Sept 30 - Psalm 42:4

My heart is breaking

as I remember how it used to be:

I walked among the crowds of worshipers,

leading a great procession to the house of God,

singing for joy and giving thanks –

it was the sound of a great celebration!

Psalm 42:4

When I read this verse, I wondered immediately what David was "remember[ing]." His "heart" was obviously "breaking." He was missing the "great procession" of yesteryear.

What was it? That was my first question.

It turns out that this was the wrong question. "Who was it?" would have been a better first question.

Who? While David wrote most of the Psalms, he didn't write them all. The "descendants of Korah" wrote 25 -- or a sixth -- of the Psalms, including Psalm 42 (see scripture's annotation at the beginning of this song/prayer).

Korah was an infamous member of the family tasked with caring for sacred items in the tabernacle, including the ark of the covenant. Korah was infamous because of a minor (and fatal to himself) rebellion against Moses in Numbers 16.

God, nevertheless, did not abandon the descendants of Korah. From this line would come Samuel, the great prophet who, seven generations later, would anoint David as king over God's people.

The descendants had a more general job as well. They were doorkeepers (gatekeepers) to the tabernacle. Still handling the holy things, they may have been the ones who carried the ark -- in "the great procession" -- up to Jerusalem. Certainly, they were part of David's great band of musicians and song leaders, who devoted their life to helping God's people praise the Lord.

The annotation at the beginning of this Psalm does not give any indication as to why these song leaders are not currently able to lead God's people in praise. Was this Psalm written after David's death and a new king in a new generation would not permit them to lead the song? Was this written when Absolom rebelled against his father, David, causing the king (and his musicians) to flee the holy city?

The cause doesn't matter as much as the fact that ministers had their song silenced ... and it hurt.

I'm a minister of the Lord. I'm accustomed to singing God's praise (more through preaching and teaching than through song). And I can't imagine the grief of not being able to preach, teach, praise, and proclaim. I certainly enjoy a few days of vacation ... but I'm bored and empty if I go more than a few days without leading the praise in one form or another.

It's like trying to imagine Rhonda, our music director, NOT SING. Praise is part of her. It is part of me. It was a joyful addiction experienced by the descendants of Korah. They longed to praise God "as the deer longs for the water brooks" (verse 1). They are dry without it.

Are you dry and incomplete without praising God and proclaiming his name?

If you're reading this, my guess is that there really is a hunger in you. Don't be content to satisfy that hunger with junk food. Keep pushing through until prayer, praise, and/or proclamation becomes a joyful addiction.

In Christ's Love,

an honorary descendant of Korah

-- my "heart is breaking"

whenever I am not

"among the crowds of worshipers"

"leading" and "singing for joy"