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  THE HART
  AND
  THE WATER-BROOKS;

  A PRACTICAL EXPOSITION OF
  THE FORTY-SECOND PSALM.

  BY THE
  REV. JOHN R. MACDUFF,
  AUTHOR OF "MORNING AND NIGHT WATCHES," "MEMORIES OF GENNESARET,"
  "WORDS Of JESUS," ETC. ETC.

  "The portion of God's Word that is specially precious to me, more so
  than I am able to express, is Psalm forty-second."--HARRINGTON
  EVANS' LIFE, p. 399.

  "What a precious, soul-comforting Psalm is that forty-second!"--LIFE
  OF CAPTAIN HAMMOND, p. 289.

  LONDON:
  JAMES NISBET AND CO., 21 BERNERS STREET.
  M.DCCC.LX.




  EDINBURGH:
  PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE AND COMPANY,
  PAUL'S WORK.




THE FORTY-SECOND PSALM.

¶ _To the Chief Musician_, MASCHIL, _for the Sons of Korah._


  1  As the hart panteth after the water-brooks,--so panteth my soul
           after thee, O God.

  2  My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God:--when shall I come
           and appear before God?

  3  My tears have been my meat day and night,
     While they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?

  4  When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me:
     For I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house
           of God,
     With the voice of joy and praise,--with a multitude that kept
           holy day.

  5  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 [or, His presence is salvation].

  6  O my God, my soul is cast down within me:
     Therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of
           the Hermonites,
     From the hill Mizar.

  7  Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy water-spouts;
     All thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.

  8  Yet the Lord will command his loving-kindness in the day-time,
     And in the night his song shall be with me,
     And my prayer unto the God of my life.

  9  I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me?
     Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

  10 As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me;
     While they say daily unto me, Where is thy God?

  11 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.[1]

  [1] The title of the Psalm (משכיל MASCHIL--_instruction_,) is
  the same as that of other twelve. Some have referred the word
  merely to the music--indicating the tune to which the Psalms were
  set,--demanding of the sons of Korah, and "the chief musician,"
  (the conductors of temple-song,) some melody specially adapted to
  the sentiments they contain. Others, with greater probability,
  take it as indicative of their _design_;--that while expressive of
  personal feeling and experience, they were intended for the
  "instruction" and comfort of the Church in all ages. Hence the
  term given to them of _didactic_.

  Though his name is not mentioned, there is little doubt that
  David, and not the sons of Korah, as some have supposed, was the
  author of this Psalm. The reader is referred to _Hengstenberg_ for
  a statement of the internal grounds, in the Psalm itself, to
  favour this conclusion. "To me," says Calvin, "it appears more
  probable that the sons of Korah are here mentioned because this
  Psalm was committed as a precious treasure to be preserved by
  them;--as we know that out of the number of the singers some were
  chosen and appointed to be keepers of the Psalms. That there is no
  mention made of David's name, does not in itself involve any
  difficulty, since we see the same omission in other Psalms