did not have that
hope in front of me, I couldn't go on. But because of that hope
right there, all because of that hope right
there, all everything that is so ruined, everything that is
so troubled, everything that is just so empty and so lacking. If I didn't have that right there, I couldn't go on. I just couldn't
go on. And verse 14 right here, this
is what he's telling himself in Psalm 42. This is what he's saying to himself
in our text. Verse 14, he said, wait on the
Lord, be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart.
Wait, I say, on the Lord. He's talking to himself. Wait on the Lord. Wait on the
Lord. You will appear before the living
God. You will reach the water brooks,
you will. Your thirst will be quenched. Wait on the Lord. Wait on the
Lord. That ought to be the four words in our, that ought
to be a quick draw. Wait on the Lord. Wait on the
Lord. Wait on the Lord. There's always
something that seems so urgent and such a immediate problem
and such a this and such a that. Wait on the Lord. Wait on the
Lord, He'll take care of it. Wait on the Lord. We'll go back to Psalm 42. Verse three, David said, my tears
have been my meat. My tears have been my meat. They
seem to be all I feed on. Have you ever been so sorrowful
you don't have an appetite? You ever been so distraught and
sad and sorrowful you just can't eat? It's like you can't consume anything
because all of that sorrow and all of those tears and all of
that heartache is just consuming you. It's just eating you. Well, he said in verse three,
my tears have been my meat day and night while they continually
saying to me, where is by God? I'll tell you what will start
to turn our sorrows and our self wallowing and self pity and. heartbrokenness and everything
that just ruins everything. I tell you what, we'll start
to turn it. Honestly, if you're ever in that
place, this will turn it that fast. All we have to do is get
a good look at the panting and the thirsting and the weary heartbrokenness
that Christ endured. when he was sacrificed to God
for our sins. That's all we have to do. This
is what he cried. And you think about this. This
is what he cried. He cried, I thirst. I'm feeling this lack. I'm feeling this emptiness. Oh, the parchedness. The tears,
is it not amazing to you to think of that man crying? Is that not just, oh, how he cried. The last four
words of verse three say, where is thy God? Oh, how the Lord
Jesus Christ cried, where is my God? My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me? Knowing the answer to that will
bring a reviving. It will bring a reviving. This
is that hope. This is that hope that comes
back to our mind. When everything falls so short
of everything you hoped for here, this is where true hope comes
into play. This is the cup of cold water
that a child of God needs. It's what makes a child of God
truly long to be with him. This is what causes the love
that creates the desire to want to be done with every suffering,
every heartache that this world has to offer us. And to just
want to go be with the one who loved us. and gave Himself for
us. It's that seeing what He endured.
That's what makes us cry. You know, the last four words
of this book, well, not the last four words, but the ending verses
say, oh, come quickly. Please, Lord, come quickly. Lord
Jesus, come quickly. Oh, come quickly. Verse four
right here. He said, when I remember these
things, I pour out my soul in me. For I had gone with a multitude. I went with them to the house
of God with the voice of joy and praise with a multitude that
kept holy day. He said, there was a time when
I went with the multitude into the house of God, but now I'm
all alone. I'm just sitting here all alone.
And there are times that even if we're in the multitude, we
still feel all alone. But David said, that's the moment
that I pour out my soul to you. Whenever he puts me in that place,
that's the moment that I pour out my soul to you, whether they're
or here, it doesn't matter where it is. I pour out my soul to you. And
he said, when I do, when I find myself in that place of true
longing, longing for Christ, my God, he said, this is the
response that comes into my heart right here. Verse five. Why art
thou cast down? Oh, my soul. Why are you brought
down? I know that you have experienced
being brought down. I know that you've experienced
sorrow. I know you've experienced that, that just, just crushed spirits. And then
the Lord through his word brings you back up and you're so glad. You're just so thankful. You're
so overjoyed that the Lord would bring you back up. And that's
what he's saying right here. Why are you brought down? Why
are you cast down? Oh, my soul. Why art thou disquieted
in me? Why are you so discouraged? Hope
thou in God. Hope thou in the God who came. Hope thou in the God who was
manifest in the flesh. Hope in that God. Hope thou in
the God who came to live for his people. Hope thou in the God who came
to die for his people. Hope thou in the God who redeemed
his people and justified his people, sanctified his people. Hope thou in the one who didn't
fail. Hope in him, hope in him. Verse five, he said, why art
thou cast down, O my soul, and why art thou disquieted in me? Hope thou in God, for I shall
yet praise Him. I will, I will, in person, face
to face, praise Him. That means give thanks to Him. And he went on to say for the
help of his countenance. If you have a center reference
in your Bible, do you see for the help of his countenance translates
for his presence is salvation. You want to know what salvation
is? Being with him, being near him. Oh, just being in his presence
will save me. It'll save me from all my worry,
all my fear, all my longing, all my panting, all my thirsting,
all my lack, all my tears, all my discouragement. I know, he said, that being in
your presence is gonna save me from it all. As you've redeemed
me from my sin, you'll redeem me from all the effects of my
sin, everything that brings me down. But David said, until that
comes until that moment comes verse six, Oh 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. That was the farthest parts of
the land of Canaan. That was just the. the outside
farthest parts. And he's saying, it's just so
tough when I feel so far from you. Verse seven, he said, deep calleth
unto deep at the noise of thy water spouts, all thy waves and
thy billows are gone over me. Waves and billows are things
that continuously come. One wave knocks you down and
about the time you make it back up, the next one's right there
to knock you down again. One of the wisest, truest statements
I've ever heard regarding life in this world right here came
to me in a letter from a dear brother named Dale Simpson a
long time ago. And he opened his letter by saying,
my wife Jackie and I are currently enjoying the lull between the
trials. And that's what it is. It's just like wave after wave,
one right after the next. Thank God. Thank God. Verse eight says, yet, in spite
of all that, yet the Lord will command His loving kindness in
the daytime, And in the night, his song shall be with me and
my prayer unto the God of my life. He said, God will command. This was his hope. This same
man, David in Psalm 23, he said, the Lord, my shepherd will make
me lie down in green pastures. He'll make me do it. And right
here, he said that same Lord will command his loving kindness
in the daytime. Loving kindness means his goodness,
his faithfulness, his mercy. He will command it in the daytime. And he said in the night, his
song, his new and joyful song, that song of grace, It will be with me. And he said,
it will be with my prayer unto the God of my life, the God who
is my life. This is what the apostle Paul
said in Colossians three. He said, when Christ, who is
our life shall appear, then shall you also appear with him in glory. When he appears, he's taking
you straight to glory. Now verse nine, David said, I
will say unto God, my rock, why has thou forgotten me? God, my
rock, why has thou forgotten me? He said, I'll say that in
my faithlessness. That's where I'm going to say
it. I'm going to say that you watch and see if I don't. in my faithlessness. I'm gonna
say that in my doubts. I'm gonna say that in my fears.
I don't know why I'm gonna say that, because God is my rock. I'm gonna say that to God my
rock. My unmovable, sure foundation. That's who he is, but he said,
I will say again. In my weakness and in my fear,
verse nine, I will say unto God my rock, why hast thou forgotten
me? Why go I mourning because of
the oppression of the enemy? As with a sword, that means a
killing in my bones, My enemies reproach me while they say daily
unto me, where is thy God? Where is your God? Where is your
God? He said, I'm going to be mocked
and I'm going to be tormented not only by myself. I'm going
to do it to myself. I'm going to do it to myself.
I'm going to do it to myself, but not only by myself. I'm going
to be mocked and I'm going to be tormented by everything and
everyone around me. This is, this is something to
know. This is powerful. This right
here is something to know and remember. After brother Henry
Mahan's oldest son, Robbie died in Vietnam. Someone very, very cruelly, someone
who did not believe in the God we believe
in. And someone very cruelly asked him, where was your God
when your son died? He said the same place he was
when his son died, seated on the throne. What an answer. Now, buddy, that will bring comfort
to the heart. That will pick up the heart. So David said, in spite of me,
the Lord is my rock. That's what his answer was. The
Lord is my rock. And David said, in spite of me,
the Lord is my rock. And I can truly say in verse
11, Why 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. He said, there's no reason to
remain cast down. No reason. Look to Him. Just look to Christ. Look to
Christ. The song says, stayed upon Jehovah,
hearts are fully blessed. Everything that is opposite of
Him will go out the window. Doubts and fears and discouragements
and everything goes out the window. The Lord gives us a brief moment
every now and then to worship him. It only comes by his spirit. And when his spirit blesses us,
we truly do gather at his feet. We gather at his throne. There
are bits and moments of time where you stop hearing my voice
and you start to hear the voice of the spirit of God through
his own word. You're not hearing me. And it's
moments of true, true worship in the spiritual presence of
Him. And in those moments, everything in the world goes away. All of it. It all goes away. It's like you just rise above
it. And then when it's over, unfortunately, we have to sink
back down into it. But stayed upon Jehovah, Hearts
are fully blessed. Finding as he promised, perfect
peace and rest. Lord, bring it to us again. Bring
it to us again. Bring us to you again. Because
in just a moment, it's probably gonna be tonight, unfortunately.
We're gonna go back out there and, Lord, bring me back up again. Just keep bringing me back up
again until you finally bring me back up for the last time.
Never to come back down ever again. May the Lord help us to
do that. All right, let's all stand together.