Psalms 42:8

42:6-11 The way to forget our miseries, is to remember the God of our mercies. David saw troubles coming from God's wrath, and that discouraged him. But if one trouble follow hard after another, if all seem to combine for our ruin, let us remember they are all appointed and overruled by the Lord. David regards the Divine favour as the fountain of all the good he looked for. In the Saviour's name let us hope and pray. One word from him will calm every storm, and turn midnight darkness into the light of noon, the bitterest complaints into joyful praises. Our believing expectation of mercy must quicken our prayers for it. At length, is faith came off conqueror, by encouraging him to trust in the name of the Lord, and to stay himself upon his God. He adds, And my God; this thought enabled him to triumph over all his griefs and fears. 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. Let us learn to check all unbelieving doubts and fears. Apply the promise first to ourselves, and then plead it to God.

Psalm 42:8-9 . Yet the Lord will command — Will effectually provide and confer upon me; his lovingkindness — His blessings, the effect of his lovingkindness, which God is often said to command. In the day-time, and in the night — Both day and night, that is, continually. His song shall be with me — I shall have constant cause for singing and praising God for his loving-kindness. And my prayer shall be unto the God of my life — The giver and preserver of my life from time to time. I will boldly and believingly direct my prayers to him, of whose readiness to hear and help me I have had such ample experience. I will say unto God my rock — I will expostulate the case with him, who hath formerly been a sure refuge to me; Why hast thou forgotten me? — Why dost thou now seem quite to neglect and forget me? Why go I mourning? — Why dost thou leave me in this mourning state, and not succour me speedily?

(8) Yet the Lord. —Better, By day Jehovah shall command (or, literally, Jehovah command ) his grace. And in the night his song—i.e., a song to Him; but the emendation shîrah, “song,” for shîrôh, “his song,” commends itself. The parallelism of this verse seems to confirm the conclusion drawn from the sentence at end of Book II., that the title “prayer,” and “song” were used indiscriminately for any of the hymns in religious use.

Verse 8. - Yet the Lord will command his loving-kindness in the daytime. Notwithstanding all these present woes, God wilt at some time "command" his loving-kindness to make itself apparent (comp. Psalm 44:4 ; Psalm 68:28 ), and both "in the daytime" and in the night will so comfort me that his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life ; i.e. I shall offer him both praise and prayer continually both day and night ( Psalm 92:2 ) for his great mercies. Psalm 42:8

Will command i.e. will effectually procure or confer upon me, as this verb is used, Leviticus 25:21 Psalm 7:6 , &c. The verb is future, but some render it by the time past, the Lord hath commanded; making this rehearsal of his former experiences of God’s goodness his argument to support himself, and to prevail with God in prayer; which may seem to suit best with the foregoing and following verses. But we must remember that David’s hopes and fears were strangely mixed, and his expressions of them are commonly interwoven in the same Psalm, and sometimes in one and the same verse, as it is here, Psalm 42:5,11 . And therefore there is no necessity of departing from the proper signification of the verb. His loving-kindness, i.e. his blessings, the effects of his loving-kindness, which God is oft said to command, as Deu 28:8 Psalm 133:3 . And in the night; both day and night, i.e. continually. His song shall be with me, i.e. I shall have constant matter of singing and praising God for his loving-kindness. My prayer shall be unto the God; and therefore I will boldly and believingly direct my prayers to him, of whose readiness to hear and help me I have had such ample experience. The God of my life; the giver and preserver of my life from time to time.

8 . According to the rendering of the A.V., retained by the R.V., this verse expresses the Psalmist’s confidence that he will soon again experience the favour of God, and give Him thanks for His goodness. But it is equally possible to render In the day-time Jehovah used to give his lovingkindness charge concerning me, And in the night his song was with me, Even prayer unto the God of my life. This rendering gives the best connexion of thought. The verse is a retrospect like Psalm 42:4 , and is a further explanation of the ‘remembering God’ of which he speaks in Psalm 42:6 . He contrasts the present, in which tears are his constant food ( Psalm 42:3 ) and God’s indignation seems to be let loose upon him, with the past, in which God’s lovingkindness constantly watched over him, and glad songs of praise to Him were his constant companions. In the day-time and in the night , though divided between the two lines for rhythmical reasons, are to be connected together (= continually ), and taken as referring equally to both clauses. Cp. Psalm 92:2 . God’s lovingkindness, like His light and truth in Psalm 43:3 , is almost personified as the Psalmist’s guardian angel. Prayer denotes any form of communion with God—here predominantly thanksgiving. Cp. 1 Samuel 2:1 ; Habakkuk 3:1 . With the beautiful phrase the God of my life cp.

Psalm 66:9 ; and Sir 23:1 ; Sir 23:4 , “O Lord, Father and Master” ( δέσποτα ) of mylife”: … “Father and God of my life.” The Lord ] Contrary to the general rule in Book ii ( Introd . p. lv.) the name Jehovah has been retained here; unless it is the insertion or alteration of a later editor.

Yet the Lord will command his loving-kindness in the daytime - literally, "By day the Lord will command his mercy;" that is, he will so order or direct his mercy or his favor. The word "daytime" here refers evidently to prosperity; and the expectation of the psalmist was that a time of prosperity would return; that he might hope for better days; that the loving-kindness of God would again be manifested to him. He did not wholly despair. He expected to see better times (compare the notes at Psalm 42:5 ); and, in view of this, and in the confident assurance of it, he says in the subsequent part of the verse that even in the night - the season of calamity - his song should be unto God, and he would praise Him. Some, however, as DeWette, have understood the words "daytime" and "night" as synonymous with "day and night;" that is, at all times; implying an assurance that God would always show his loving-kindness. But it seems to me that the above is the most correct interpretation. And in the night his song shall be with me - I will praise him, even in the dark night of calamity and sorrow. God will even then give me such views of himself, and such manifest consolations, that my heart will be full of gratitude, and my lips will utter praise. See the notes at Job 35:10; compare Acts 16:25. And my prayer unto the God of my life - To God, who has given me life, and who preserves my life. The meaning is, that in the dark night of sorrow and trouble he would not cease to call on God.

Feeling that he had given life, and that he was able to sustain and to defend life, he would go to him and supplicate his mercy. He would not allow affliction to drive him from God, but it should lead him the more earnestly and fervently to implore his aid. Afflictions, God's apparently severe dealings, which it might be supposed would have a tendency to turn people from God, are the very means of leading them to him.