“Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business on great waters, they see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep. For he commands and raises the stormy wind, which lifts up the waves of the sea. They mount up to the heavens, they go down again to the depths; their soul melts because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end” (Psalm 107:23-27, NKJV).
“Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me?... O my God, my soul is cast down within me” (Psalm 42:5-6, NKJV).
Scholars aren’t certain who the writer of this psalm is, but we do know for sure that something is bothering him. His soul is deeply disturbed, and he can’t explain why. This psalmist is on fire for God. He pants after the Lord the way a deer pants for water (see Psalm 42:1), thirsting after the Lord, yearning for intimacy. He asks, “When shall I come and appear before God?” (Psalm 42:2).
When we allow Jesus to be Lord of all—when we cast all our cares upon him, fully trusting in his Word and resting in his love—our appearance should undergo a deep change. A quiet calm should begin to radiate from our face. Scripture gives us many examples of this: When Hannah laid down her burden, “. . . her face was no longer sad” (1 Samuel 1:18, NKJV).
David boldly declared, “For I shall yet praise him, the help [health] of my countenance” (Psalm 42:11, NKJV). In the original Hebrew, the proper rendering of this verse is “God is the salvation of my face!”
I believe David is saying something important here. You see, your face is a billboard that advertises what’s going on in your heart. All the joy or turmoil that’s inside you is reflected in your countenance. When I speak of countenance, I am talking about facial expression, body language, tone of voice.
“For the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” (Exodus 34:14, NKJV).
Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? (see 1 Corinthians 10:22). Yes, it is possible. Paul wrote in his letters to the effect of “You have testified that you love him. You’ve even taken his name, yet has someone or something else stolen your heart?”
It is not enough for Jesus to win your heart. He has to be the satisfaction of your heart!
There are many believers who have never been satisfied with Jesus. They're up or down according to their circumstances. That is not a suitable bride for this bridegroom. No, a certain beauty must adorn his bride in order to attract him: “So the King will greatly desire your beauty” (Psalm 45:11, NKJV). What is this beauty?
It's not the ‘bad’ that is the enemy of the Christian, but the ‘good.’ It's family, career, job, children. The Lord wants his time alone with us. It is crucial we give him our full attention.
If you want to be in the bride of Christ, you must be concerned with more than escaping hell. Rather, you must have a deep desire not to be absent on that great wedding day!
The marriage described in Psalm 45 is a union far grander and more glorious than any earthly one. The bridegroom is our Lord Jesus Christ, and the bride is his church.
The best teachers in any church are not the ones in the pulpit. Rather, they are sitting in the pews right next to us, people who have suffered and yet still worship the Lord.