psalm-42:1-6,-psalm-43:1-niv

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 42:3

My tears have been my meat day and night - My longing has been so intense after spiritual blessings, that I have forgotten to take my necessary food; and my sorrow has been so great, that I have had no appetite for any. I feel more for the honor of my God and his truth than for myself, when the idolaters, who have thy people in captivity, insultingly cry, Where is thy God? read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 42:4

When I remember these things - Or, these things I shall remember. They often occur to me, and sharpen my distressful feelings. My soul is dissolved, becomes weak as water, when I reflect on what I have had, and on what I have lost. Or, I pour out my soul to myself in deep regrets and complaints, when reflecting on these things. I once enjoyed all the ordinances of God, and now I have none. I once had the joyous communion of saints in God's ordinances; but that communion no longer exists, for... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 42:5

Why art thou cast down, O my soul? - Bad as the times are, desolate as Jerusalem is, insulting as are our enemies, hopeless as in the sight of man our condition may be, yet there is no room for despair. All things are possible to God. We have a promise of restoration; he is as good as he is powerful; hope therefore in him. I shall yet praise him - For my restoration from this captivity. He is the health of my soul. I shall have the light and help of his countenance, his approbation, and... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 42:6

O my God, my soul is cast down - It is impossible for me to lighten this load; I am full of discouragements, notwithstanding I labor to hope in thee. Therefore untill I remember thee from the land of Jordan - That is, from Judea, this being the chief river of that country. And of the Hermonites - הרמונים the Hermons, used in the plural because Hermon has a double ridge joining in an angle, and rising in many summits. The river Jordan, and the mountains of Hermon, were the most... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 42:1

Verse 1 1.As the hart crieth for the fountains of water, etc The meaning of these two verses simply is, that David preferred to all the enjoyments, riches, pleasures, and honors of this world, the opportunity of access to the sanctuary, that in this way he might cherish and strengthen his faith and piety by the exercises prescribed in the Law. When he says that he cried for the living God, we are not to understand it merely in the sense of a burning love and desire towards God: but we ought to... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 42:2

Verse 2 The second verse illustrates more clearly what I have already said, that David does not simply speak of the presence of God, but of the presence of God in connection with certain symbols; for he sets before himself the tabernacle, the altar, the sacrifices, and other ceremonies by which God had testified that he would be near his people; and that it behoved the faithful, in seeking to approach God, to begin by those things. Not that they should continue attached to them, but that they... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 42:3

Verse 3 3.My tears have been my bread Here the Psalmist mentions another sharp piercing shaft with which the wicked and malevolent grievously wounded his heart. There can be no doubt that Satan made use of such means as these to fan the flame that consumed him with grief. “What,” we may suppose that adversary to say, “wouldst thou have? Seest thou not that God hath cast thee off? For certainly he desires to be worshipped in the tabernacle, to which you have now no opportunity of access, and... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 42:4

Verse 4 4.When I remember these things This verse is somewhat obscure, on account of the variation of the tenses in the Hebrew. And yet I have no doubt that the true and natural sense is, that David, when he called to remembrance his former condition, experienced so much the greater sadness by comparing it with his present condition. The remembrance, I say, of the past had no small influence in aggravating his misery, from the thought that he, who had formerly acted the part of a leader and... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 42:5

Verse 5 5O my soul! why art thou cast down? From this it appears that David contended strongly against his sorrow, lest he should yield to temptation: but what we ought chiefly to observe is, that he had experienced a strong and bitter contest before he obtained the victory over it; or we might rather say, that he was not delivered from it after one alarming assault, but was often called upon to enter into new scenes of conflict. It need not excite our wonder that he was so much disquieted and... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 42:6

Verse 6 6.O my God! my soul is cast down within me. If we suppose that this verse requires no supplement, then it will consist of two distinct and separate sentences. Literally it may be read thus: O my God! my soul is cast down within me, therefore will I remember thee, etc. But the greater number of expositors render the word על-כן , al-ken, by forasmuch as, or because, so that it is employed to express the reason of what is contained in the preceding clause. And certainly it would be very... read more

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 42:3

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 42:4

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 42:5

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 42:6

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 42:1

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 42:2

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 42:3

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 42:4

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 42:5

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 42:6

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