Ps. 42.1-2 (thirst and the face of God)

“As a deer / longs / for streams of water – so does my soul / long / for you O God. – My soul / thirsts / for God / the God of life – when may I enter / and see / the face of God?” The compression of the images and structure of these lines is incredibly well done; they have emerged from the pen of a great poet. One initial observation: much of the rest of the psalm alludes to the oppression of the psalmist at the hands of his enemies. He speaks of ‘walking in darkness’ and of being submerged underneath the chaos waters of God’s ‘deep’. It is highly significant, therefore, that the psalm does not begin with those images but rather with this almost gentle image taken from nature to express desire. In other words, it is the sense of lost beauty (the “glory of God”) that pervades this opening line. Image of the deer: the image of the deer is instructive. There is no other metaphor like this is the rest of the psalm; rather, the other appeals to nature are inanimate, jarring and disturbing (they carry a hidden threat of destruction). To begin, therefore, with a deer draws the reader’s attention to the vulnerability and the sense of almost innocent impoverishment and dependence of the psalmist. This effect would be utterly lost were the psalmist to simply allude to himself. Likewise, the appeal to a third party heightens this sense of longing desire. By drawing God’s focus to the deer, it objectifies the psalmist desire in the totality of the deer’s being; the deer itself becomes the emblem and manifestation of this inchoate desire on the psalmist’s part. In other words, by appealing to the deer the psalmist’s groaning desire—something that is almost always ‘more than words’—is given substantial being beyond what could otherwise be communicated. Streams of water: we have already mentioned how this psalm works as a type of response to psalm 1 and the transplanting of the blessed man next to “running water”. Here, just as the deer comes to embody the psalmist’s desire, so does “streams of water” come to embody God himself. In psalms 1, the ‘running water’ was Torah, here, it is God’s presence in the Temple. What is not as profoundly grasped in psalm 1, however, is that this ‘thirst’ for God is one that, in its absence, produces not merely a ‘desire for life’ but for the refreshment of its life-giving power. Water, when yearned for, is sought for in desperation and with the concomitant sense of its beauty. It is the odd quality of water that even though it is without taste, it is the only liquid desired when massively thirsty. Living water: God is often referred to as ‘living water’ in the Scriptures. I think the psalmist has actually alluded to this but in a very interesting manner. The deer thirsts for ‘streams of water’; my soul ‘thirsts for the God of life’. The psalmist has divided the metaphor, placing water and ‘living God’ in two separate verses but combined them in the “thirst” for the God of life. Face of God: all of these images combine in the final phrase as exemplifying the desire to see God’s face. This term is an equivalent of saying God’s presence in the Temple, and so clearly the psalmist no longer has access to it (through exile perhaps). This is very important to note as this is not a ‘generalized desire for God’ but the specific desire that he could enter, again, into the Temple. Also, interesting to note is that the images of water that will later be deployed are of tears (vs. 3) and of the waters of chaos. It is only in this verse where water is referred to as life giving and as desirable. It is, therefore, the Temple that purifies and is the source of all good water. Without it, there is only tears and chaos. This image is instructive on several counts, especially as Ezekiel will see rivers of ‘living water’ flowing form the Temple and cleansing the salt water. Furthermore, the Temple was also understood to be built upon the ‘waters of chaos’ and therefore was that which tamed them and held them in check.