Psalm 42. We're gonna read Psalm 42 and 43 together again this morning if you'll follow along. As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all day long, where is your God? These things I remember and I pour out my soul within me. For I used to go along with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God, with the voice of joy and thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival. Why are you in despair, O my soul, and why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise him for the help of his presence. Our text today, Oh my God, my soul is in despair within me. Therefore I remember you from the land of the Jordan and the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar, deep calls to deep at the sound of your waterfalls. All your breakers and your waves have rolled over me. The Lord will command his loving kindness in the daytime and his song will be with me in the night, a prayer to the God of my life. I will say to God, my rock, why have you forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries revile me while they say to me all day long, where is your God? Why are you in despair, O my soul, and why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise him, the help of my countenance and my God. And then next week, Lord willing, we'll look at Psalm 43. Vindicate me, O God, and plead my case against an ungodly nation. O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man. For you are the God of my strength. Why have you rejected me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? O send out your light and your truth. Let them lead me. Let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling places. Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy. And upon the liar I shall praise you, O God, my God. Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise him the help of my countenance and my God. Gracious God, glorious. Creator, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, we ask that you would teach us as we continue to enter into the experience of the psalmist and his despair. And I pray that you would point us to you and equip us either in times of despair now or for future times and in ways to help others, Lord, to really know how to hope in you during discouraging times of depression. We pray this for the glory of your holy name in Christ's name. Amen. You know, the Bible is full of various methods of how to teach us truth. And we're turning to a text again this morning, Psalm 42 and 43, which has a particular way of teaching us a truth about depression. And the way that it teaches us is by inviting us to enter into the very experience of the psalmist who is battling despair. And really the only way to understand this psalm is by entering into it. If you don't enter into it, it doesn't make a lot of sense. But if you enter into the struggle as much as you can, place yourself in the situation, you start to see the very experience that the psalmist is having and how God is teaching us through that experience. This psalm is all about this word that keeps showing up throughout the psalm. In fact, I just want to point out, as I pointed out last week, that Psalm 42 and 43 are really one psalm. Either they were made to sing right back and back together, or originally they were one. There's no title in Psalm 43, and it has the exact same refrain as Psalm 42, and there's manuscript evidence that they were actually one. So we're treating them as one passage over the next, for the three weeks. Last week, this week, and next week. But there's this word that keeps showing up. If you look at Psalm 42, verse 5, Why are you in despair, O my soul? Look at verse 11 of the same psalm. Why are you in despair? And the end of this one psalm, but we have it as Psalm 43, look at verse 5. Why are you in despair? And of course, despair is another word for the word depression. And so the psalm teaches us about this aspect of depression. Last week, I mentioned that there are ways that we can think very worldly about depression. And I just want to recapture three ways to set us back up on that. And if you want a further explanation of that and you weren't here last week, I would encourage you to listen online. But one way that we can think very worldly about this area of depression is we can unknowingly accept a naturalistic view of human existence as if there is only body and there is no soul. But we are in fact material and immaterial. We are body and spirit or soul. So that means that not all of our problems are biological, are they? Some of them have to do with our heart, our spiritual heart, you might call it. If you remember, some of the symptoms of depression that we listed from the handbook of depression are very much things that the Bible deals with, aren't they? Anxiety, hopelessness, anger. These are things the Bible deals with and needs to be dealt with on a spiritual level, certainly. Another way that we might be thinking worldly is this. We may have unknowingly turned our back on God's solution for our problem. If the problem of despair actually does have something to do with our heart spiritually, then it would be a mistake to try to fix it physically, wouldn't it? And actually, it would be a turning away from Jesus Christ as the one that's sufficient for us in that battle. Whether it's through medication or through non-biblical therapy, we need to actually be turning to Jesus as the solution for spiritual problems, not going to secular or medical solutions for spiritual problems. And I would point out that the world does this in every area. The world redefines sin, doesn't it? When you redefine sin as not sin, but as a disease, you lose Jesus as the physician of the soul. And that's a very dangerous thing to have happen. And one final area that we may become worldly in this area is this, that naturally we may have begun to excuse sin in our lives because a physical issue makes obedience harder. And that's true, right? There are physical issues that can encourage despair and can make obedience Difficult. But just because there are physical things going on, whether that's brought on by spiritual problems, because again, spiritual issues can affect your body, can't they? Become worried that's going to affect some physical things. Or whether it's truly rooted in demonstrable biological problems. It doesn't matter. It doesn't make it sin okay, does it? Physical things don't make sin okay. We're not robots. We still make choices. There is personal responsibility, even if that personal responsibility is difficult in our circumstances. If we're not careful, we will excuse sin in our lives based on a physical issue that we might have. So whether or not the feelings of depression are really rooted in a spiritual problem, or they're rooted in a demonstrable physical issue, we have to respond in a Christ-like way, or we need to, don't we? We really do. The body affects the spiritual heart, but God holds us responsible for how we deal with that interaction and the effects. I used this illustration last week that sometimes in despair you feel like a ball was thrown to you. And you're like, where did this come from? It's here. And what do you need to do? You need to make sure you don't catch it. And you don't coddle it. You respond to it biblically. You don't want to be like a football player, catch it and hold it like you're running and not let the ball fumble. You want the ball to fumble. You want it out of you, right? Let me give another illustration to help get this point across. Let's say that maybe something physical is going on, and that doesn't give us a free pass to wallow in despair. Okay? So let me give you an illustration on that. If you're in the rain, you can't do much about the rain, can you? It's gonna rain. You didn't turn it on, you can't turn it off. But if you have an umbrella, what can you do? You can put the umbrella up, right? Alright? So, in a bodily issue that impacts your heart or your spirit, we have the choice and the responsibility, even if rain is falling, to put the umbrella of God's truth up. And yeah, maybe you're still going to feel wet at times, and yeah, you're still in the storm, but God's truth gives you shelter in that. And it gives a lot better shelter than umbrellas. Sometimes I think umbrellas were invented to get you wet in storms instead of keep you dry. But anyway, that's beyond the point. No doubt there will be challenges in such situations to stay dry, but that does not excuse us from standing in God's truth. But here's the point. If you're feeling down, you have a moral responsibility before the Lord to fight for joy in Christ. You see that? Now, I want to continue to work our way through this psalm to see the psalmist fight for joy in the Lord and fight for faith in the Lord. And in order to do that, we need to go back and see what we saw last week. So let me, I have it on your outline there as a reminder, but let's work back through this. We saw this first of all, spiritual depression is accompanied by unfulfilled what kind of desires? Worship desires, alright? So, spiritually depressed individuals actually long for God. Right? You saw that? All of us here should thirst for God, at all times. But here the psalmist is saying, he's thirsting, but he doesn't seem to be what? Drinking. He's thirsting for God, but the question is, where is God? God seems to be distant. He longs to experience the presence of God and worship again, but he seems to be not there. And as believers, you've already tasted. If you're a child of God, you have tasted, and God is wonderful, and He's all satisfying. So when you don't feel like you're tasting, that can actually be a very discouraging, depressing thing. And it can spiral us down further into depression. We saw next that the spiritually depressed individual longs for God, recognizing He is the living God. Look at verse 2 there. For the living God, he says. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. And knowing that God is living should be encouraging, but when you're in despair, that actually can be a reason to go further down in despair, because you think, if He's living, where is He? Why don't I know His presence of blessing right now? And next we saw this, and therefore the despairing person questions their lack of currently experiencing God's presence. So look at verse 2 there. It says, When shall I come and appear before God? And apparently he was not able to get to the temple. That's the background of the Old Testament here. That's where God had promised his revealed presence, is at the temple. And he was unable to get to the temple. So he's saying, when can I get back to the temple? Now, of course, as New Testament believers, the temple of God is where? We are the temple of the Holy Spirit, which can actually make it even more depressing if you don't feel like you know the presence of God right now, because you're told that He's living where? In you, and yet you feel like He's very distant from you. And so that could be another reason why you can go further in despair. And the despairing person also sorrows as unbelievers mockingly add weight to their questions. The believer is already saying, where is God? And the unbeliever comes along and says, hey, where is your God? And that only adds more weight. And so we saw in verse 4, they pour out their sorrow. And it's just important to notice at this point that the psalmist isn't pouring out his sorrow consciously before God. But we made the point that does God see you pour your heart out in sorrow? He does. He sees everything. Even if you're not consciously going to Him about it, He does see it. And finally, we saw that the individual remembers past worship when they experienced God's presence. Look at verse four. These things I remember and pour out my soul within me, for I used to go along with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God with the voice of joy and thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival. This was actually a former or actually a leader of worship. And yet they're in despair because they don't know the presence of God in worship right now. So if it can happen to them, it can happen to anyone. So, spiritually depressed individuals long for God, recognizing He's the living God. Therefore, they question their lack of currently experiencing His presence, and they sorrow as unbelievers, mockingly add weight to their questions. So they pour out their sorrow, remembering past worship when they experienced God's presence. But then we ended last week with the refrain that we're going to see two more times. And that is the is really the remedy for this depression. It's this spiritually or spiritual depression is remedied by persevering, persevering, faith fueled, God centered schizophrenia. What? Self-exhortation is what I'm saying, okay? It almost sounds schizophrenic. You're talking to yourself? Yeah, talking to yourself. A depressed person needs to talk to themselves. They need to self-exhort themselves. And they do so, first of all, by self-consciously questioning their state of soul. Why are you in despair of my soul? And why are you disturbed within me? And also by exhorting themselves, look at verse 5, hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence. That brings us to verses 6 through 11 this morning in Psalm 42. And if there was any, if there was a fine edge of despair in verses 1 through 4, it was this. Unfulfilled worship desires. You say, okay, well, what's the aspect of depression or despair that the psalmist is highlighting in verses 6 through 10 in our text this morning? Look at verse 9. I think you're going to see it right here in verse 9. I will say to God, my rock, why have you, what? Why have you forgotten me? That's the aspect of depression that the psalmist is battling in verses 6 through 10. If you've ever struggled with depression, then you know this feeling of being forgotten. You feel as if you are passed over. It's as if God has totally forgotten that you're one of his and that you are passed over. Now, of course, as a believer, this is especially troubling. Because as a believer, you know that you don't serve God that forgets His people, right? You know that the Bible says that He set His love on you before the foundation of the world. In other words, He was interested in you by His grace, not because of who you are or who I am. He was interested in loving you before you even were. So if that's the case, how would He forget you in your life? You know this, but you feel forgotten. You feel like you're passed over, in your despair. Now as we work through verses 6-11 today, we need to notice that there is a shift in the battle that the psalmist is having with depression. You'll remember in verse 5, the psalmist, fueled by faith, centered upon God, self-exhorted himself to hope in God. Right? And that actually did impact him in his despair. Very clearly in verses 6 through 10, the battle of despair is still raging for the psalmist. But there has been some progress and we're going to see that. Why do I say that? Well, let me give you the point and I hope I can demonstrate it. Here's the point. Spiritual depression is accompanied by feeling forgotten by God. Okay, by feeling forgotten by God, even during faith's fight. Even during faith's fight. In other words, when someone is fighting to believe in the Lord, even though they feel down and despair, they've said, hope in God, they're self-exhorting themselves to hope in God, there can still be feelings of forgottenness in that fight. So let's follow and trace the experience of the psalmist like we did last week, but do it here in verses 6 through 10. First of all, we see this. And again, it's going to be kind of a paragraph as we work through it. Spiritually depressed individuals who have exhorted themselves, to hope in God, still struggle with despair. Okay? Those who have exhorted themselves to hope in God still struggle with despair, but now do so consciously before their God. They now do it before their God. It would be a big mistake to miss the fact that this verse, verse 6, comes after verse 5. Verse 5, the psalmist says, hope in God. Verse 6 says, oh my God, my soul is in what? Despair. Okay? Spiritually depressed individuals who have exhorted themselves to hope in God still struggle with despair, but now do so consciously before their who? Before their God. And what we're going to see as we work through these verses is that the psalmist is now consciously dealing with his despair before God in a way that he wasn't before. You know, if we don't recognize that someone who as is actually battling for joy in the Lord can still be struggling as they do so. then we're going to really not know how to deal with someone that's going through despair. Okay? We're going to be like this, we're going to be like, okay, here's the truth, take the medicine, get better, now. Right? But the spiritual medicine does take time to take effect, doesn't it? Not because it's ineffective, but because we are weak people. And if we were in the same situation as that person is, we would probably take time as well in this. It will help us to have compassion for those who are battling in this area. Just because someone is depressed, doesn't mean that they're passively giving in to it. They may in fact be just like the psalmist here, exhorting themselves to have hope in God, and yet it's taking time to turn the ship around. Because the ship's been going the wrong direction, and it's a big ship. Maybe you have not battled depression like other believers have. Well, okay. Enter into the psalmist experience and learn something about how that battle goes. It might take some time. You know, when I was a senior in high school, I decided to play soccer. Kevin likes to play soccer. He plays soccer a lot. I only played it for one year. I enjoyed it for my one year. But I was a basketball guy. And for my first three years of high school, I couldn't figure out why the soccer guys always complained or had such a hard time with cramps. I thought, come on, just get up and go. I mean, I have cramps in basketball. Let's just shake it off, move on. Well, I played my senior year in soccer in the heat of the leftover heat of South Carolina summer and the humidity and running, running, running, running, running more than basketball all the time. And let me tell you, I got some cramps. And there was more than one time I was on the ground and my whole leg was in a cramp. How many of you had a whole leg cramp? You feel like your leg's exploding. It's the first time I ever thought, I thought, what is going on? You know, my leg is going to actually explode. And so here you have, there's different methods to work on a cramp like that, right? And so a method of working that cramp out, just because the methods of working on that cramp doesn't mean it's going to go away immediately, does it? In fact, more than one time, I had a cramp, and it was getting better, but I just barely moved, and what happened? It was back. Alright? That's kind of the experience of the psalmist here. Hope in God. There's this working on the cramp, as it were, but they just barely move, and wham, it's right back, and they're battling it again. That's kind of like what's going on here. He started the remedy of faith-fueled, God-centered self-exhortation, but wow, he's still battling this. And so look at verse 6. Oh my God, my soul is in despair within me. Notice the first few words of verse 6 though. Oh my God. It's a statement, not of taking God's name in vain, which I hope we don't do, thoughtlessly saying, oh my God. But it's a statement of, my God, talking to God. We're really addressing God. A very important step of progress for the psalmist. You know, as you battle despair, if you can really honestly go to God and say, my God, that's an important step in despair, isn't it? Where you recognize He is your God. So the psalmist is still in despair, but now he's addressing who about it? He's actually going to God about that despair. Oh my God, My soul is in despair. Leupold makes this observation about the psalmist going to God about his despair in this manner. It's really helpful. The psalmist frankly lays this issue before the Lord himself. He's on the way to recovery the very moment he does so. You know, it's true that when we're pouring out our sorrow before the Lord, When we're pouring out our sorrow, no matter what, it is before the Lord, He sees it all. But it's important that we actually consciously, for our own selves, go to the Lord about our sorrow. I've mentioned this before, often people will speak about trials or struggles or despair, and I will ask them, have you gone to God about that? And often the answer is, after they think about it, no. Or if they say yes, then I ask them this question, okay, did you go to God about it the way you came to me about it? What do you mean? I mean were you as transparent before God about that problem as you were with me? Because you just told me you're struggling with it, you wonder where He is, you wonder what's going on, did you tell God that? And often the answer is no. But actually, we need to go to God with that kind of transparency. We need to consciously go to God about it. Look what the psalmist does here. Oh my God, my soul is in despair within me. Spurgeon says this, David talks, he says it's David. I tend to agree with him, but it's not totally sure that that's who the psalmist is here. David talks like a sick child to his mother, and we would do well to imitate him. Ironically, our flesh can convince us that in times of despair, the last thing we need to do is be honest before God. And not talk to God like it really is in our souls. But in reality, if He's our Father, and if we want to know His enabling grace, we need to put it all out on the table in the right way, in a believing way. We'll talk about that later. We need to actually take our complaints to who? If you have a complaint, you need to take it to God. Rather than merely to ourselves or to others. You know, if you walk down the road of taking your complaints to yourself, it's going to be a dead end. And if you walk down the road of taking your complaints to other people, if those people, unless those people are turning you to God, it's also going to be a dead end. But if you take your complaint to God, I'm telling you on the authority of God's Word, it's like an off-ramp of your despair. It's like getting off on an exit from the highway of despair. Maybe a long off-ramp, but it will be an off-ramp. There's a reason that there is a whole collection of Psalms in the Bible that are called by theologians, lament or complaint Psalms. Why? Because God wants us to see how to believingly complain to Him about our despair. Does that sound funny to you? It doesn't if you understand He's your Father. Because if you're a father, you want to know really the problem the child has, don't you? Even if they're misguided in it. You've got to figure out what the problem is so you can help them. And in this case, God already knows it, but it helps us to have us know He knows it. And He ministers to us in that way. So here's the point. Spiritually depressed individuals who have exhorted themselves to hope in God, still struggle with despair, but now do so consciously before their God. Here's the next point. And as a consequence, they remember God. They remember God. Look at verse 6. Oh my God, my soul is in despair within me, therefore I... What? What's the next word? Therefore I... Remember, I really encourage you to follow along the Scripture with me here. The authority is in God's Word. Let's follow along together and really focus in on this text together. Oh my God, my soul is in despair within me, therefore I remember you from the land of the Jordan, the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizor. Okay, so as a consequence, that person remembers God. Here's the point. Because the psalmist is in despair, they remember who? Remember God. That's the connection. That's the word therefore. Why therefore is therefore. Now specifically, look what it says. He remembers you from, or I remember you from, specific geographical locations. Now there's some disagreement about why these are mentioned, and where they are, and whether or not the psalmist is there when he says them. Okay? Is he saying he remembers God while in that location? Or is he saying, I remember you, God, based on something that happened there? Is he talking about one specific location? Or is he using this to refer to all of the land of Israel? We're not exactly sure, but I think probably what makes sense to me as I look at this is that he's saying, Oh my God, my soul's in despair within me, therefore I remember you from, meaning he's actually there, the land of the Jordan, the peaks of Hermon, which are both pretty much understandable where they are, the northern border of Israel, where the Jordan comes together, four tributaries into the Jordan River. We don't know exactly where Mount Mizar is. But he is at that location, and he's remembering God in northern Israel, which of course is away from the temple. Now, let's think about that connection again. The psalmist is saying that because he's in despair, he remembers God. So you could put it this way. The psalmist's despair drove him to who? To God. Let's put it another way. Depression drives people to who? To God. Let's make it more personal. God has designed that your depression or your despair drive you to God. If you would remember that in the middle of times of despair, that would actually infuse purpose in the time of despair, wouldn't it? Despair feels purposeless, but it's actually very purposeful. So let's progress. Spiritually depressed individuals who have exhorted themselves to hope in God still struggle with despair, but now do so consciously before their God, and as a consequence, they remember God. Next, acknowledging God's involvement with their sorrows. Look at verse 7, they acknowledge God's involvement with their psalms. Verse 7, deep calls to deep at the sound of your waterfalls. All your breakers and all your waves have rolled over me. What's going on there? Well, if in fact the psalmist is in those geographical locations mentioned in verse 6, then it would make sense that he was at a location like the Banias waterfalls, which are right at the foot of Hermon and in the land of the Jordan. The Jordan River is formed by four tributaries, and just before that happens, there are these waterfalls near where ancient Caesarea Philippi is. It may be that the psalmist is standing near the waterfall, and he is in his despair, and he tells God that, and he remembers God there. He says this, deep calls to deep at the sound of your waterfalls. In other words, as the waterfalls are careening over to the bottom, it's as if they are talking to each other in their roar. All right. And then it says, all your breakers and waves have rolled over me. So the psalmist is looking at the waterfalls and he's saying, these are crashing down and these waves that are being made are coming over me. They're rushing over me. He's describing his sorrow. Have you ever stood near or under a small waterfall? Have you? I was at a Christian camp in North Carolina, actually the same camp where Rand Hummel, who's speaking at the men's conference where we're going to, was for many years. He's now at a different branch of it. But there's a waterfall there that you can actually stand underneath it and it just beats on you. The psalmist is saying that the sorrows he's in, the circumstances he's in, is like that. It's just beating on him. But what we really want to notice is how he identifies these waves. Look at verse 7. See if you notice something here. Deep calls to deep, but the sound of your waterfalls and your breakers and your waves have rolled over me. So he is saying, whose waves are they? God's waves. That means the psalmist is acknowledging that God is sovereign over the circumstance of his sorrow. Right? Getting beat by these waves, and they are whose waves? God's waves. He's unable to get to the temple, and God is involved in that, he's saying. Now, again, that can lead someone to despair, can't it? In fact, an immature believer, when they first hear this truth about God's sovereignty, can be very disturbed about it. Isaiah 45, 7, the one forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being. Do you like that? Do you like the fact that God causes well-being? I do too. Same God, next phrase, creating calamity. You like that? You shouldn't like calamity, nobody does. But are you okay that God creates calamity? That He rules over sin in this world and brings calamities according to His purpose? That can be very disturbing, but when it's rightly viewed that God is wise and that he's good, then suddenly you see every hardship in the context of God's sovereign, loving, wise care for creation and for his people. That means that though the waves are dangerous and seemingly dangerously out of control, they are very much in control. And who's controlling them? God is controlling them. And they are controlled by that One that loves you. The psalmist could think, why would God rule in such a way that I would be unable to get to the temple? These are His waves, His waters of sorrow for me. Or the psalmist could think, these waves of sorrow are slamming against me, and they are God's waves. He is with me, though not in the way that I would have chosen. You see, in his despair, he thinks God is not present, right? But now he's acknowledging that the very waves that he's struggling with are whose waves? Which means God is there, just not the way that He wanted Him to be. Job understood this. He says this early on in his suffering. Job 2.10, Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity? You see, before the psalmist was thirsting for God and could not seem to find where he was, but now he's acknowledging at least that the waves are from God Himself. Let me ask you, what waves are crashing against you right now in your life that are actually the circumstances and the situation in which you are despairing? Hope in God and swallow this wonderfully hard truth. Those waves are whose waves? They are God's waves. They are not wild waves. They are tamed and trained by God himself. And every single drop of every one of his waves are under his sovereign, loving care as they crash into your life. He's always there. He rules in the storm and he rules in the calm. As the hymn says, you fearful saints, fresh courage take. The clouds, ye so much dread, are big with mercy and shall break in blessings on your head. Spiritually depressed individuals who have exhorted themselves to hope in God still struggle with despair, but now do so consciously before God. And as a consequence, they remember God, acknowledging God's involvement with their sorrows. But next, you could say it this way, they are growing in confidence that His presence will be known in the future. They're growing in confidence that His presence will be known in the future. Look at verse 8. The Lord will command his loving kindness in the daytime and his song will be with me in the night. A prayer to the God of my life. Growing in confidence that his presence will be known in the future. Have you ever been in a storm? Where in the middle of the storm, or right before or after the storm, the whole sky is black and dark, and yet there's a shaft of open sky and there's sun that plums through. Ever seen that? That's like verse 8, okay? I'm in despair, I'm getting hit by your ways, but look at verse 8. The Lord will command His loving kindness in the daytime, and His song will be with me in the night, a prayer to the God of my life. I think our translation gets it right here when it says the Lord will command. Based on the context, it's a future focus. Will command. All right. So the psalmist is growing in confidence that his presence will be, that God's presence will be known in the future. Still in despair, but at least he's confident that one day God's presence will be known. There's some parallelism going on here. Look at verse 8. The Lord will command his love and kindness in the daytime, and his song will be with me in the night. I think the point isn't so much that the love and kindness comes in the day and the songs come in the night, but that day and night there's love and kindness in their songs. I think that's really the point. I will praise the Lord again in song, he says. But notice what it says. The Lord will command his love and kindness in the daytime. All right? What's His loving-kindness? That's His covenant love, His hesed. The Hebrew word hesed. The Lord will command His loving-kindness. What does the psalmist feel like he doesn't have right now? He doesn't feel like he experiences God's loving-kindness. But the psalmist is now saying the Lord will command His loving-kindness. And look what he says. The Lord will command His loving-kindness in the daytime. Now what does the word command mean? It means command, doesn't it? It means to order. That's an amazing statement of faith. It means the psalmist is saying, God can and He will order His loving kindness to be known in my life again. Notice as well, he says, His song will be with me in the night. In other words, His praise will be with me in the night. I will praise the Lord in song once again. But notice again, it says, with me. So if God's song will be with him, he again is acknowledging that one day he will know God's presence again. And then he goes on and he says, a prayer to the God of my life. Look at this connection. This is a really helpful connection. It says this in verse 8. His song will be with me in the night. And then that song is defined. How is it defined? a prayer to the God of my life, which means that singing to God is what? It's prayer. Well, that's encouraging, isn't it? Because your prayer life actually could be bigger than you might think it is. I mean, if you gather on Sunday and you really sing, you're praying to God. If you sing with your family, you're praying to God. If you sing in the shower under the Lord, you're praying to God. I would just point out that there's a reason why many, many believers throughout history have made it a practice to go through hymns in their own devotional time. I'm doing that right now, and it's a real encouragement. It's a way sometimes to pray before you're praying. To prepare your heart in prayer before you pray. And I would encourage you to do that, maybe with your family as well. We love to do that as a family, and we're glad to recommend some hymnals for you to get to do that. But really, the psalmist is saying that I will one day sing again in the night and it'll be a prayer to the God of my life. So what have we seen? Spiritually depressed individuals who have exhorted themselves to hope in God still struggle with despair, but now do so consciously before who? Before God. And as a consequence, they remember God, acknowledging His involvement in their sorrow, growing in confidence that His presence will be known in the future, and resolving in the future to ask the questions of despair in the context of trust. Look at verse 9. I will say, I will say to God my rock, why have you forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? So, that he resolves in the future to ask questions of despair in the context of trust. All of us have heard, how many of you have heard this statement? Especially children, I'm sure you've heard this statement. Maybe you've heard this statement. No question is a what? Bad question, right? You ever heard that? No question is a bad question and so on. Teachers trying to get the students to ask questions. Listen, it doesn't matter. No question is a bad question. Is that true? Depends what you mean. Okay, let me ask you. Put yourself in a class. Imagine you're in your class later today, in children's class, or you're in school, and you ask a question to make yourself look smart in front of the class. Is that a good question? No. Or you ask a question and make this teacher look stupid. Is that a good question? No, because it's asked in the wrong spirit, right? Alright? So I understand the point. No question is a bad question in the sense that every question is an opportunity to learn. Let me ask you, is it okay to ask questions to God? But is every question a good question? Not if you're asking in the wrong way, right? Should you ask questions to God? Yes, but you need to ask them the right way. And the psalmist here shows us how to do it. And throughout the Psalms you see this. Look how he starts the question. I say to God, my rock, why have you forgotten me? That's a pretty intense question. God, why have you forgotten me? It almost is smart aleckish from a created thing, isn't it? It's almost inappropriate, it seems. But listen to how he introduces it. I will say to God my what? Rock, which means you are my shelter, you are my trust. Why have you forgotten me? Now, that's a very good question. Sometimes students have to ask a question that almost seems to be challenging the teacher, but they're not asking it because they just simply want to challenge a teacher. They simply ask it because they have the question. They want to trust the teacher, but they need to ask the question. That's what's going on here. I would submit these are good questions because he's asking him in the context of trusting in the Lord. Have you ever asked a question and before anyone else answers, you've already answered it yourself? In fact, it's almost like you had to verbalize it, so the answer came. All right, that's how God uses this. We ask him questions, but as we do so in a trusting way, it's like he gives us the answer by us simply asking the question in his presence. Why have you? OK, so let's think about this. Look what he says. I will say to God, my rock, why have you forgotten me? The answer is in that whole statement, isn't it? He hasn't, has he? If God is your rock, he hasn't forgotten you. So that's why it's so important to trustingly ask questions. Because as you do so, you actually hear the answer in the very way you're asking the question. Even as you battle your despair, you feel as if God has forgotten you. And that is very sorrowful. And you're wondering why it is that you continue to mourn. For example, look here at verse 10, verse 9. Why do I go mourning? Because of the oppression of the enemy. The psalmist is saying, you know, I've got this sorrow and I've got these questions. The enemy is just really bearing down on me. You go to God and you say, God, you're my rock. Why am I in despair? Why am I still mourning? And as you ask that, God ministers to you. Spiritually depressed individuals who have exhorted themselves to open God still struggle with despair, but now they do so consciously before God. And as a consequence, they remember God, acknowledging that God is involved in their sorrows. They grow in their confidence that His presence will be known one day. and resolve in the future to ask questions of despair in the context of trust. It's interesting to notice here, the psalmist is actually saying, one day I will ask these questions to the God of my rock. So he's so in despair that he has to say, one day I will ask these questions. But that's a good step. And then finally here. Verse 10, in terms of following the depression, all the while continuing to transparently acknowledge the pain of feeling forgotten. Look at verse 10. As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries revile me, and they say to me all day long, where is your God? In other words, you see, growing in hope during times of despair doesn't mean sweeping your sorrows under the rug. If you get the idea that Christianity says, hey, put a smile on your face, there's no pain, everything's great, I'm happy all the day. That's your impression of Christianity, that you got the wrong impression. Christianity takes sorrow and pain seriously. That's why you've got psalms like this, where the psalmist is talking to God. There is nothing wrong with pouring out your sorrow before God. It's real. Okay? But you do it in the context of trust, and you do it being willing to be ministered to by God. But the point is, the psalmist is honest, transparently honest. Look at verse 10. As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries revile me while they say to me all day long, where is your God? We've all heard the statement, sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. Physically, that's true. Emotionally, that's not true, is it? And the psalmist is saying that. As a shattering of my bones, it's hurting me when they say, where is my God? It hurts me like the shattering of my bones. And so, he cries out to God. And by the way, again, why is the question of his enemy so devastating, where is your God? Because that's the very question the psalmist is struggling with. And I want to point out again that when you are feeling as if you are forgotten and as if God does not exist, if you're drinking deeply from this culture that comes at everything without God in it, that is going to be like adding weight to your despair. Because the culture in its stories, increasingly in its stories, its movies, its news, all of that, all of which we can take part in appropriately. But you just have to understand, increasingly, they are coming from a godless standpoint. And in your despair, they're actually preaching to you that the only hope is yourself or other people, not God, because He doesn't exist. And that actually can increase your despair. So that brings us to the second time of a refrain that's repeated in these Psalms. And let's just follow up to that point. Spiritually depressed individuals who have exhorted themselves to hope in God, still struggle with despair, but now do so consciously before God. As a consequence, they remember God, acknowledging God's involvement in their sorrow, growing in confidence that His presence will be known in the future, and resolving in the future to ask questions of their despair before the Lord, And all the while continuing to transparently acknowledge the pain of feeling forgotten. Verse 11, you could put it this way, and continually returning to persevering, faith-fueled, God-centered self-exhortation. OK, look at verse 11. Why are you in despair, my soul? Why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise him with the help of my countenance and my God. Why do I say persevering? Again, I want to point this out. This comes up three times. And at certain points in the psalm, you'd think he was just right back where he started. No, he's still working through it, but he keeps coming back. Why are you in despair? Hope in God. Faith fueled because there would be no point of doing this unless you actually believe God could do it, right? God-centered because God is the solution, not the problem. Self-exhortation because the psalmist is talking to himself with truth. So what is this self-exhortation like? And this is very much what we saw last week. It's exhorting themselves or yourself by self-consciously questioning their state of soul. Remember, if you don't question your despair, you're gonna listen to the questions of your despair, right? Look at what it says. Why are you in despair, my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Why are you depressed, you say to yourself? Why are you so much in turmoil in your soul, you say to yourself? And again, those questions could give an answer, couldn't they? If you asked it, it'd become apparent. It's because I haven't been sleeping. And therefore, I haven't been reading God's Word and praying, and I've been getting harsh with people, and I'm in despair. Okay, there's the answer. Or, why are you in despair? And you ask it, and it's like in this cavernous, big room, and it echoes, why, why, why? And there's no answer that's coming back. Alright? You still need to ask the question. Why? Because once you've asked the question, then you can come in with the exhortation. Whether or not you know the answer or not, here's the exhortation. Hope in God. Exhorting themselves to hope in God. That's the point. Why? Because, look what it says there. Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him. Because you can know confidently that one day you will praise God again. And you'll do so because He will deliver you from your circumstance. Look at verse 11 there. The help of my countenance. It's a little different than verse 5. Some translations smooth this out and make all three of these refrains the exact same. That's not true, okay? It actually is a little bit different. Same point, even if you smooth it out, but it helps you get a little different angle on it. The verse 5, it says basically, okay? Verse 5 basically says, that I shall again praise Him for the help of His face. That's literally. Verse 11 says, the salvation or the help of my face. So verse 5 it's, I will praise Him because He's going to save me. Verse 11, because He is going to bring salvation, okay? And verse 11 says, I'm going to praise Him again because He's going to bring salvation to me. It's a very personal thing. So exhorting themselves to hope in God because they can be confident that they once again know God's presence and worship, and because they can be confident that He will deliver them from their current state. But finally, and this is in addition from the last refrain, because they can be confident that He is who? Look at verse 11. The help of my countenance and my God. They can be confident that He is their God. That's in addition. Again, you see more and more of a conscious focus on the Lord. And that's a good reminder. Let's go back and see that. Look at verse six. Oh, my God. Look at verse seven. Whose ways are they? God's ways. Look at verse eight. A prayer to the God of. My life. Look at verse 9. I will say to God, my rock. Look at verse. Now, of course, now look at verse 11. It says, my God. So he's becoming very focused in on God. Let me ask you, is God your God? Is he your God? Have you come to Him by faith, turning away from your own sin, trusting in God and Jesus Christ because He died on the cross for your sins? Has He become your refuge? If He has, then He has drank all of the wrath of God in your place. And He is your God. And if God is for you, who can be against you? Answer, nobody legitimately. Nobody effectively. So in your despair, if God is your guide, who can be against you in your despair? No one. There is reason to hope in God. So in conclusion, let's retrace the psalmist experience here. Just to get the whole focus, spiritual depression is accompanied by unfulfilled worship desires. I want you to feel the difference between what we saw last week and what we saw this week. Spiritually depressed individuals long for God, recognizing He's the living God. Therefore, they question their lack of currently experiencing God's presence. And sorrow, as unbelievers, mockingly add weight to their questions. So they pour out their sorrow, remembering past worship where they experienced God's presence. They wake up and they recognize, all right, the remedy is to exhort myself to hope in God. So they do that. But again, they're battling feelings of forgottenness and spiritually depressed individuals who've exhorted themselves to hope in God still struggle. But they're now doing so right before God, and they're remembering God, and they're acknowledging He's involved in it, and they're saying, one day I will know His presence again, and one day I will ask questions before Him trustingly, and I'm going to exhort myself, trust in God, hope in God. Probably all of us have heard of John Newton, right? The former slave trader, ship captain, who wrote what hymn? We all know. Amazing grace. He wrote a lot more than that. In fact, he had a friend. Many of us probably don't know his friend's name. He had a friend. He ended up being his pastor for, I think, about 13 years. A close friend. And he counseled him. He was a very discouraged man. A man that struggled with despair a lot. Deeply struggled with it. They actually collaborated on a hymn book together in which Newton wrote 208 of the hymns. So he wrote a lot more than one. And William Cooper, or Cowper you might say, wrote 68 of them. I mentioned William Cooper because as a brother in Christ, he battled depression all of his life. And Newton actually was like a nurse to him spiritually. He constantly was with him, encouraging. They actually lived very near one another. And in spite of his reoccurring despair, he was exhorting himself with the truth of God's word. And in one of the hymns he wrote is an amazing hymn that I want to read to you. And I want to just point out that God glorified himself through this man's despair. It's entitled, God Moves in a Mysterious Way. God moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform. He plants his footsteps in the sea and rides upon the storm. Just hear this as a depressed man writing this, that he's fighting for faith in Christ. Deep in unfathomable minds of never failing skill, God treasures up his bright designs and works his sovereign will. Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take, the clouds ye so much dread, are big with mercy and shall break with blessings on your head. Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust him for his grace. Behind a frowning providence, he hides a smiling face. His purposes will ripen fast, unfolding every hour. The bud may have a bitter taste, but sweet will be the flower. Blind unbelief is sure to err and scan his works in vain. He is his own interpreter, and he will make it plain." In your times of despair, do things feel like they're plain? No, they don't. But that He will make it plain. Do you see how God took a very depressed man and glorified Himself in him? Do you think God can take your depression or your despair, whether it's a little bit or a lot, and glorify Himself through it? He can. And He will cause you to go to Him, and that's what He wants. You never know what God might be doing through your despair. You say, I didn't ask for the struggle. Yeah, well, we didn't ask for a lot of our struggles, and we gotta deal with what struggles we have, and as we do so, we have a unique opportunity to glorify God in that struggle. God would call you to do that. Believingly fight against despair with persevering, faith-fueled, God-centered self-exhortation. What's the main exhortation? What is it? Hope in God. That's the exhortation that the Lord would have each of us to have in our despair. I want to invite you to respond to the Lord this morning and to cry out to him, asking him to penetrate these truths into your heart and really know the comfort of the Spirit of God. I would invite you to do so as I lead us in a closing prayer before we sing. Father, I pray that you would bless these truths to our heart. And I pray for anyone here this morning that is in despair, that you would help them get to this next step of really consciously going before you about it. Lord, you are able to do this. We pray that you would magnify yourself even in our despair. We pray this in Christ's precious name.