Psalm 44:4-8

You are my King, O God; ordain salvation for Jacob! Through you we push down our foes; through your name we tread down those who rise up against us. For not in my bow do I trust, nor can my sword save me. But you have saved us from our foes and have put to shame those who hate us. In God we have boasted continually, and we will give thanks to your name forever. Selah

It is You, Lord, you alone who provides the strength, the power, the wisdom, the discernment and the grace to walk on the King's Way. Through You, I am triumphant, through You I vanquish all my foes of pride, greed, lust, discouragement, anger, covetousness, gossip, slander, and self-will. (To name a few) Through You I am a child of the King, called as a laborer in the Kingdom of God, a Bringer of the Glory of the Lord.

Psalm 43:5

Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.

Why do I forget Your promises? Why do I neglect to turn to You first? Lord, continue to refine me and bring me into Your Kingdom.

Psalm 119:171

My lips will pour forth praise, for you teach me your statutes.

It never ceases to amaze me, Lord, that one of the sources of praise springs from an understanding of Your law. I think that it must be that as I grow in appreciation for the comprehensiveness, the consistency, the coherence and the congruence of Your law as a demonstration of Your love for Your creation, that I must pour out praise to You.

Psalm 44:1-3

To the choirmaster. A Maskil of the Sons of Korah. O God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us, what deeds you performed in their days, in the days of old: (2) you with your own hand drove out the nations, but them you planted; you afflicted the peoples, but them you set free; (3) for not by their own sword did they win the land, nor did their own arm save them, but your right hand and your arm, and the light of your face, for you delighted in them.

Lord, I must start this Psalm with thanksgiving and praise for Your right hand and Your arm and the light of Your face have saved me from destruction and perdition. You have set me free, You have set my feet upon a path of righteousness and goodness for Your name's sake. You have established me in Your Kingdom and have appointed me to be one of Your ambassadors of reconciliation. Praise You, Almighty God and Lord of Lords.

Psalm 43:3-4

Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling! Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.

Interesting, Lord, that I just prayed that You would incline my heart to worship You as I meditated on Psalm 119:36. Your Light and Truth will lead me to the extent that I am willing to follow. Fill me with that willingness, that hunger for You.

Psalm 43:1-2

Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause against an ungodly people, from the deceitful and unjust man deliver me! (2) 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?

Why do I insist on focusing on the source of my troubles rather than the source of my strength and salvation? You do not reject me; I simply turn my eyes from You and try to work it out in my own strength and knowledge, forgetting very conveniently that You are Lord of all creation and all things are under Your feet.

Psalm 42:9-11

I say to God, my rock: "Why have you forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?" As with a deadly wound in my bones, my adversaries taunt me, while they say to me all the day long, "Where is your God?" Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.

Thank You for the challenges and problems that come my way for they are events to encourage me to turn to You for strength and guidance. The sandpaper of life, bringing smoothness to my being, bringing out the beauty of that image of You within me.

Psalm 42:6-8

and my God. My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar. Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me. By day the LORD commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.

Why is it, Lord, when I am faced with problems and troubles, that it takes me so long to turn to You? When will I learn to that You are my shield and buckler, an ever present strength in time of trouble? Why cannot I not feel the coursing of the waves of Your love over me? It is always there, never fails to be there, when I finally turn to You. What takes me so long?

Psalm 119:165

Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble.

If you love me, you will keep My commandments and I will send the Helper to walk with you and lead you into all truth. Behold, I am with you, even to the end of the age. Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine, Oh what a foretaste of glory divine.

Psalm 42:5

Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation

Why is my soul in turmoil if I have hope in God? Could it be because I am not fully trusting Him to save me? To provide for my needs? Perhaps an inability on my part to give up a want? Do I still need more lessons in how to be content in all circumstances?

Psalm 42:4

These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God with glad shouts and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival.

Yes, the joy of worship; in the prison in the evening, in an institutional church on the Lord's Day morning. Gathered with very different saints, but with saints to worship You together. Worshiping in very different formats and with very different music to open our hearts to You, but opened they were. Hearing different words of instruction and encouragement but all based on Your Word.

Psalm 42:1-3

To the choirmaster. A Maskil of the Sons of Korah. As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all the day long, "Where is your God?"

My soul craves God, yearns for the living God. Does it or is it a weak and flabby "a sip here and a little drink there," sort of thing? Should not my tongue spiritually be clinging to the roof of my mouth, my bones wasting, my strength spent as I pant for Your refreshing presence? Lord, grant me that consuming thirst.