The No-Name Infirmity
“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).