Psalm 42 Trivia Quiz

Answer: A deer (longing for water)

Verses 1-2a:
"As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God."

The metaphor of spiritual desire as thirst was commonly employed by the authors of the Bible, who lived in a semi-arid land where water was precious. For other poetic descriptions of thirst in the psalms, see Psalm 63 and Psalm 143.

Answer: They have been his food

Verses 2b-3:
"When shall I come and appear before God?
My tears have been my food day and night,
While continually they say to me, 'Where is your God?'"

The imagery in this emotive passage is also well-used throughout the psalms. For example, Psalm 80 says "You have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in great measure". In a similar vein, Psalm 102 laments "I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping."

Answer: The house of God

Verse 4:
"When I remember these things, I pour out my soul within me.
For I used to go with the multitude; I went with them to the house of God,
With a voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast."

The psalmist is living in exile and is unable to participate in the shared religious ceremonies of his community that made him feel close to God.

Answer: His soul

Verse 5:
"Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him
for the help of His countenance."

These phrases are repeated again at the end of Psalm 42, and again in Psalm 43. The two psalms are likely to have originally been a single, longer work, with the chorus highlighting the central theme of trust in God in times of desolation.

Answer: The city of Nazareth

"O my God, my soul is downcast within me;
Therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan,
And from the heights of Hermon,
From the Hill Mizar."

The word "mizar" means "small". This small hill is contrasted to Mount Hermon, the highest peak in the region, on the border between modern-day Syria and Lebanon. The psalmist is in the northern lands, far from Jerusalem, but will not forget God even in exile.

Answer: Deep calls unto deep

Verse 7:
"Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls;
All Your waves and billows have gone over me."

The phrase echoes the opening strains of Psalm 130: "Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord!" The concept of "the deep" is used continually throughout the Bible to represent great trouble. However, the metaphor has a double meaning, also used to describe the profound. For example, Job 11:7 asks "Can you search out the deep things of God?".

Answer: "At night His song shall be with me"

Verse 8:
"The Lord will command his lovingkindness in the daytime,
And at night his song shall be with me--
A prayer to the God of my life."

The incorrect options are all from the Old Testament as well, where lyrical references to night and day are commonly employed. Night is a time of solitude and prayer, and metaphorically often represents darkness, loneliness and troubled times.

Answer: My rock

The description of God as a rock can be found throughout the Old Testament. For example, the authors of Deuteronomy and Samuel called God "the rock of salvation", a phrase that also appears in a number of psalms. In 1 Corinthians, Paul explicitly drew on this symbolism when he spoke of Israel's forefathers, who he said "drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ".

Answer: Where is your God?

In verses 9 and 10 the psalmist spells out his complaint to God:

"I will say to God my Rock,
'Why have You forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?'
As with a breaking of my bones,
My enemies reproach me,
While they say to me all day long,
'Where is your God?'"

This mirrors the psalm's first stanza, which also ends with the reflected question "Where is your God?"--a question that encapsulates the eternal dilemma of maintaining faith in the face of great trouble.

Answer: Lamentation

The psalm of lamentation, both individual and communal, is one of the most common literary genres used throughout the biblical Book of Psalms. A lament typically begins with an address to God, includes a description of suffering and a request for help, and ends with an expression of trust in God. Psalm 42 illustrates all of these elements beautifully.