Psalm 42
"As the hart panteth" — the great psalm of longing and loneliness.
As the hart panteth after the water brooks,
so panteth my soul after thee, O God.
My soul thirsteth for God,
for the living God:
when shall I come and appear before God?
My tears have been my meat day and night,
while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?
Why art thou cast down, O my soul?
and why art thou disquieted in me?
hope thou in God:
for I shall yet praise him
for the help of his countenance.
Deep calleth unto deep
at the noise of thy waterspouts:
all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.
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.
Amen.
About this prayer
Psalm 42 is the prayer of a soul that has been displaced — far from the temple, far from worship, far from the people of God. It does not pretend to be okay. It thirsts. It weeps. And then, repeatedly, it talks back to itself: "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? Hope thou in God." It is the great prayer of homesickness in scripture.
When to pray it
When you feel far from God. When you are physically far from the people you love. In any season of unwanted solitude.