A Healthy Countenance
by Pastor Andrew Wolfenbarger
08/30/2023
Psalm 42:11 – “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.”
Suggested reading: Psalm 42
Every parent knows the look of a sick child. Their eyes are heavy, and their cheeks are flush. A child that is usually full of energy retreats to a couch to find warmth under a blanket. If you ask a question, their voice is weak. When you touch their forehead, your suspicions are confirmed that they are running a fever. Long before you ever touched that child, you knew. You could see in their countenance that they were not healthy.
In our Psalm, the exact struggle of the psalmist is unknown, but his sorrow is very apparent. He does his best to keep his mind and heart upon the Lord.
1. He Goes To Church
Psalms 42:4 – “for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God,”
2. He Guards His Attitude
Psalms 42:4 – “with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday.”
3. He Grips The Goodness Of God
Psalm 42:8 – “Yet the LORD will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me,”
None of this is easy, of course. His real-world circumstances are doing everything to discourage him.
1. His Alienation
Psalm 42:6 - “O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar.”
• It is believed that “the hill Mizar” (Hebrew for ‘small mountain’) is a foothill near the Mount Hermon Mountain range located between Lebanon and Syria. The author is about 120 miles from where he wants to be in Jerusalem.
2. His Agitation
Psalm 42:3 - “My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?”
• His agitators are the tears that continually flow down his cheeks because of his depressed state. They mock him by saying, “Where is your God?”. It seems at times, our broken hearts may say, “If God loved you, He wouldn’t allow you to go through this”. Or sometimes our tears may say, “If you had faith, you wouldn’t be so sad about your situation”.
3. His Attention
Psalm 42:11 - “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.”
• This man is so broken, but he has decided to trust in the Lord. He knows that if his situation is to change it will be through the working of God in his life, but he also knows that if his situation does not change, God alone can fix his spirit.
We do not know if this man’s plight ever changed. We do know that his God never did. We read of the internal struggle that occurs when we try to believe in God while combating the world. These words remind us that the Christian life is spiritually, physically, and emotionally taxing. Yet, through all of this, our countenance does not need to appear defeated or frustrated, because God is the health of our countenance. As our minds are set upon God (v. 6) and our soul hungers for God (v. 1-2) we can have a healthy countenance in a barren wasteland.
08/30/2023
Psalm 42:11 – “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.”
Suggested reading: Psalm 42
Every parent knows the look of a sick child. Their eyes are heavy, and their cheeks are flush. A child that is usually full of energy retreats to a couch to find warmth under a blanket. If you ask a question, their voice is weak. When you touch their forehead, your suspicions are confirmed that they are running a fever. Long before you ever touched that child, you knew. You could see in their countenance that they were not healthy.
In our Psalm, the exact struggle of the psalmist is unknown, but his sorrow is very apparent. He does his best to keep his mind and heart upon the Lord.
1. He Goes To Church
Psalms 42:4 – “for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God,”
2. He Guards His Attitude
Psalms 42:4 – “with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday.”
3. He Grips The Goodness Of God
Psalm 42:8 – “Yet the LORD will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me,”
None of this is easy, of course. His real-world circumstances are doing everything to discourage him.
1. His Alienation
Psalm 42:6 - “O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar.”
• It is believed that “the hill Mizar” (Hebrew for ‘small mountain’) is a foothill near the Mount Hermon Mountain range located between Lebanon and Syria. The author is about 120 miles from where he wants to be in Jerusalem.
2. His Agitation
Psalm 42:3 - “My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?”
• His agitators are the tears that continually flow down his cheeks because of his depressed state. They mock him by saying, “Where is your God?”. It seems at times, our broken hearts may say, “If God loved you, He wouldn’t allow you to go through this”. Or sometimes our tears may say, “If you had faith, you wouldn’t be so sad about your situation”.
3. His Attention
Psalm 42:11 - “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.”
• This man is so broken, but he has decided to trust in the Lord. He knows that if his situation is to change it will be through the working of God in his life, but he also knows that if his situation does not change, God alone can fix his spirit.
We do not know if this man’s plight ever changed. We do know that his God never did. We read of the internal struggle that occurs when we try to believe in God while combating the world. These words remind us that the Christian life is spiritually, physically, and emotionally taxing. Yet, through all of this, our countenance does not need to appear defeated or frustrated, because God is the health of our countenance. As our minds are set upon God (v. 6) and our soul hungers for God (v. 1-2) we can have a healthy countenance in a barren wasteland.
Posted in Living for God, Trials
Posted in Psalm 42, countenance, healthy, sickness, struggle, sorrow, discouragement, Mind
Posted in Psalm 42, countenance, healthy, sickness, struggle, sorrow, discouragement, Mind
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