THE SONS OF KORAH were responsible for baking and gatekeeping in the Temple. They were also singers, and this week’s readings appears to be songs of lament and hymns of praise and joy.

Psalm 43 is interesting in that it was probably part of the 42nd psalm originally, which appears to put the psalmist in the north of Israel—specifically in the region of Mount Hermon, which, spiritually speaking, was the heart of enemy territory.

Taken together, this collection of psalms contrasts the troubles we endure in this life at the hands of the wicked, who foolishly “trust in their wealth” when “no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life” (Ps. 49:6–7) with the joy that awaits in Zion, the “dwelling place” of God.