Psalm 42:7 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me.

NIV: Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.

NASB: Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls; All Your breakers and Your waves have passed over me.

CSB: Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your billows have swept over me.

NLT: I hear the tumult of the raging seas as your waves and surging tides sweep over me.

KJV: Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.

NKJV: Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls; All Your waves and billows have gone over me.

Because of his suffering (Psalm 42:9–10), the psalmist feels despondent. His grief is like floods cascading over his head. Nevertheless, he refers to those floods as the Lord's "breakers and waves." It appears that he sees the Lord's hand in his trials.

The phrase "deep calls to deep" can reflect a few possible meanings. One is that the deep waves and waterfalls are being followed by other, equally deep waves. This would imply a constant barrage: an unending chain of these overwhelming feelings and experiences. Another interpretation is that the depths of the psalmist's desire for God (Psalm 42:1) call out for an intense response from the Lord. Either connects to similar phrasing used in the book of Jonah, when Jonah recalls his experience being swallowed by a sea creature (Jonah 2:3).

When trials sweep over a believer, he can take courage, knowing that the Lord has a purpose in allowing those trials. Trials have the capacity to draw believers closer to the Lord if they see them as serving the Lord's purpose. In Romans 5:3–5, Paul explains that "we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." In love, God allows trials to inflict believers, not to make them bitter, but to make them better.

Psalm 42:6–11 describes the psalmist's intense dejection, but he acknowledges the Lord's power to control the storms of life. He views God as the God of his life and his Rock, and he tells his troubled soul again to hope in God and be assured that he will praise God again as his deliverer and his God.

The psalmist begins and ends with hope and dependence on God. His desire for God is like thirst: a vital need, not simply a minor emotion. Enemy attacks, mocking, or grief over being far from home should not override trust in God's goodness. Hardship naturally tempts us to become bitter and defeatist; instead, we should look forward to praising God as our Savior.

Psalms 1 through 41 are considered the first "book" of psalms. Psalm 42 is the first of "Book 2." Because of its similarity to Psalm 43, it is thought that both psalms were originally one psalm, but there is no explanation for why they were separated. This "maskil" has a similar tone to Psalms 32, 52, and 89. It is associated with the "Sons of Korah," likely a group tied to worship during the era of David and Solomon.

The book of Psalms is composed of individual songs, hymns, or poems, each of which is a ''Psalm'' in and of itself. These works contain a wide variety of themes. Some Psalms focus on praising and worshipping God. Others cry out in anguish over the pain of life. Still other Psalms look forward to the coming of the Messiah. While some Psalms are related, each has its own historical and biblical context.