Recently, my daily reading plan took me through Psalm 42. At the same time, I was contemplating Luke 16:19-31, in preparation for worship on Mother’s Day morning. What struck me, and resonated deeply with me, were the images and realities of distance and separation in each passage. I confess that in these days when we as a church family are not able to meet face to face, a sense of distance and separation has become a running undercurrent in my own life.

Luke 16:19-31 consists of the parable of “The Rich Man and Lazarus” which contains a strong image of separation: “The rich man died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.”(v22-23) and “’…between us [Abraham and Lazarus] and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us’”(v26). The chilling truth for the rich man is that he has reached the point of eternal separation from God, where the temporality and true worth of worldly riches have been exposed. For him, the story is over.

In contrast, in Psalm 42, the author (likely David, according to Matthew Henry and John Calvin) is in the midst of a figurative storm, in exile and without access to the temple, and talks about how his “tears have been my food day and night.”(v3) He remembers “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.” (v4) Henry, in his Concise Commentary, says this: “It was not the remembrance of the pleasures of the court that afflicted David; but the remembrance of the free access he formerly had to God’s house, and his pleasure in attending there.”

David lands in the truth that “By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the god of my life.”(v8) and encourages his spirit “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.”(v11) Per Henry again, “Let us never think that the God of our life, and the Rock of our salvation, has forgotten us, if we have made his mercy, truth, and power our refuge. Thus the psalmist strove against his despondency: at last his faith and hope obtained the victory.” There is such encouragement here! Where the rich man found himself utterly separated from God, David knew he still had time. He kept pressing on. Even as his separation from the temple continued and his troubles mounted, he kept faith in the God of his salvation. By the grace of God we have time as David did, and are called to turn to the Lord in our times of trouble.

“Lord From Sorrows Deep I Call” is a song which captures the cry of the hearts of believers who are struggling during these days, and reminds us of the immovable anchor we have in our God; our rock, our redeemer, our hope, and our salvation. May you be encouraged as I have been.

Lord, from sorrows deep I call
When my hope is shaken
Torn and ruined from the fall
Hear my desperation
For so long I've pled and prayed
God, come to my rescue
Even so the thorn remains
Still my heart will praise You 

Storms within my troubled soul
Questions without answers
On my faith these billows roll
God, be now my shelter
Why are you cast down, my soul?
Hope in Him who saves you
When the fires have all grown cold
Cause this heart to praise You 

And, oh, my soul, put your hope in God
My help, my Rock, I will praise Him
Sing, oh, sing through the raging storm
You're still my God, my salvation 

Should my life be torn from me
Every worldly pleasure
When all I possess is grief
God, be then my treasure
Be my vision in the night
Be my hope and refuge
Till my faith is turned to sight
Lord, my heart will praise You 

And, oh, my soul, put your hope in God
My help, my Rock, I will praise Him
Sing, oh, sing through the raging storm
You're still my God, my salvation 

And, oh, my soul, put your hope in God
My help, my Rock, I will praise Him
Sing, oh, sing through the raging storm
You're still my God, my salvation 

References:  

• Matthew Henry’s Bible Commentary (concise): https://www.christianity.com/bible/commentary.php?com=mhc&b=19&c=42
• ESV Bible