Psalm 42

Psalm 42 is a psalm in the Book of Psalms. It is one of the thirteen Maschil Psalms, dedicated "To the chief Musician, Maschil, for the sons of Korah.") It begins "Sicut cervus" in Latin of the Old Roman Psalter, and "Quemadmodum" in the Vulgate Psalter of Jerome, "As pants the hart" in the metrical version by Tate and Brady, and "As the hart panteth" in the King James English text set to music by Huffman.

The psalmist saw the misfortune of being far from the temple of God, and its opponents see it as a divine punishment. In his painful exile, he continues to desire the distant God. In him fighting melancholy and hope to see the living God. This hope through all the trials he experiences, supported by recalling a happy past and the proximity of God.

Catholic teaching sees the psalm a longing for piety, by the church.

Its musical settings include:

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