A test of our spiritual state.
We may not find Davidic associations with this psalm. It was composed by one of the musically gifted family known as the "sons of Korah;" and may be compared with Psalms 42:1-11; Psalms 44:1-26. They were a family of Levites whose inheritance lay on the eastern side of the Jordan. "Dwelling on the other side of Jordan, it was often impossible for them to reach Jerusalem. When the river swelled and rose with the melting snows of winter, or with the heavy tropical rains which fell on the northern hills and mountains, the fords of the Jordan became impassable; and the sons of Korah, even though their turn of duty had come round, were unable to go up to the house of the Lord. So, too, when the armies of Assyria, or some other foe, were encamped round the city, and no Hebrew was permitted to pass the line of siege, they were shut out from the worship of the temple through all the summer months. Many, if not most, of their psalms appear to have been composed at such times as these." The point suggested is that the spiritual condition of this writer can be tested by his feeling when deprived of religious privileges. Was he glad of the ease and relief? Or did he pine for restoration? So it may be shown that when Christians, through sickness or travelling, are separated from their usual worshipping associations, their spiritual state may be appraised by their feeling. Do they pine for them; regretfully remember them, and wish they had made better use of them?
I. DO WE LONG FOR GOD'S WORSHIP? It may be actually a possible thing for a man to live a religious life without ever taking part in any public services. He is a rara avis indeed who succeeds in accomplishing it. Most men not only yield to Divine command and invitation, by sharing in sanctuary services, but they feel also the positive necessity for such services, in the culture of their religious life, and the satisfaction of their religious wants. When souls are alive unto God, they are sure to desire to worship and praise him along with others. This is the natural religious instinct. But it should be pointed out that the interest in God's worship may cease to be spiritual; it may become aesthetic; it may even sink down to be a merely "formal habit."
II. IS OUR LONGING FOR GOD'S HOUSE AND WORSHIP REALLY ALONGING FOR THE SENSE OF HIS NEARNESS? The expression in Psalms 44:2, "for the living God," suggests the deep spirituality of the writer. It was not the ritual he longed for, or the songs; it was the conscious presence of God, as the living Helper, Guide, and Comforter. Compare the Christian yearning for the close and conscious presence of the living Christ as Saviour and Sanctifier.—R.T.