Text: Matthew 12:9-10 and Psalms 42
 
Introduction 

Jesus teaching in the synagogue. A man who listens to Jesus has a shriveled hand.
Jesus wants to teach about mercy on a practical way.
Mark 3 says that Jesus called the man to come to the center and stand up.  
Then, the miracle happens.
Worse than a shriveled hand is a shriveled soul.  
Psalms 42 is about a shriveled soul.
 

A) Who wrote the Psalm 42 ? 
 
The sons of Korah wrote 12 Psalms.
Korah was a well-known Levite, who along with 250 men, rebelled against Moses.
Numbers 26 says that the earth opened its mouth and swallowed Korah along with his followers.
His sons were spared.
They were divided in two groups:

1. In charge of the temple’s entrance door.

2. In charge of music, they were the singers in the temple.
 

B) What illustrations do they use?
 

Psalms 42: 1 – The deer is lost, in the desert, thirsty, almost on the verge of death.
The afflicted soul is like this, seeking out God.
Psalms 42:7 – The idea of a person who fell in the sea. He starts to swim, but gets tired. Then a wave comes and suffocates him. 

C) What do we see in the Psalm?  
 
A man in a deep crisis.
The Psalms is not devotional, there’s no confession of sin or requests to God. It’s not a prayer.
The Psalmist talks to himself. Psalm 42:5
We need to rescue this practice in Christianity.
Eastern religions practice meditation.
We still have a mixture of sadness with happiness, fear and faith, doubt and devotion.
Prayer: “God does not hear my voice, He hears my heart”. 
 

Conclusion

Psalms 42:5 and Psalms 42:11: “...Put your hope in God…”
It’s wonderful God’s care in our crisis.
I remember Jacob, Elijah, Moses, and Jesus in the Gethsemane. ( Matthew 26:36 )
Psalms 34:18 “The Lord is close...”. He carries us on his arms.
Isaiah 58:11. This is what will happen to God’s people when they pass through drought.
Will satisfy your soul. (Spiritual blessings)
Will strengthen your bones. (Health)
A well-watered spring whose waters never fail. (Blessing to others)
The God who reinvigorates an arm can reinvigorate a soul.