Oh, the agony of my heart! My heart pounds within me, I cannot keep silent. Compare what the weeping Prophet says in Jeremiah 4:19 – Oh, my anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain. KJV renders this as disquieted, ESV gives a more graphical term – in turmoil. Why so disturbed within me? – A disturbed soul, a troubled soul, a restless soul. Stay here and keep watch with me.” Do you have times of immense grief and sorrow that you feel it stems from the bottomost of your heart, coming out right from your very soul? This is immense depression and sorrow we’re talking about. Jesus made a famous statement towards the end of his days on Earth – “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Some other versions render soul as heart – soul is perhaps a deeper expression of the emotion of grief. There is a sense that he is questioning himself for feeling that way – Why am I so sad? – it’s almost like checking himself, stopping himself from indulging further in his despair. Why, my soul, are you downcast? – When the Psalmist refers to his soul as cast down, I imagine it means something a long the lines of defeated, discouraged, despairing all meshed together. In this study, we will examine how we can still hope in the Lord and praise him despite having a restless soul. Yet, it cannot be denied that the sense of despair is a constant theme in these two chapters – there is a sense of hopelessness as the Psalmist remembers better days and question where is God as he looks desperately for God in his misery. It is interesting that while in the NIV these verses are the same, they aren’t all similarly translated in the other versions – which is why it makes studying these verses separately so meaningful. In Psalm 42-43 this verse is repeated three times (Psa 42:5-6, Psa 42:11, Psa 43:5), and the downcast soul of these verses was mentioned an additional four times (depending on your version).
They are not that different, and equally offers great comfort, and you may have a different version that you remember – it really doesn’t matter. As I prepared for this study I contemplated for a long while which version and rendition of the verse I should pick – the more fluently romantic KJV – Why art thou cast down, O my soul? or the Why are you cast down, O my soul of ESV but eventually I picked NIV, the one I was most familiar with, the rendition that I’ve grown up putting to memory. This is a verse that has comforted many people, a verse that many turn to in times of grief and despair. Psalm 42:11 | NIV | Other Versions | Context Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.
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