Psalm 42: Being Part of the Throng of Blessing
Psalm 42
As a deer pants for flowing streams,
so pants my soul for you, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?
3 My tears have been my food
day and night,
while they say to me all the day long,
“Where is your God?”
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.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 6 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.
7 Deep calls to deep
at the roar of your waterfalls;
all your breakers and your waves
have gone over me.
8 By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,
and at night his song is with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.
9 I say to God, my rock:
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning
because of the oppression of the enemy?”
10 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?”11 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.
Neighborhood Trees #9 | Cypress, TX | January 2023
Misery loves company, they say. But that’s often a motivation to make others feel bad. This was different. The misery was lifted – at least in part – by the empathy of others, and the awareness that Tommy was not alone. He found a community of support, and it brought healing to his broken heart.
David speaks of the blessing of community as he laments the difficulty of his current situation:
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.
We easily overlook the two-way blessings of joining with others in worship. We easily think of the ways in which we are uplifted in our worship experiences. We especially appreciate when we sing a favorite hymn. We treasure those special moments when God speaks to us in a sermon. We delight in hearing our favorite Bible passages read. We are encouraged on Easter Sunday when the church is full and we hear the people sing God’s praises and confess their faith, and pray the Lord’s Prayer. These are good things. We should thank God for them.
But there is another side to all these things. If we are edified and encouraged by all these things, what about the others who are worshiping with us? Might they be encouraged in like manner? Do we not also have the opportunity to bless others when we sing the hymns, confess our faith, and pray? Do our smiles and friendly greetings also mediate courage and comfort to others in the Body of Christ? Of course they do.
Back to 8-year-old Tommy. It’s likely he was a blessing to the other boys and girls that evening as well. It’s more than likely that those who have experienced the pain of losing a dad or mom by divorce or death also needed the comfort he was seeking. This is a two-way blessing – given and received. Martin Luther calls it the “mutual conversation and consolation” of brothers and sisters in Christ.
Next time you go to worship, consider not only the needs you carry with you, the desire to be fed spiritually, the desire to be inspired, and the hope to meet God. Think also of the others who are gathering there. Seventy-five to ninety percent of the people who visit a church for the first time have just experienced a week they hope never to repeat again. Perhaps not that many regular church-goers carry those same disappointments, but some surely do. And if you are encouraged, look around for others who may need your smile, a friendly greeting, or to hear your robust confession of faith, and maybe even your sincere and humble confession of sins.
You might just be part of the throng of blessings given and received.
David Bahn - Reflections 