What does Psalm 43:5 mean?

The psalmist repeats his refrain from Psalm 42:5 and 11 in the closing verse of Psalm 43. The statement made here is not inquiring, even though it is phrased as a question. This "rhetorical" technique is used when the answer should seem obvious. If we understand the power and faithfulness of God, we have no reason to be anxious or afraid. Of course, as limited people, those are natural temptations. Psalms such as this are helpful reminders of the great hope we have in the Lord. Instead of looking around into the world, letting difficult circumstances dismay him, the psalmist chose to look above, to his God, who would deliver him and return him to the sanctuary in Jerusalem.

First-century believers were hounded and hunted, chased out of their homes, and scattered throughout the Mediterranean region, but the apostle Peter fixed their hope on Christ and their glorious future. He writes: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you" (1 Peter 1:3–4).