Psalm 43:2 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For you are the God in whom I take refuge; why have you rejected me? Why do I go about mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

NIV: You are God my stronghold. Why have you rejected me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?

NASB: For You are the God of my strength; why have You rejected me? Why do I go about mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

CSB: 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?

NLT: For you are God, my only safe haven. Why have you tossed me aside? Why must I wander around in grief, oppressed by my enemies?

KJV: For thou art the God of my strength: why dost thou cast me off? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

NKJV: For You are the God of my strength; Why do You cast me off? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

Discouragement is a natural result of hardship. This verse continues a pattern of describing the psalmist's frustrations. These alternate with expressions of hope in God's eventual rescue (Psalm 43:4). In this moment of struggle, the writer's focus was on difficult circumstances instead of God. This led him to an attitude of grief and a suspicion that God had abandoned him.

A believer today may focus on adverse circumstances instead of God and be tempted to despair. Often the outlook looks bleak. Yet looking to a hopeful future with God brings comfort, hope, and joy. The writer to the Hebrews encourages believers to look "to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2). Despite persecution, the psalmist acknowledged that God was his refuge. He sheltered in God amid stormy oppression from his enemy. Believers are securely sheltered in God. Jesus said no one can tear believers from His Father (John 10:29). Paul writes that the believer's life is "hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:3).

Psalm 43:1–4 asks God to come to the psalmist's assistance and defend his cause against the wicked. He expresses faith in the Lord but struggles with the feeling that God has rejected him. He prays for guidance to bring him back to the temple, where he anticipates worshiping God joyfully.

The psalmist prays to be delivered from ungodly people and injustice. He places trust in God, but grapples with feelings of abandonment during his hardships. He prays for God's light and truth to bring him back to Jerusalem, where he will gladly worship the Lord. The psalm concludes with a rhetorical question asked twice in the prior psalm (Psalm 42:5, 11).

Intricately connected in themes and phrases, Psalm 42 and Psalm 43 might have originally been a single song. Many Hebrew manuscripts render the two as one. In Psalm 43 the psalmist asks the Lord to lead him back to Jerusalem, where he could once again joyfully worship Him. This continues to express Psalm 42's concepts of discouragement overcome by purposeful faith in God.

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.

Accessed 5/2/2024 7:06:46 AM