Psalm 42:4

4 These things I remember and I ¹pour out my soul within me. For I ²used to go along with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God, With the voice of ³joy and thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival.

Psalm 42:4 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 42:4

When I remember these [things]
Either the reproaches of his enemies; or rather his past enjoyments of God in his house, he after makes mention of;

I pour out my soul in me,
that is, he had no life nor spirit in him, but was quite overwhelmed with distress and anguish; or he poured out his soul in prayer to God, that it might be with him as in times past;

for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of
God;
the place of public worship, whither he had often gone, with great pleasure and delight; and, which added thereto, there were many that went along with him; or whom he had "caused to go" ^F7, had brought along with him; which is the sense of the word, only used here and in ( Isaiah 38:15 ) ; as Dr. Hammond from R. Tanchum and Aben Walid, has shown: a good man will not only attend divine worship himself, but will bring others with him: but now, he could neither go alone, nor in company, the remembrance of which greatly affected his mind; see ( Psalms 137:1 ) ;

with the voice of joy and praise:
the people singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs;

with a multitude that kept holy day;
as especially on the three great festivals in the year, the feasts of passover, pentecost, and tabernacles, when all the males of Israel appeared before God together, and which was a large multitude; and a delightful sight it was to behold them, when they were all engaged in religious worship at once.

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FOOTNOTES:

F7 (Mrda) "deduceham", Tigurine version; "assumebum mihi iilos", Michaelis; "efficiebam eos in societatem collectos socios esse mihi", Gussetius, p. 180.

Psalm 42:4 In-Context

2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God?

3 My tears have been my food day and night, While they say to me all day long, "Where is your God?"

4 These things I remember and I pour out my soul within me. For I used to go along with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God, With the voice of joy and thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival.

5 Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him For the help of His presence.

6 O my God, my soul is in despair within me; Therefore I remember You from the land of the Jordan And the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.

Cross References

• 1. 1 Samuel 1:15; Job 30:16; Psalms 62:8; Lamentations 2:19
• 2. Psalms 55:14; Psalms 122:1; Isaiah 30:29
• 3. Psalms 100:4

Footnotes

• [a] Or "move slowly with them"