Put Your Hope in God (Psalm 42:1-43:5)
Sermon Outline
When you face spiritual dryness (Ps 42:1-4)
When you face deep discouragement (Ps 42:6-10)
When you face intense opposition (Ps 43:1-4)
Put your hope in God our salvation (Ps 42:5, 11; 43:5)
The writer of Hebrews tells us that “for the joy that was set before him [Jesus] endured the cross, despising the shame” (Heb. 12:2). Just as his was the downcast sorrow of Psalm 42, so also was his joy of its refrain: “Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God” (Ps. 42:11). Even in the darkness of the cross, Jesus rejoiced in the hope of God’s resurrection promise. That is a promise we share if we have committed our cause to Jesus, who pledges that nothing “will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:39). Christ’s saving work should lift up our downcast souls in any form of distress: “I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.” Because of Jesus, God will never forsake us and will raise us up on the last day. This gospel is cause enough for us to say, “Why are you cast down, O my soul?”
(Richard D Philips, 2019)
Reflection Questions
Where do I turn amid my disappointment and discouragement? What does this say about where my heart is facing?
How can I be preaching the gospel to myself daily? How can we as a church help each other remember the hope of the gospel that we have in Jesus Christ?