Psalms 43:2

2 You are my protector; why have you abandoned me? Why must I go on suffering from the cruelty of my enemies?

Psalms 43:2 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 43:2

For thou [art] the God of my strength
Who being the strong and mighty God was able to deliver and save him, as well as to plead his cause; and was the author and giver of strength, natural and spiritual, to him; and was the strength of his heart, life and salvation; and is a good reason why he committed his cause unto him;

why doest thou cast me off?
this is the language of unbelief: it being what was not in reality, only in appearance: the psalmist was ready to conclude he was cast off and rejected of God, because he was afflicted and left in a desolate condition by him, and he did not immediately arise to his help and deliverance, and had withdrawn the light of his countenance from him; but God does not cast off or reject any of his people; they always continue in his love, and in his covenant, and in the hands of his Son; they are always in his sight and family, and shall never perish eternally; and whoever casts them off, or casts them out, he will not;

why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
(See Gill on Psalms 42:9).

Psalms 43:2 In-Context

1 O God, declare me innocent, and defend my cause against the ungodly; deliver me from lying and evil people!
2 You are my protector; why have you abandoned me? Why must I go on suffering from the cruelty of my enemies?
3 Send your light and your truth; may they lead me and bring me back to Zion, your sacred hill, and to your Temple, where you live.
4 Then I will go to your altar, O God; you are the source of my happiness. I will play my harp and sing praise to you, O God, my God.
5 Why am I so sad? Why am I so troubled? I will put my hope in God, and once again I will praise him, my savior and my God.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.