The first time I heard this passage of Scripture as a song it was a "joyful" song. And it should be, for the soul that pants, thirsts, for the living God will find Him, and with Him comes a fullness of joy that nothing and no one else can give.
But it does not necessarily mean that the circumstances in panting and seeking for God are also joyful.
Believers are supposed to be panting and seeking God everyday. But there will come those days when we are panting and thirsting for God in not so joyful circumstances, even to the point of wanting to give up, being depressed, spiritually down or "dry" as some will call it.
Look at what the psalmist says in his song:
My tears have been my food day and night, While they say to me all day long, "Where is your God?"
The sons of Korah (the writers of this psalm) were going through painful circumstances, enough for them to be crying day and night. Their situation so bad that people were asking where their God was!
These things I remember and I pour out my soul within me. For I used to go along with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God, With the voice of joy and thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival.
Notice how the sons of Korah proclaim that they USED TO go along with the throng and lead them in the procession to the house of God, with the voice of joy and thanksgiving. These people were not strangers to God's joy and celebration. Yet, at this moment, they were down
O my God, my soul is in despair within me; Therefore I remember You from the land of the Jordan And the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar. Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls; All Your breakers and Your waves have rolled over me.
These guys were going through some turmoil in their life. What it was they do not say, but what they do confess is that they were in despair, that deep was calling to deep - there was no shoreline, no beach, to hope for. The waves were rolling over them, continually battering them.
But in the midst of their trial, they garner the last ounce of strength they have and "speak" to their soul:
Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him For the help of His presence.
Why so downcast O my soul? I remember one of the teachings of D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones where he tells his listeners to speak to their soul. Hope in God! Keep your hopes up! Don't let go of the faithfulness of God. One day I shall again praise Him.
Even in the midst of the storm, they were able to proclaim:
The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime; And His song will be with me in the night, A prayer to the God of my life. (Psalms 42:8 NASB)
What a treasure it is to know God...not just memorize Scripture, but to know Him, His promises, His teachings. And to know that no matter what circumstance we may be going through it does not change who He is! This what the sons of Korah proclaimed - even while their souls were downcast, their knowledge of who their God was had them believe that He woujld command His lovingkindness in the day and His song in the night. He was the God of their life.
Are you downcast? Speak to your soul. Dig deep into the knowledge of who your God is. If your knowledge is weak to to His word, and may the Spirit quicken your hearts to know the God of Scripture and make Him alive in your heart
Do you know someone who is downcast? Don't scold them for their lack of faith, but lead them back to who their God is, that they, too, may speak to their soul and proclaim what the sons of Korah said:
Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God. (Psalms 42:11 NASB)
