Psalm 42:6

Psalm 42:6

The places I remember

This verse is a little bit confusing and commentators have debated over the literal translation of the Hebrew text. Let’s put ourselves in the shoes of this godly man who we know has been taken away from his home and his people and who is deeply feeling the loss and isolation of his situation. It’s small wonder that his soul is downcast. We need to bear in mind that for Israelites who lived in the Promised Land there were two identities that marked them out. One was their tribe or family with its ancestry and ties to the patriarchs and the history of God’s blessing upon them. The other identity was the land itself. These people were chosen by God and given the land by Him as their own, they identified with its rivers and mountains and deserts and valleys as if each square inch was part of them. In particular they loved the area that was designated to their family and tribe. Being a Levite, the writer here did not own a particular plot, he was part of all of it. So, His memories of the land tie together absolutely with his remembrance of the Lord God. The eastern valley of the Jordan River and its fertile plains contrast with the mountain range of Hermon, snow-capped in winter and forming a natural boundary with the lands to the north. As the location of Mount Mizar (which means little peak or mountain) is unknown, many have speculated that the writer is referring to a hill far to the south of the land. I prefer the explanation that this was poetic language and that the man writing this Psalm was referring indeed to a little mountain in size, but a mountain that was a giant in its influence and significance – Mount Zion. He thus encapsulates all of the land of Israel in this wistful remembrance and if you are familiar with Israel you will know what he means! It’s obvious that painful memories of those places ignite memories of His God too; do you also have places that remind you of the goodness and greatness of the Lord God?