1. Longing for God (42:1-5). During a drought, the writer saw a female deer (hind) panting and struggling to reach water to quench her thirst (Joel 1:20), and this reminded him that he thirsted for the Lord and wanted to go on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The living God was the God of his life (v. 8; see 84:2), and he could not live without Him. Note that the essentials for physical life are mentioned here: air (panting, v. 1), water (v. 2), and food (v. 3), but without worship (v. 4), life to him was meaningless. Hunger and thirst are familiar images of the quest for fellowship with God and the satisfaction it brings (36:8-9; 63:1; Matt. 5:6; John 4:10-14; 7:37-39; Rev. 21:6; 22:17). Day and night (vv. 3, 8) he felt the pain caused by separation from God’s sanctuary and by the constant ridicule of the people around him. He “fed” on his grief (not a wise thing to do) as his tears became his bread. His weeping was as regular as his eating had been.

“Where is thy God?” (vv. 3, 10) was a standard question the Gentile idolaters asked the Jews (79:10; 115:2; Joel 2:17; Mic. 7:10; see Matt. 27:43). However, the question indicates that the writer must have been a devout believer who wasn’t ashamed of his faith; otherwise, his tormentors wouldn’t have questioned him. He remembered better days when he used to lead processions of pilgrims to Jerusalem to celebrate the feasts. Either memory can be a blessed medicine for the troubled heart, or it can open new wounds and keep the pain fresh. The writer poured out his soul in prayer (v. 4; 62:8), pleading for the Lord to set him free and take him back to Jerusalem. But then he confronted himself (v. 5) and admonished himself not to be downcast but to hope in the Lord and wait on Him. The repetition of this admonition (v. 11; 43:5) suggests that the writer was having his “ups and downs” as he struggled with his circumstances and himself. He would find his consolation and peace only in the Lord and not in nature (vv. 1, 6-7), memories (v. 4), or nursing grief (v. 3). His hopes had been shattered, his prayers were unanswered, his enemies were vocal, and his feelings were more than he could handle; but God was still on the throne. God’s presence was with him, and he would yet have the joy of worshipping God in Jerusalem. That was God’s promise in His covenant (Deut. 30).