Scripture reading this evening is two psalms, psalms 42 and 43. The text in these psalms is the verse which we might consider a chorus in verse 5 of 42. You see how it begins, "'Why art thou cast down, O my soul?' And then verse 11, the last verse of that psalm, "'Why art thou cast down, O my soul?' And then 43, the last verse of that, "'Why art thou cast down, O my soul?' But I choose those three verses as the text because they're is great similarity but somewhat a difference too, and I ask as we read the Psalms that you note what's different about those verses. Two other things, though, before we begin reading. One is that this is a psalm, the title of 42 says, for the sons of Korah to the chief musician, Maskell, for the sons of Korah. And that's significant. If you look back at 41, you see the title there is the Psalm of David. 42 begins Book 2 of the Psalms. You know the Psalms are divided up into various books. This is the beginning, Psalm 42, of the second book. And this psalm, as many others in this book, are for the sons of Korah. Now you children know who Korah is. And you always associate Korah's name with Dathan and Abiram. Korah, Dathan and Abiram. Those were three of the rebels who opposed Moses and Aaron when they first came out of the land of Egypt. And said to Moses and Aaron, you have too much authority. We want some of it. And because of that rebellion, God opened up the earth and swallowed up many of them, and sent out a fire from the tabernacle and consumed the rest of them, Korah, Dathan, and Biram, and all of their families, except for the family of Korah. We don't know why. But the sons and the daughters of Korah were spared, and now they appear as the gatekeepers and the singers, very important functions in the tabernacle, the temple. This is a psalm for the sons of Korah. I'll bring that up later. And then, finally, before we read, I want to point out to you that 42 and 43 are intended to be together. Whether originally one psalm or not is not the main thing. 43 does not have a title and many of these Psalms in this section do. That's one indication that they belong together. The title of 43 is the title of 42. Second, they belong together because as we saw the chorus finds a place twice in 42, and then again at the end of 43, which means these psalms are a unit. And then, more technically, you may study this on your own, a kind of psalm as this is usually has three parts. And the third part of this kind of prayer is found in 43. This is the Word of God, Psalm 42. As the heart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God? When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me. For I had gone with a multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with a voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holy day. Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted in me? Hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance. Oh my God, my soul is cast down within me. Therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan and of the Hermonites from the hill Mizar. Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy water spouts. All thy waves and thy billows are gone over me. Yet the Lord will command his loving kindness in the daytime and in the night his song shall be with me and my prayer unto the God of my life. I will say unto God, my God, why hast thou forgotten me? Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? As with a sword in my bones mine enemies reproach me, while they say daily unto me, where is thy God? 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 who is the health of my countenance and my God. Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation. O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man, for Thou art the God of my strength. Why dost Thou cast me off? Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? O send out Thy light and Thy truth. Let them lead me. Let them bring me unto Thy holy hill and to Thy tabernacles. Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy. Yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God, my God. Why art thou cast down, O my soul, and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise him who is the health of my countenance and my God. That's the reading of the scripture. It's those last two that are almost identical, the last verse of 42 and the last of 43. Let me reread the fifth verse of 42, our text. Why art thou cast down, O my soul, and why art thou disquieted in me? Hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance. What wonderful wisdom of God that He provides for us in the Scripture, a full range of expression of the emotions of God's people. Is there any expression of joy? or any exclamation of happiness on the one hand, or any expression of sorrow, the deepest sorrow that is not found in the Word of God, and especially in the book of Psalms. So I say again, the wisdom of God to provide for us in the Scripture an expression of the full range of emotions of God's people, and in Psalm 42 and 43, one way over on the side of the deepest sorrows. You might even call this psalm one of the classics that express a depressed child of God. You might even say it's a textbook expression, except that would probably be a mistake because the Bible is not a textbook. It's not a textbook of theology, neither is it a textbook of psychology. If the Bible were a textbook of psychology, it would begin with definitions of body and soul and mind and will and heart. It would begin with the treatment of normal psychology, and then it would proceed in the second half to what's called abnormal psychology, where problems of humans are treated, and each problem treated by itself. Depression, for example, would be defined, and then parsed, and then examples of it, and case studies of it, and if you wanted to know anything about depression, you would know what chapter of this textbook to go to. The Bible is not a textbook of psychology. And yet, we can be thankful that it isn't, because in its own way, the Scripture, in God's infinite wise way, The Word of God teaches us about these ranges of emotions and the problems that we have in marvelous beauty. His own people, normal people, just like us, cry out And that cry is inspired and written down in the Word of God so that we are able to look at it, and not only study it, and analyze it, and learn from it, but we ourselves are able to sing it for ourselves and as an echo of our own heart and soul. Why art thou cast down, O my soul? We say to ourselves, Some psalms have the psalmist contending with God. That's here too, isn't it? Other psalms have the psalmist contending with enemies. And you'll find that in Psalms 42 and 43. But this psalm especially has the psalmist contending with himself. He's remonstrating with his own soul. Why art thou cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? You recognize that cry? Do you hear that cry as having come from your own mouth? Perhaps even now, you are feeling just what the psalmist felt some thousands of years ago. Or, if you've not made this cry yourself or aren't making it yourself now, maybe you've heard it from a family member, a spouse, a parent, a son, a daughter, a brother, or a sister, or a member of the congregation whom you've desired to care for. Whatever the case may be, hear this Word of God this evening as instruction to the downcast believer to look up to God. And we mustn't be simplistic tonight. We're not going to imagine that we solve all of the problems and answer all of the questions with regard to depression. But the Word of God gives us beautiful instruction here. That the downcast believer must look up to God. And that's the theme tonight. The downcast believer looking up to God. Let's see in the first place his downcast soul. In the second place, His firm relief or sure relief, and then in the third place, His rich, rich hope. Look first at His soul that's downcast, then see what relief the Word of God provides for that downcast soul, and then see what He may look forward to. And that's what I mean by that third point, His rich hope. Oh, my soul, says the psalmist. He's addressing his soul, not his body. Though depression we'll see in a moment, as manifestations in the body, he's addressing his soul. And you see that throughout the psalms. Verse 1, my soul pants after God. Verse 2, my soul thirsts for God. Verse 6, My soul is cast down, and that's the expression in the text. Verse 5 and 11, and again in verse 5 of 43, Why art thou cast down, O my soul? Now a soul is a man's life within him, all of his spiritual and emotional life inside what usually you can't see, and what we can't, even a doctor cannot put his finger or his scalpel on. Soul. And what the psalmist is referring to here is not soul in distinction from spirit, The New Testament does that sometimes. It speaks of our inner life from two points of view. Our inner life from the viewpoint of its relationship to this earth is the soul, and our inner life from the viewpoint of its relationship to heaven is the spirit. The New Testament makes that distinction between soul and spirit, but that's not the distinction that the psalm here makes. And we know that because the parallelism in the psalm speaks of soul and then what is within me. See that in the text? Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted in me, or within me? And so soul and everything within me refers to the very same thing. Everything that's inside of me. My soul. It's my mind and thinking. It's my will and heart and desires. It's my emotions and feelings. Everything inside me that relates both horizontally and vertically. Oh, my soul is disquieted within me. It's cast down. If you could see the psalmist's soul, you'd see him walking stooped. If you could hear his soul speak, and you do in the psalm, it issues groans and complaints. and sighs because it was dejected. There wasn't any peace in this man's soul or quiet there. His mind was busy, a turmoil of thoughts, mixed and confused. And if you want to talk about his will, his will probably seemed to him numb. That is, his ability to desire and his ability to will anything. And his mood was dark. And I get that from verse 9 where the word translated mourned in verse 9. Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? The word there in the original means exactly that, dark, dark. Now, not dark in the sense of foul or dark in the sense of angry, but dark in the sense of cast down and despairing and even despondent. His soul is cast down. Now even though When soul is within, something that you can't touch or cut with a knife, it does manifest itself outwardly in ways that we can see. And the psalm indicates some of those. In the first place, the psalmist was crying. He says, my tears have been my meat day and night. And that's a manifestation of depression, isn't it? Whether men or women, they cry. And I've been told that, by doctors in any case, that the men don't always cry. Sometimes the men begin by simply withdrawing and being quiet. But when bad comes to worse, they cry too, and the tears don't shut off. My tears have been my meat day and night." And that means that he probably can't sleep either. Daytime he's crying, nighttime he's crying also. A depressed person sometimes wants to sleep, and some of them are able to sleep because they want to forget the sorrows, but sometimes, and that's worse, they cannot sleep, and in the night the tears flow too. And maybe it involves his ability or inability to eat. He says, my tears have been my meat day and night. might indicate, if this is not merely a figure of speech, that this is what he was eating, this is what he was drinking, not a normal meal, not food, but his tears. And we all understand that depression sometimes makes us want to eat too much, and other times not able to eat, and all of that comes out in the psalm, doesn't it? But it's not crying or sleeping or eating that take the front place in this psalm as how depression manifests itself, it's, now look children, your face. People can see it in your face. And if you ask me how I know that, that's what the psalm means when it talks about your countenance. Now look at the psalm, 42 verse 11. The psalmist says, at the end of it, I shall yet praise Him who is the health, or help, of my countenance. And the same thing is true for verse 5 of Psalm 43. He speaks of the health or the help of his countenance. And you children may know that your countenance is your face. And your face is a reflection of your soul and your heart. So that what's in you that you think people can't see, they really can see because it appears in your face. And when the psalmist is asking then for help for his face, he doesn't mean that, first of all, he needs help for his face, but he means, I need help for that which my face is an expression of, my soul. I need health. I need salvation. We'll come back to that in a moment. I need salvation for my face, that is, for my soul. And that brings up the whole beautiful reality that God made us creatures where You can see in a people's countenance what in their soul. God made us that way. It's a marvelous aspect of our being. God even made the animal creation somewhat like that. I remember going to a zoo one time seeing a gorilla on the other side of that glass or bars with obvious hostility in his face and me being very thankful that there was that barrier between us because I knew by the look on his face the intent of his heart toward me. And we all know very well that before you put your hand out to a dog to pet that dog, you better look at that dog's face to discern whether it's a friendly dog or not. You can tell that by his face. But God made us the pinnacle of his creation, especially such that our faces are reflections of our souls. The reality of a poker face, we all know what a poker face is, it's the ability of some, because they've practiced not to show on their face what's in them. And it's a poker face because in gambling, so they say, you don't want the other who is against you to know what's in your hand. That you're glad for a good hand or sad for a bad hand. But that doesn't undermine the point that the face is an expression of the heart, but it exactly establishes it. You need to train yourself not to show in your face what is within you. It's sad to say sometimes the people of God learn that too. You realize that children grow up in homes where they're hurt and damaged and they have to learn And they train themselves not to manifest in their face what is deep within them. But we all know that the norm is, when we're in a safe place, we can read what is in the heart and soul of our family members. When a man knows his wife and the wife or husband, they can read the slightest little change in the look. I know my wife's worried look. her relieved look, her questioning look, her hurt look, and no one is surprised that I say that. And that explains now on the email programs all those little emoticons Used to be two or three, now there are dozens and dozens because they realize that when we write an email or a text, it's very difficult to convey our attitude and tone in a text. So there's a happy face to assure the reader that we're not being unfriendly here. Or a wink to assure them that we're not being serious here. And now there's a multitude of these emoticons, symbols to indicate emotion. And those who invent those emoticons realize they'll never make it because of the complexity of the human emotions and the human face. The psalmist says, Oh my soul! And everyone could see it in his face. In his face. What he's interested in though is knowing why. So he doesn't say, Merely, oh my soul, he says, oh my soul, why art thou cast down? He's interested in an explanation for his depression, and we always are too. And we ask, is it physical or is it spiritual? Is it my nature, what I got from my parents? Is it in my genes and biology? Or is it my nurture, how I was brought up and learned to respond and to live? Is it the devil? Is it sin? What is it? And so often the asking of that question causes so many problems that it becomes a complex tangled mess and we give up. We say, I don't know. The Word of God gives some indication to us of the reason for the depression of this man. There are four related difficulties, not always involved in depression, but we say that's familiar. It's probably very understandable. In the first place, he had enemies who were mocking him. God, huh? What God? If God were your God, he would have delivered you by now. Where is your God? And that comes out at least two times, maybe three in these two Psalms. And sometimes the devil will appear that way and his sharp barbs will pierce your heart. And you will feel that and hear that and wonder, where is God? We'll come back to that. Maybe that enemy will appear in the form of a fellow church member or family member who says, depression? What's that? There isn't anything to that. They misunderstand. They minimize sin. So they dismiss the ailment and affliction that you certainly have. And it reminds you that there have been others in the Christian church, down through history, important people like Luther, melancholy regularly, deeply depressed, and Spurgeon. Spurgeon once said, though it's in your imagination, it's not imaginary. And that's a nice way to think about it. It's in your imagination, that is, it's within you, but it's not imaginary, it's real. But I wonder if the mockery or misunderstanding of others might have this application too, that these foes of the psalmist say to him, what is your last name? Korah. son of that reprobate, rebellious revolutionary who perished with his cohorts and you somehow spared and are descendants of him? And you think you have a place in the church and even an important function in the house of God? Sons of Korah, huh? What's your last name? And whether that's the case here or not, the application is very, very important. I wonder sometimes whether The titles of the Psalms, especially these Psalms, are here just for that reason, to assure us that your family connection doesn't say anything about your place in the church, especially negatively. And you may have a reprobate father or grandfather or a family history that is an embarrassment to you and a shame to you. And then you go to the Psalms that are written for the sons of Korah and remember that those generations were preserved in the church and God gave them a place in the church of service and use. Don't ever Allow anyone to say anything about your family connection. And then imagine that because of that, you don't deserve to be a member of the church. Where is your God? That's what I'm saying. The related difficulties involve that. Secondly, one of the related difficulties has to do with the memory of better days. That's what he says in verse 4. When I remember what I used to do and compare that to what I can do now. When I think about how I formerly felt and compare that to how now I feel and that aggravates it and it makes you wonder whether the medieval poet from Italy was thinking of Psalm 42 when he made this statement. There is no greater sorrow than to recall in misery the time when we were happy. He was on to something there. That's what the psalmist is talking about too. And that's involved in depression. The memory of better days. Involved in the third place is the fact that it's ongoing and doesn't seem to end. And that is in verse 3. Continually and day and night. In verse 10, daily. And then three times in the chorus. Why? It doesn't seem to end. And that reminds you that unlike a cold or pneumonia that the doctor can predict probably how it's going to run its course and what medicines are going to take care of it, you don't say that about depression. It may go on and on and on and on. And that aggravates the matter, doesn't it? And then fourth is depression was related to his inability to worship. Reread the Psalms. When shall I come and appear before God? I went with a multitude and kept holy days. And then in Psalm 43, he wants to go back up that hill to that tabernacle and see that altar, because now he's in a chain gang probably, on his way to captivity somewhere, unable to be in the house of God. And you mustn't forget then, and I mustn't, as a member of the church, that when someone is unable to worship, we have to visit them. That's distressing. The old people who are shut in, someone who's injured, someone unable for whatever reason to be in church for a lengthy period of time, he is susceptible to these bouts of despair and discouragement. And then the other side of it is that sometimes when we're depressed, it relates to church in this way, that we don't want to be there. We know we ought to be, but we say to ourselves, I just can't. But all of those are related. They are not the great difficulty that the psalmist has. The great difficulty is that he sees God in this distress, and it troubles him. He's convinced. that God has forsaken him. He listens to his enemies who say to him, where is your God? And he's convinced that the enemies are right. He isn't with me any longer. He's forsaken me. He's abandoned me. What I thought was true of me in the past, that I was one of his own, I know now because of this, that, and the other thing is not the case. I am not a child of God. Read Lord's Day 16 tonight when you get home and realize why the Reformed Fathers said there in Lord's Day 16 that the greatest temptation of the child of God is that he imagines he is going to go to hell. At the end of his life, this is his destination, not heaven, but hell. And now you understand why that appears in Lord's Day 16, which treats the depths of Christ's dissension and despair when he went to hell as a substitute for us. The greatest temptation of the child of God is this, this, God has forsaken me. He's no longer my God. I'm going to die and go to hell. That explains why his face is cast down. He cannot stop crying. You can see it in his face. He isn't interested in eating, he can't sleep, and he sees nothing good in the future. He is absolutely without hope. There are two very important concepts in the text. this evening. One is faith. Remember children, I said countenance means faith. That's the most important thing you need to remember. And the second important concept is the concept hope. One of the great blessings God gives us is the ability to have hope. And you remember that trio of graces. I prayed about that tonight. Faith and love and hope. The greatest of these is love but The great ones, among all of the blessings, include faith and hope. And when the child of God does not have hope, it's disastrous. Children, you ask your parents to remind you tonight what four things you must remember with regard to hope. Hope, number one, looks forward. Not back, but forward. Number two, when hope looks forward, it sees good. Not bad, but good when it looks forward. Number three, when hope looks forward and sees good, it's certain, hope is, confident that that good is going to be His. Forward looking to good with absolute certainty that it's mine and with patience. If succor be delayed, remember children, If the help that I need, I see coming in the future, doesn't come right away, then I, with patience, wait for it. You recognize that as the language of Scripture. This man had no hope. He looked forward, of course. He wonders what's coming tomorrow. He doesn't see any good, and if anyone proposes the prospect of good for him, he says, that's impossible for me, and I am not able and I am not willing patiently to wait. That's distressing. And if that is understood, then you may know what is the great difficulty of depression. They look at that tunnel that they are in, and they don't see any light at the end of that tunnel. They only see darkness. And that explains why some of God's people sometime come to such a straight that they say, I can't live any longer. I'm not going to live any longer. I'm going to take my life. It's painful to bring up that subject. It must be addressed, at least mentioned. And then this. Not only, people of God, is it a sin. to commit suicide, a violation of the Sixth Commandment that says, thou shalt not murder, not yourself either. But that's not what is important to hear, first of all, tonight. This is what is important to hear. For the child of God who feels so low, there is relief. There is sure relief. Hang on to that promise, that truth of the Word of God. The psalm teaches that to us. Now I want to go slowly. And when I talk about what the psalm teaches with regard to that relief, I'll offer a couple of cautions. A long one at the beginning. Be very careful people of God. Number one, not to say to yourself, if I cannot find the cause of my depression, I'll never get out of it. You must not say that. You must not say that if I cannot find the root of my despondency, I'll never get out of it. You must not say that. It's possible sometimes to know why a person is depressed. Think of all of the physical causes. Postpartum depression, chronic pain, losses, divorce, death of family members, even poverty, sometimes even loss of work. And there's a whole list in the psychology books with regard to precipitating causes of depression. We may know them sometimes. We may identify them. We may address them with the Word of God and help the people of God through them. And with regard to work, I wonder if that was involved here. The psalmist's occupation was temple service. The psalmist was not able to work. He was on a chain gang, going somewhere, probably, maybe working, but not the work that God called him to do. And that's a reminder to us all, some of us who are thinking of retirement, you better know what you are going to occupy your hands and your mind with or be exposed to the evils of despondency, what's life all about? What am I worth? And then sometimes the advice to those who are cast down is not sit down and do nothing, but as you are able, be productive. So, there are times when we are able to know, and other times we're able to know because it's very easily identifiable sin. That sin, It brings you to this place. And David is an example of that, isn't he? In Psalm 32, he said he lived for a year in deepest depression. My bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. I was at absolute and end. I was in utter misery until I confessed my transgression. Then God forgave me. And then I was the happiest man alive and I was able even to speak to others about their sin. So sometimes it's obvious sin that brings us down. Another time it's sin that's not so obvious, and that's why you need a wise pastor, elders, counselor to help untangle kind of upbringing, perhaps, that trained me to think wrongly and to behave wrongly and respond to evils wrongly that I'm not even aware is unbiblical response and thinking. And a wise pastor and a good counselor is going to be able, over the course of time, help me see so that my life is in conformity with the Word of God. Because when it isn't, I can't have peace. And that's able to be known too. But here's the point. Don't be determined at all costs to find the root and say, if I can't find it, I can't be helped. Because there are times, and I think that's an example, this psalm is an example of that, where you don't know. What does the psalmist give us as an answer? There are hints here and there, but there's no clear indication. He says, why? And then before he answers, he gives the solution. He does not give the answer. And that's the experience of pastors and elders and us too sometimes, isn't it? We can counsel and bring the word of God to a child of God week after week and month after month, find no obvious cause, and all of a sudden, it's lifted. For no apparent reason. He's able to sing again, and work again, and go to church again, or she. And there's no explanation. And sometimes depression goes that way too. Do not be determined at all costs to find the reason. Second caution. Be careful people of God. that you do not look at your circumstances and determine God's attitude toward you on the basis of circumstances. The psalmist could have done that. I'm not able to work, I'm not a part of my family any longer, I'm captive, and therefore God must be against me. He would have fallen into the very temptation that the devil wanted him to fall into. come to an absolutely wrong conclusion on the basis of his circumstances, which is why we always have taught since 1924 that we don't judge God's attitude toward us on the basis of things, that He's pleased with us when we have good things, and He's displeased when we have no things. That's not the gospel. So that's the second caution. Do not judge God's attitude to you on the basis of circumstances. And then third, be very, very careful what you do with your feelings. Do not judge reality on the basis of your feelings. The psalmist's feelings were very, very low, but he did not let them govern his life. He fought against them. He knew they were bad, but he didn't nurse them. He didn't approve them. They were real, they were awful, but he did not let the feelings be the center of his focus. If we do that, then the remedy for our depression is to take whatever we can take, whether medicine or drink, to get rid of those bad feelings. Some legitimate, some not legitimate. But it's not the first thing we must do is look at our feelings. It may well be that God wants us to feel miserable for a while so that we learn things. But here's the main point. God wills something else to be the instrument for our help. And that something else is that we struggle through with our own soul so that we are able finally to look up and see the face of God. the relief that the Word of God gives to us. Look at the face of God. Hope in God, and hope in God by looking at His face. I'll say that another time or five. Hope in God, and hope in God by looking at God's face. Back up a moment though. The psalmist contended with himself. He did not passively give in to the feelings and the circumstances. He fought. He took himself in hand and fought. And then he spoke to himself. He remonstrated with himself. He argued and debated and contended with himself. Not from his old man speaking, but from his new man speaking. And he even rebuked himself. And then notice too, that he even made this public. What sometimes when we are in distress, depressed, is the last thing we want, anyone else to know, It may be just what we need. We have the Psalm before us. God inspired the man to sing it and to write it so that we would know what his distress was and have it before us. It was public in his day. This is the man that was depressed. And I think sometimes we elders and pastors and parents sometimes promise too quickly that we'll not tell a soul. And though we don't need to broadcast this to the whole congregation, it may well be that one of the things that I need is that the people of God, some of them know, so that the hands that they have, hands of Christ, can be reached out to me to uphold me, and the prayers they offer can be offered for me. But come back now to this reality. The relief for us is that we embrace God in hope and see His face. Children, now I ask you to look at me again. This is the relief. As it were, God takes His thumb on your chin and pushes you so that you look up and see Him. Did your dad ever do that to you when you were young? Take your chin, make you look at Him because you didn't want to look at Him? That's what God is doing for us tonight. He says, Look up and look at my face. And when you see my face, that's exactly what your soul needs. And now I ask you, did you notice that that's the difference between these three verses in the Psalms? Verse 5 talks about the help of His countenance. We've been talking about our countenance. Verse 11 talks about our countenance and the health that our countenance needs. But Psalm 42, verse 5 says, I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance. When I see His face, and behind that face I know what His heart is thinking about me. That's exactly what my soul needs. Look at His face. Hope in Him. Now remember hope, children. Looking forward. You look forward at God. Looking forward for good, and that good is in God. With confident expectation and certainty that that good that's in God is yours. And even a patient willingness to wait for that good to come to you from God, if that sucker is delayed. Look at God. And if you say, but when I look up, all I see is the sky, clouds and stars and sun and birds. Well, you understand that that's a figure of speech, isn't it? Look at the face of God. And if you ask, where is that face of God? Then I say, look at the face of Jesus. Look at the face of Christ. You remember that story in the Old Testament where God said to Moses, I will be with you? And Moses wanted to believe God. He wanted to believe those words that came out of God's voice, God's mouth. But he wasn't convinced of them. So Moses said to God, let me see your face. Remember? Let me see your face. And in the Old Testament, God said, no one will see my face and live. So he covered him with his hand and passed by so that Moses saw his backside. And that was enough for Moses. But what God was not willing to do in the Old Testament, He was willing in the New when He sent His own Son and said to us in the New Testament, you want to see My face? Look at the face of My Son. And when you see Him, you see Me. And that's why Jesus said that to His disciples and others. You want to see the Father? Look at Me. You want to know the attitude of the Father toward you? Look at Me and see My face. That's the relief that the people of God need. We need to look at the face of God and the face of Christ. And what your minister does every Sunday morning and every Sunday evening is paint a picture of the face of Christ from this pulpit. Now you can't see his physical face, his literal face, but imagine what that face of Jesus must have looked like in his earthly ministry for thirty-three and a half years, knowing, knowing where he had to go, what the end of his life was. And you understand why Isaiah says that he was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. That's a description of what was in him. He knew. He was ashamed. He felt misery. He heard at the beginning of His earthly ministry, this is My well-beloved Son, I'm pleased with Him. But most of His life, all He did when He looked up, to see the face of God in anger on account of all of the sins that you and I put upon Him. I don't imagine Jesus smiled very much. I can't imagine that when you saw the face of Jesus, you could see it drawn. And when finally he came to the cross, now see the picture painted of Christ? When he came to the cross, he also asked a question that had why in it. Except it wasn't that he was addressing his soul, why art thou cast down, but he was addressing God, why did you forsake me? Why? Did you forsake Me? And He was forsaken. The face of God was turned against Him for evil, and then the face of God was turned away from Him, and He was abandoned in order that we might never be forsaken. Look at the face of God in the face of Christ. See all of His work. Understand and learn all of His attributes. Study His nature. Study His persons. Everything you can learn about Christ, when you learn about Him, you see the face of God. Take your chin, turn it up to heaven, and see what God looks like in His face toward you. And you will know in His soul what He thinks about you. And His face is not frowning, but pleased. You, as you look in the face of Jesus, see the face of God that says, I love you. That's my relief. I said we were going to come back to church in the course of the sermon very briefly. Where do you see that face of Jesus? Here. And that comes out in the Psalm 2 when he says, I can't wait to go back to the altar of God. Let light and truth lead me. Let them bring me to thy holy hill. Up on the hill, where was the tabernacle? And when he got to the tabernacle, he made a beeline to the altar because it was at that altar that he saw the attitude of God toward him. And woe to you or woe to me if I ever imagine that there's any relief for me in my distress that is away from here. Come to the house of God and whether you feel like it or not, listen and hear the voice of God to you in the voice of Christ. God commanded the light to shine out of darkness, and He shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. My countenance is cast down, but my face must look up and see His face. And when I do, this is what I may expect. This is what I may hope for now. Number one, that my face will change from being a face that everybody recognizes as a face that's cast down to a face that's now healthy. You go back to the psalm and see that. That's the relationship. I shall yet praise Him who is the health of my countenance. That word health, and now I address you children one more time, is the word Joshua. And you learned in catechism what Joshua means. Jehovah saves. And that's the word that's used here, the Jehovah saves of my face. When I see Him, He's going to be the salvation, not just the help, not just the health, but the very salvation of my face, which will be a reflection of the reality that there's salvation in my soul, His face. will change mine. I have hope for that. I can look forward to that. When that sucker will come to me, I do not know. But I believe that because the Word of God says that. Secondly, because what my face looks like isn't the ultimately important thing. It isn't. What's most important is that I am able to praise Him. I shall yet praise Him, the psalmist says, who is the health of my countenance and my God. There comes a day when I will not have to drag myself out of bed. where I will not have to listen simply to the commands of my parents or my spouse. You need to be in church." And my response is, but I don't feel like it. My heart isn't right. I don't want to be there. There comes a day, the psalmist says, when I shall yet praise Him who is the health of my countenance and my God. I shall yet praise Him. And even if, people of God, this in the third place, that yet isn't in this life, God forbid that it doesn't go that long. But if it does, I assure you of this, there's a day that's coming when you will see Him face to face in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ. And you will remember what the Queen of Sheba said and say it had nothing to do with what it looks like up here. The half was not told me is not a reference to the streets of gold and the gates of pearl. The half was not told me with regard to what that face of God looks like. Lovely Jesus, lovely God, beautiful face. And I see in it all of His love and every aspect of His perfect wisdom toward me that I couldn't understand here below. And that will be the day that will open up into eternity. And you will always be looking forward to the next day if there are time periods in heaven. But you will always be looking ahead in hope for something more, something new, something good. And you will always have absolute certainty that that's coming for you. Heaven. Heaven. So people of God, wait. Though succor be delayed, wait. When your face is cast down, look up and see the face of God and say, whether I feel it or not, I believe what I cannot feel and what I cannot see. God is for me. Hope in Him. Amen. Let's pray. Our Father which art in heaven, we thank Thee that the Lord Jesus Christ went before us. And though we do not often think of it, He was a man with strong crying and tears, lived His life for our sake, abandoned by thee, forsaken, the object of thine anger, so that we would never be forsaken, and always the objects of thy love. Forgive us, Lord, for our sins. Deliver Thy people who are in ways of distress, and renew in them even the slightest glimmerings of hope, so that we do not live in despair, but in the knowledge of Thy love to us. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.