Psalm 42:1-8
It’s interesting how water is seen and used in the Hebrew scriptures. Many times, when the psalmists reference water, it is in the metaphor of rising tides and waves, or a surging flood. In Psalm 63, the psalmist is longing, panting for streams of water, as if he were in a “dry and weary land” (Psalm 63:1).
As the psalmist cries out for God’s presence and protection, the psalmist feels the weight of his situation and is downcast and disturbed. He remembers, however, whose he is and the hope he has in God. The images of a waterfall, waves and breakers, the longing for physical water became spiritual water that floods his soul with God’s love (Psalm 42:7).
When we become overwhelmed by life’s circumstances, those who have received the sacrament of Holy Baptism can look to the grace God has overwhelmed us with as we had this sacred water pour over us. Through our baptism we can remember whose we are and be refreshed and renewed in God’s love, who is with us in the Holy Spirit, giving us hope to lead us through the difficulty.
Author: Michael Scarlett