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 bowest thou down thyself?”
Disquieted. — From root kindred to and with the meaning of our word “hum.” The idea of “internal emotion” is easily derivable 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 but that we must read the refrain here as it is in Psa. 42:12, and in Psalms 43:5. The LXX. and Vulg. already have done so, and one Hebrew MS. 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 Psalms 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.