| Geneva Study Bible <{a} for the sons of Korah.>> As the hart {b} panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. (a) As a treasure to be kept by them, who were of the number of the Levites. (b) By these comparisons of the thirst and panting, he shows his fervent desire to serve God in his temple. Wesley's Notes 42:1 Panteth - After the enjoyment of thee in thy sanctuary. King James Translators' Notes Maschil...: or, A Psalm giving instruction of the sons, etc panteth: Heb. brayeth Scofield Reference Notes Margin Maschil Maschil, "instruction." Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary PSALM 42 Ps 42:1-11. Maschil-(See on [587]Ps 32:1, title). For, or of (see [588]Introduction) the sons of Korah. The writer, perhaps one of this Levitical family of singers accompanying David in exile, mourns his absence from the sanctuary, a cause of grief aggravated by the taunts of enemies, and is comforted in hopes of relief. This course of thought is repeated with some variety of detail, but closing with the same refrain. 1, 2. Compare (Ps 63:1). panteth-desires in a state of exhaustion. Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary 42:1-5 The psalmist looked to the Lord as his chief good, and set his heart upon him accordingly; casting anchor thus at first, he rides out the storm. A gracious soul can take little satisfaction in God's courts, if it do not meet with God himself there. Living souls never can take up their rest any where short of a living God. To appear before the Lord is the desire of the upright, as it is the dread of the hypocrite. Nothing is more grievous to a gracious soul, than what is intended to shake its confidence in the Lord. It was not the remembrance of the pleasures of his court that afflicted David; but the remembrance of the free access he formerly had to God's house, and his pleasure in attending there. Those that commune much with their own hearts, will often have to chide them. See the cure of sorrow. When the soul rests on itself, it sinks; if it catches hold on the power and promise of God, the head is kept above the billows. And what is our support under present woes but this, that we shall have comfort in Him. We have great cause to mourn for sin; but being cast down springs from unbelief and a rebellious will; we should therefore strive and pray against it. | 
