Why does this psalm combine two psalms?

Psalms 42 and 43 were originally a single composition divided in the manuscript tradition. The funeral lectionary draws verses from both because they share the same antiphon and hope.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 42:2-5; 43:3-5

"My soul is thirsting for the living God"

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Scripture text (World English Bible)

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, while they continually ask me, “Where is your God?” These things I remember, and pour out my soul within me, how I used to go with the crowd, and led them to God’s house, with the voice of joy and praise, a multitude keeping a holy day. Why are you in despair, my soul? Why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God! For I shall still praise him for the saving help of his presence. Oh, send out your light and your truth. Let them lead me. Let them bring me to your holy hill, To your tents. Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my exceeding joy. I will praise you on the harp, God, my God. Why are you in despair, my soul? Why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God! For I shall still praise him: my Savior, my helper, and my God.

Themes

my soul thirsts for the living God
the longing of the deer
when shall I behold the face of God
remembered worship
hope in God's presence

Reflection

Psalm 42-43 (the lectionary treats them as one psalm, as they originally were) is one of the most poignant in the Psalter. The opening image is unforgettable: a deer panting for streams of water. So the psalmist's soul longs for God. For a Catholic funeral, this psalm gives voice to the deepest longing of every Christian life, the longing to see God face to face, and announces that for the deceased, that longing has now been fulfilled.

The psalmist is in exile, far from the Temple where God's presence was known. He remembers worship he cannot now share: the festal procession, the multitudes, the shouts of joy. For a funeral, this becomes an image of the deceased's pilgrimage: a life of worship that is now ending in the great worship of heaven, where the longing that animated everything has reached its source. "When shall I go and behold the face of God?" The funeral answers: now, the soul of your loved one has gone to behold that face.

The closing line, "Hope in God! For I shall again be thanking him in the presence of my savior and my God", is meant for the family that remains. The dialogue with one's own soul ("why are you so downcast, O my soul?") is the conversation every grieving person has, and the psalm models how to conduct it: honestly, but with the choice to hope. Faith is not the absence of grief; it is the choice to keep speaking truth to one's own heart in the middle of it.

This is a psalm for contemplative funerals, especially for someone whose faith was marked by deep longing for God.

Best for

·Funerals for someone whose faith was marked by contemplative depth or long longing
·Liturgies with a more contemplative register: quieter music, more silence
·Families who want a psalm that names grief and hope together
·Funerals for someone separated from the Church for a season but who returned

In the liturgy

A longer psalm; the lectionary gathers verses from both Psalm 42 and Psalm 43. Less commonly chosen than Psalm 23 but musically rich. Pair with a strong cantor.

Pairs well with

Frequently asked questions

Why does this psalm combine two psalms?: Psalms 42 and 43 were originally a single composition divided in the manuscript tradition. The funeral lectionary draws verses from both because they share the same antiphon and hope.

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Other approved responsorial psalm options

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