Charles Ellicott Commentary Psalms 42:5

"Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And [why] art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God; for I shall yet praise him [For] the help of his countenance." — Psalms 42:5 (ASV)

Why art thou. —The refrain here breaks in on the song like a sigh, the spirit of dejection struggling against the spirit of faith.

Cast down. —Better, as in margin, bowed down, and in the original with a middle sense, “why do you bow yourself down?”

Disquieted. —From a root related to, and sharing the meaning of, our word “hum.” The idea of “internal emotion” is easily derived from its use. We see the process in such expressions as Isaiah 16:11, “My bowels shall sound like a harp for Moab.”

For the help of his countenance. —There is no question that we must read the refrain here as it is in Psalm 42:12 and Psalm 43:5. The Septuagint and Vulgate already have done so, and one Hebrew manuscript notices the wrong accentuation of the text here. The rhythm without this change is defective, and the refrain unnecessarily altered. Such alteration, however, from comparison of Psalm 24:8; Psalms 24:10; Psalms 49:12; Psalms 49:20; Psalms 56:4; Psalms 56:10; Psalms 59:9; Psalms 59:17, is not unusual.