Bible Study

This is a copy of the Sunday School Lessons presented to an adult class each Sunday.

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Location: Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States

Retired, Lobbyist in Washington,DC - Management - BS Chemistry and various continuing education courses

Friday, March 02, 2012

Bible Study - Worship - I long for You - Psalm 42 and 43 - March 4, 2011

Bible Study – Worship – I Long for You – March 4, 2012

This is lesson one (1) in our new series entitled “The Heart of Worship.”

Our scripture is Psalm 42:1-11; 43:1-5.

Our scripture for the next four (4) weeks will be taken from the book of Psalms regarding worship. We worship what we value, cherish and love most. When we think of worship, ponder the word “worth” and then add the word “ship” to it. True worship is a matter of the heart. In John 4:23-24, JESUS was speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well about worship.

John 4:23-24 -
23 "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.
24 "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

GOD knows our hearts and HE knows whether or not people are worshipping HIM in Spirit and truth. To worship HIM in Spirit people must have experienced the miracle of rebirth through faith in CHRIST. To worship HIM in truth is to be honest with HIM when we talk with HIM.

Bible scholars are not sure who wrote Psalms 42 and 43 and most link them together as one Psalm. These Psalms certainly have elements of David’s written expressions but there is no evidence that David wrote them. David did appoint the sons of Korah to serve as choir leaders and temple musicians. Apparently, the author was a long way from the temple in Jerusalem and he longed to return so he could worship GOD. The author was grieving and distraught because he could not worship GOD in the temple. We do not know what prevented him from returning to Jerusalem. Was he in exile or being held captive as a slave?

These Psalms are described as a Maskil of the sons of Korah. A Maskil carried the idea of wisdom, instruction or skill. It is possible that it was written for the musicians who served at the temple and were gatekeepers at the temple in Jerusalem. The name Korah was recorded in 1 Chronicles 6 and 9:
The Musicians

31 These are the men David put in charge of the music in the Lord’s temple after the ark came to rest there.
32 They ministered with song in front of the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, until Solomon built the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem, and they performed their task according to the regulations [given]* The bracketed text has been added for clarity. to them.
33 These are the men who served with their sons.
37 son of Tahath, son of Assir, son of Ebiasaph, son of Korah,



1 Chronicles 9:18a-19:

These were the gatekeepers from the camp of the Levites.
19 Shallum son of Kore, son of Ebiasaph, son of Korah and his relatives from his household, the Korahites, were assigned to guard the thresholds of the tent.[3]
= the temple Their ancestors had been assigned to the Lord’s camp as guardians of the entrance.[4] 1 Ch 6:22; Nm 4:1–20; 26:11

Let’s focus on the message of the author of Psalms 42 and 43. The general theme of the Psalm deals with a person’s earnest desire for the presence of GOD but he felt abandoned by HIM. This triggered depression, which quickly prompted that person to reflect on GOD’S unfailing and everlasting love that he had experienced in the past.  

Let’s read Psalm 42:1-5:

Longing for God


1 As a deer longs for streams of water, so I long for You, God.
2 I thirst for God, the living God. When can I come and appear before God?[2] Ps 84:7; Ex 23:17
3 My tears have been my food day and night, while all day long people say to me, “Where is your God?”
4 I remember this as I pour out my heart: how I walked with many, leading the festive procession to the house of God, with joyful and thankful shouts.
5 Why am I so depressed? Why this turmoil within me? Put your hope in God, for I will still praise Him, my Savior and my God.

Our study focuses on a person who was surrounded by pagans that had their wooden or stone gods which they would show their gods to him and they kept asking him where his God was. He may have been a slave or in exile in a distant pagan land in the region of Mount Hermon. Mount Hermon was located about 125 miles from Jerusalem where the temple, which was his place of worship, was located. Since he worshipped the living and invisible GOD, he could not show these pagans his GOD. This seemed to frustrate him and caused him to question why GOD did not do something to reveal Himself through his life or some act to reveal HIS presence to these pagans.

When things in our lives are going great, it is easy to praise GOD and worship HIM. But when things are not going very well and we pray and nothing happens, it reveals our true relationship with GOD through CHRIST. Do we trust or give up on HIM? I believe the author of Psalms 42 and 43 was wrestling with this. He encountered depression but when he thought of his relationship with GOD and past experiences, he would snap out of depression. It is what I call a rollercoaster experience with GOD. We know what we are experiencing will come to an end but in between, we are on a scary controlled ride of ups and downs. Trust is important during these times. Nothing builds trust more than worship.


So what is worship? What do we value more than anything else? Answers to this question will reveal what we value most in the innermost part of our hearts – family, children, house, car, sports, jewelry, money, success, clothes, being famous, our relationship with GOD through CHRIST and the list goes on. There is nothing wrong with things and relationships with people but do these replace our relationship with CHRIST?

What is worship? We can come up with all sorts of steps and things that one must do in order to worship in a corporate environment such as church. Some of the ceremonial things are physical/mechanical things that give us the sense of worship. These things are important to some Christians to help put their innermost being into a worshipful mood. This is okay as long as these ceremonies or liturgical props do not replace the worship of GOD through CHRIST.

A worship experience can be triggered in some Christians when they see HIS handiwork in nature such as experiencing a special intimate moment when they witness a sunrise or sunset or various things in nature. Others find worship in a congregation of fellow believers or in corporate worship where the Bible is read and hymns are sung. Some people are more emotional than others - shout, raise their hands, dance. These are often outward expressions of the joy they are experiencing in their hearts. The individual Christian is the only one that really knows if they are playing a game to impress others or in genuine worship with GOD. Worship is experiencing GOD and often results in praise, thanksgiving, prayer, finding answers to questions, being Spiritually rejuvenated and adoration. Worship is a special time when we meet with GOD through CHRIST. The more Christians know about CHRIST, the more they know GOD. Worshiping CHRIST leads us to worship GOD.

Have you ever been homesick? It is a miserable and unsettling feeling. Home is our secure place. This Psalmist knew that GOD was omnipresent but he desperately needed to be Spiritually restored and the temple was his secure place. He needed to return to Jerusalem where the temple was located and where the fullness of GOD resided. He felt that GOD had abandoned him but yet he knew that GOD would not do that. Was GOD mad because he had done something wrong which resulted in GOD distancing Himself from him? He thought that he needed to return to his Spiritual home place to be Spiritually restored. In essence, he was homesick for the temple, where the fullness of GOD resided. As a Christian where does the fullness of GOD reside? The Apostle Paul said it best in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 -
19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's. (KJV)

Worship is individual and everyone does not worship alike. Worship is a matter of the heart. You may recall in our last series of study, we discovered that at the moment of salvation, we receive the fullness of CHRIST. Then as a new born Christian we need to take on nourishment, grow, exercise and mature as a Spiritual being housed in a body of flesh.  Worship is a special time when Christians come together with GOD in the innermost, personal and intimate area within them. To me this happens in the “eyes of our heart” or the most secret place within each of us where we ponder and discern truth. No human, other than the individual, knows what takes place in this most secret area but GOD does.

The psalmist began Psalm 42 by sharing his deep desire for the presence of GOD in his life. He compared his longing for GOD to the thirst of a deer that is at the point of death due to dehydration. If the deer does not get water soon, it will die. Many times Christians think of GOD someplace other than within them. They seek HIS presence at all the wrong places. As a Christian the fullness of GOD is within and coming to HIM in prayer, talking to HIM, and reading the Bible, confessing any sin that comes to mind restores his/her relationship with HIM. The psalmist was in a Spiritual desert and thirsty for the Spiritual water that only the true living GOD could provide.

The term “living GOD” revealed that he was worshiping the true GOD of Israel, YAHWEH, the covenant GOD and not a dead pagan god. The “living GOD” was the source of “living water.” This is true today. When you are in a Spiritual desert and Spiritually thirsty, worship your living Savior, JESUS.

It seems that the author may have been blocked from entering the temple for some reason when he used the words “When can I come and appear before GOD?” This may have been because of the distance between him and the temple or because, real or imagined, that he was unworthy to return to the temple. The knowledge that he was denied, for whatever reason, access to the temple resulted in him weeping so hard that he could not eat. This is grief to the bone or core of a person’s being. These could have been tears of repentance. On top of that, he had pagans around him that taunted him by asking him where his GOD was. These pagan people likely showed him their gods made out of wood or stone. Did this frustrate the author and he thought GOD should reveal Himself to these pagans to vindicate him? I think so. Yet, GOD did not reveal Himself to them. Often, GOD reveals Himself to others through HIS children. Often, our hearts need to be brought in tune with GOD and then we can be HIS witnesses to others. Worship restores and rekindles our relationship with GOD. Christians can wander in the wilderness because Satan convinces them that they are unworthy. Christians must keep in mind that they are forever GOD’S child. If this is your situation, go into HIS presence now. Confess any sin, repent and allow HIM to restore to you the joy of your salvation.

The psalmist was trying to hold onto to GOD through his remembrances of the times he worshipped HIM in the temple but he was quickly coming to the conclusion that GOD had turned HIS back on him. Then, he quickly shifted from this depressing line of thinking to recalling the hope GOD offered to all who choose to walk with HIM. When he considered this hope it resulted in praise and remembrances of the fact that GOD was his Savior and his living GOD. That knowledge trumped all the harassing remarks of the pagans and feelings of depression for awhile.

Let’s read Psalm 42:6-11:

6 I[3] Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr; other Hb mss read Him, the salvation of His presence. 6 My God, I am deeply depressed; therefore I remember You from the land of Jordan and the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep in the roar of Your waterfalls; all Your breakers and Your billows have swept over me.[4] Jnh 2:3
8 The Lord will send His faithful love by day; His song will be with me in the night— a prayer to the God of my life.
9 I will say to God, my rock,[5]
Ps 18:2; 31:3 “Why have You forgotten me? Why must I go about in sorrow because of the enemy’s oppression?”
10 My adversaries taunt me, as if crushing my bones, while all day long they say to me, “Where is your God?”
11 Why am I so depressed? Why this turmoil within me? Put your hope in God, for I will still praise Him, my Savior and my God.

The psalmist confessed that he was deeply depressed. He was in turmoil which caused him to think of Mount Hermon and Mount Mizar. He was either in that area or had been in the area. The melting snow on Mount Herman provided much of the water for the Jordan River. Mount Mizar was likely a smaller mountain in that chain of mountains. The turmoil in his life reminded him of the rushing, churning waters produced by the melting snows and the roar they make as it cascades down the mountain. Notice in verse 7, that he referred to the waterfalls, breakers and billows as GOD’S. He saw GOD’S power in the powerful waterfall, the ocean waves and the surging sea. He related this to his situation because he had been overcome by GOD’S power, yet GOD had power to help him but wouldn’t. He was helpless to overcome the power of GOD. GOD’S power had swept over HIM. GOD could have controlled the forces that rendered him helpless but HE didn’t.

He quickly reverted back to his hope in GOD. GOD would send HIS love to him during the day or times when he was not depressed. He comforted him with a song in the darkness or the times when he was depressed and felt abandoned. Much like a mother sings a song to comfort her child, GOD would comfort him. He considered GOD as his dependable, solid rock.

The psalmist quickly asked GOD,  Ps 18:2; 31:3 “Why have You forgotten me? Why must I go about in sorrow because of the enemy’s oppression?” The psalmist desperately wanted GOD to prove Himself to those who taunted him by asking him where his GOD was. It seems that the psalmist, in essence, was saying, “I know YOU exist and that YOU are all powerful, so why don’t YOU reveal Yourself to these pagans? So why am I depressed because YOU won’t take action?” He speaks of the turmoil within him, which relates back to the turmoil represented by the thunderous waterfall and the stormy sea.

Again, he quickly reverted back to the hope believers have in GOD during times like these. Even though he was experiencing all of this turmoil in his life, he had not abandoned GOD; his hope was still in GOD and he would still praise HIM. He still trusted GOD for his salvation. GOD was his personal Savior. He had not lost his faith in GOD. It seems that GOD was testing his faith, much like Job.

Let’s read Psalm 43:1-5:
1 Vindicate me, God, and defend my cause against an ungodly nation; rescue me from the deceitful and unjust man.
2 For You are the God of my refuge. Why have You rejected me? Why must I go about in sorrow because of the enemy’s oppression?
3 Send Your light and Your truth; let them lead me. Let them bring me to Your holy mountain, to Your dwelling place.
4 Then I will come to the altar of God, to God, my greatest joy. I will praise You with the lyre, God, my God.
5 Why am I so depressed? Why this turmoil within me? Put your hope in God, for I will still praise Him, my Savior and my God.


The psalmist asked GOD to vindicate him and come to his rescue against these pagan people. He had come to GOD secure in the knowledge that HE would take matters into HIS hands. He quickly wanted to know why this was happening to him. Had he committed some sin or done something to make GOD treat him this way? He wanted to know why GOD had not come to rescue him. He wanted GOD to send him HIS light and HIS truth.

These are questions many of us have asked when things are going wrong and we do not see GOD’S hand working in our behalf. When Christians are in darkness, GOD’S light and truth leads them out of the darkness into the light of HIS presence. Satan delights in keeping Christians wallowing in the dark and thinking that GOD has abandoned them. These are the times when the rubber hits the road and our true relationship with GOD through CHRIST is revealed. These are very tough times but when we emerge from the other end, in retrospect, we see how the hand of GOD worked to bring about good from our turmoil.

The psalmist wanted GOD to allow him to return to Jerusalem so he could worship HIM. He promised GOD that he would come into HIS presence with singing. Why was he depressed and in turmoil? GOD is the answer for depression and the turmoil that comes into your life. During these times of turmoil and questions we do not want to worship GOD but when we do, we find strength and comfort until the storms of life have passed.

Worship is from the heart. Worship our Savior and LORD in Spirit and truth.

Psalm 100:4 - 4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His name.[5]

Psalm 46:10 -
10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

1 Kings 19:11-12 – (The Prophet Elijah sought refuge in a cave after fleeing from Jezebel. GOD revealed Himself to Elijah.) - 11 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake:
12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.  

Worship is a two-way street. When Christians worship, they also need to be still and listen for the still small voice of GOD to speak to them. HIS voice may come when they read HIS Word or in any way HE chooses to speak to HIS children.

What is our expectation when we worship? Is GOD in our lives or someplace else? Every Christian has the fullness of GOD in them. They are the temple where GOD resides. Ponder that because it is awesome and worthy of worship!!! Blessings.

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