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Psalm 42:6
My God, my soul is in despair within me. Therefore I remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon, from the hill Mizar.
4These things I remember, and pour out my soul within me, how I used to go with the crowd, and led them to God’s house, with the voice of joy and praise, a multitude keeping a holy day.
5Why are you in despair, my soul? Why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God! For I shall still praise him for the saving help of his presence.
6My God, my soul is in despair within me. Therefore I remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon, from the hill Mizar.
7Deep calls to deep at the noise of your waterfalls. All your waves and your billows have swept over me.
8The LORD will command his loving kindness in the daytime. In the night his song shall be with me: a prayer to the God of my life.
Notice
“Therefore” makes despair the point from which remembrance begins, even as the speaker names the landscape where he is praying.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What does addressing God as “My God” mean to you when your soul feels cast down?
Write on thisWhat would remembering God from your present place involve today?
Write on thisHow does the word “Therefore” connect despair and remembrance in your own experience?
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Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Psalm 61:2From the end of the earth, I will call to you when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.Both speakers address God from a named or described place while their inner life is overwhelmed.
Jonah 2:7“When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the LORD. My prayer came in to you, into your holy temple.Both speakers remember God when their souls are failing, making remembrance part of their prayer in distress.
Deuteronomy 3:8–9We took the land at that time out of the hand of the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, from the valley of the Arnon to Mount Hermon.Both passages name the Jordan and Hermon, though Deuteronomy recounts land taken and the psalm describes prayer amid despair.
Psalm 43:4Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my exceeding joy. I will praise you on the harp, God, my God.Both speakers address God as their own God, one amid despair and the other anticipating praise at his altar.
Deuteronomy 4:47–48They took possession of his land and the land of Og king of Bashan, the two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise;The Jordan supplies a geographical link; Deuteronomy describes possession of land, while the psalm names the region where God is remembered.
Matthew 27:46About the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lima sabachthani?” That is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”Both prayers address God as “My God” within suffering, though Jesus’ cry names forsakenness and the psalm names despair.
Psalm 22:1For the Chief Musician; set to “The Doe of the Morning.” A Psalm by David. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, and …Both speakers say “My God” while voicing distress, bringing their suffering into direct speech to God.
2 Samuel 17:22Then David arose, and all the people who were with him, and they passed over the Jordan. By the morning light there lacked not one of them who had not gone …Both passages mention the Jordan, but David’s crossing does not establish that his circumstances are the setting of this psalm.
Psalm 77:6–11I remember my song in the night. I consider in my own heart; my spirit diligently inquires:Both passages join remembrance with attention to the inner life: one remembers God, and the other remembers a song at night.
1 Kings 8:38whatever prayer and supplication is made by any man, or by all your people Israel, who shall each know the plague of his own heart, and spread out his hands …Both texts connect inward distress with prayer, whether one soul’s despair or the trouble each person knows within the heart.
Matthew 26:39He went forward a little, fell on his face, and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass away from me; nevertheless, not what I desire, …Both prayers speak distress to God; Jesus asks for the cup to pass, while the psalmist remembers God amid despair.
2 Samuel 17:27When David had come to Mahanaim, Shobi the son of Nahash of Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and Machir the son of Ammiel of Lodebar, and Barzillai the …Both passages name places; David’s arrival at Mahanaim has no explicit connection here to the psalm’s prayer.
Where this verse fits
Feeling distant from God. grief. loneliness.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
Despair does not stop the speaker from saying “My God.” Your distress can be spoken to God while it remains unresolved; remembrance here begins within sorrow.
Now put it in your words.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).