Hope For Despair: Psalm 42:11 (Part One)

We read, “Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God” (Psalm 42:11). The psalmist does something unusual here. He speaks to himself. He asks his own soul a question: Why are you so discouraged? He’s describing a soul in internal turmoil. Why are you churning with turmoil? And then, rather than waiting for an answer, he preaches. He reminds his mind, will, and emotions (soul) of what is true. He redirects his inner life back toward God.

~Dr. Robert L. Taylor, Professor, Bible Expositor & Teacher