Psalm 42
~19 min read
TRANSCRIPT
Tonight we will take a break from our usual study on the book of Exodus and we will consider Psalm 42, which is about depression. The title of our message is ‘Learn To Deal With Depression’. Depression is a feeling of being dispirited, dejected, discouraged, and sad. No two persons would experience exactly the same way all — in terms of the intensity of depression, or even the frequency or duration of the depression, or for the same reasons why they are depressed.
Have you ever been depressed? Few, if not none, would answer no. Of all the problems we face in terms of our emotional struggles, perhaps depression is the most common. So much so that it has been known as the common flu of our emotional struggles. How do we know if a person is depressed? Some of the symptoms of depression may include sadness which often would lead to a sense of hopelessness; always having negative thoughts; finding it extremely difficult to get going in life or face decisions in life; loss of energy; loss of interest; loss of appetite; that person would have no interest in almost everything — work, relationships, and other activities — self-criticism; feelings of guilt; worthlessness and hopelessness; finding it difficult to concentrate; insomnia; crying all the time etc. Despite all these symptoms, it is still hard to detect whether a person is depressed or not because he or she would often hide behind the façade of a cheerful demeanor. So when you ask the person, he or she would say everything is all right. But in reality, it is not.
Some of history’s greatest military leaders, politicians, musicians, scientists, and theologians have experienced depression at some point in their lives. Depression is no respecter of persons. Some depressions are due to sin. For example, when a man commits adultery, he will be overwhelmed with guilt. Whenever he sees his wife and children, he will be depressed. The consequences of his sins would also affect his wife and children. How can they not be depressed?
But it is worthy to note that not all depressions are due to sin or a lack of faith in God. Even godly men and women have experienced depression. When false teachers have infiltrated into the church, when the Bible is being attacked, when the believers are being led astray — how can you and I not be depressed? The Bible gives us ample examples of godly men like Moses, Job, Jonah, Peter. They had all experienced depression at one point or another in their lives.
Remember Jeremiah, the prophet — he was so overwhelmed by the destruction of Jerusalem that he wrote Lamentations. And he was known as the weeping prophet; he was always weeping. Our Lord Jesus, just before He went to Calvary, He predicted that one of His disciples would betray Him. And subsequently, Peter, the strongest of all the disciples would deny Him three times. And when they came to the Garden of Gethsemane, His heart was so heavy. He urged the disciples to watch and pray with Him. But when He returned, He found them sleeping. How could He not be sad? Jesus said, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death:” (Matthew 26:38a).
Jesus Christ is the God of All Comfort, who is able to comfort us in all our tribulations. And we praise God that He — who is 100% God, 100% man — knows and understands what we are going through. Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin”. The only exception is that He was perfect. Jesus Christ, who is the Author of the Bible, has given to us this wonderful Psalm 42 to teach us how to deal with depression. There are two points in our message: “The Cause of Depression” and “The Cure for Depression”.
I. The Cause of Depression
First, let us consider: ‘The Cause of Depression’.
Many theologians believe that David was the author of this psalm — writing to the sons of Korah — who were a group of Levites in charge of the Temple worship. You can notice a tone of depression or downcast throughout this entire psalm. Here the psalmist gave us several reasons why he was depressed.
Firstly, the psalmist described the feeling of being away from God. Look at verse 1 and 2, “As the hart 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?”. There was something troubling the psalmist — he was far from Jerusalem and away from the Temple worship on that holy mountain. And so he felt as if he was cut off from God; he described himself as longing for God like a hart panting after the streams of water, a hart is a male deer, thirsty for the water coming from the stream.
Verse 6 tells us that David was on a hill called “Mizar”, which was on the north and east, located somewhere near Mount Hermon. From Mount Hermon to Jerusalem, it was about 100 miles. It was a far distance. So from Mount Hermon, he could not even have a glimpse of Jerusalem; and he longed for that holy city. When he said, “when shall I come and appear before [my] God?” (v.2b), it did not mean that he did not believe in the omnipresence of God or that God was not with him. But because he was far away from Jerusalem, from the Temple, the altar, the sacrifices, the ceremonies, and the people — he was so depressed as if God was absent; as if God was not there with him. That was how he felt.
Several years ago when the world was plagued with the COVID-19 pandemic, we were all in lockdown — restricted from coming to church — no Sunday Worship Service; no Prayer Meeting; no fellowship meeting; no Home Care Group; no DHW class; no visitation. Most certainly, we were depressed. Well some people may say, “But at least we still have the Zoom online Worship Service. At least we still can call one another on the phone.” But we all know that it is different. When you cannot be physically present there, how can this heart of flesh not be affected?
Secondly, the psalmist describes the feeling of not being able to serve God. Remember the psalmist was writing to the sons of Korah who were in charge of the Temple worship. So, to be away from Jerusalem was to be away from the services of God. When you are not able to do what you are supposed to be doing, it can be most depressing. You have lost your sense of being useful. The sole purpose of us being Christians and remaining on this earth is to serve God; to glorify Him. When we cannot do that, we will be most depressed. We have lost the whole meaning of life.
Every now and then, we hear of people being retrenched and facing early retirements. They have gotten used to waking up early in the morning to go to work, coming home in the evening after work; which gives them a sense of life and meaning. Then, all of a sudden, they lose their jobs. They could not get back into the workforce and compete with the younger people. They do not know what to do when they wake up every morning. They are lost in the literal sense. Some early retirements can lead a person to depression. Even old age can cause a person to be depressed. When your company tells you that they no longer need you — “You have to go. We want younger people who are more competent.” — you feel that your useful days are over; “Is this all that there is to life? Just wait until death knocks on my door?” How much more when you cannot serve the Lord?
Once the late Reverend Timothy Tow, founder of the Bible-Presbyterian movement in Southeast Asia — he was invited to a missionary conference in the Philippines of which I was also invited. At that time, Reverend Tow was already partially blind; his faculty of mind was no longer efficient, he could not remember many things so he was not invited to speak. I was sitting very close to him, and I heard one of the most depressing statements — he said, “I am useless. I am useless. I can no longer serve the Lord as I used to.”
Dear friends, serve the Lord while you can whether it be in the Sunday School; in the refreshment teams; in the fellowship groups; in the usher ministry; in the choir ministry etc. When you are not doing what you are supposed to do and that opportunity is taken away from you, it would be most depressing. Serve the Lord while you can.
Thirdly, the psalmist describes the feeling of being persecuted by the unbelievers. Verse 3, “My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?”. “My tears have been my meat” (v.3a) means my tears have been my bread. When you are intensely depressed, you will have no appetite to eat. For example, when we are grieving over the death of our loved ones, we would have absolutely no appetite to eat. We will be crying all the time. Our tears would be our bread.
Now these people who continually said to the psalmist, “Where is thy God? [Where is thy God?]” (v.3b) — they were not his friends who were encouraging him to look to God; they were mockers and scoffers who attacked him with sharp words. Because verse 10 says, “As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God?”. In ancient times, it was hard to find a true atheist. Somehow people believed in something, whether it be one of the Assyrian gods; or Babylonian gods; or Egyptian gods; or they would worship their ancestors. Perhaps the first time we heard about the atheists was from the Greek philosophers.
So here, the enemies did not mean God did not exist. What they meant was that your God had abandoned you. “Where is your God when you need him? Does he not know? Does he not care?”. It is one thing to go through a trial. It is another thing when you go through the trial and, at the same time, hear voices at the side attacking your Christian faith. How can it not be depressing? Can you imagine being away from home, away from the church, away from people whom you are familiar with — your loved ones — not being able to serve God and then facing persecutions from the enemies? What can be more depressing than that? That was how the psalmist felt.
Fourthly, the psalmist described the memories of those good old days. Look at verse 4, “When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday”. Sometimes, remembering the past would bring a cheer to our hearts. At other times, it will bring a sadness that words cannot express. The psalmist was troubled when he remembered those good old days — when he used to join the multitude of believers to worship in the Temple. They would sing with voices of joy and praise, and then together they would keep the festivals and ceremonies. But now, he was living in exile; running away from his enemies.
Dear friend, can you remember some of the best moments of your Christian life? Perhaps in the early days of the church when you felt the fellowship was sweet, and members used to help one another. Or when your entire family used to attend church together. But now, your children have grown up and they are no longer attending church anymore. Or when your family used to sing in the choir during Christmases, Good Fridays, Resurrection Sundays. But now, it is all over. When we think of those good old days and then consider the situation we are in now — when the people no longer have that caring and warm spirit; when the fellowship meetings are not well-attended; when families do not serve together anymore — how can we not be depressed?
It is good to remember those sweet memories. But the problem is, when we remember the events of the past and then we forget the hands of God working through those circumstances. That is the problem. We must always remember that whether in good times or in difficult times, the Lord is always with us. He will never forget, neither will He forsake us. Once we forget that, we will always cling onto those good old memories. And then we will murmur and complain about our present situation. Please do not do that.
Fifthly, the psalmist described the trials of life. Verse 7, “Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me”. This was a reference to the overwhelming trials of life. You are already in deep waters and yet, like a waterfall, it keeps pouring down on you with never-ending waves. Just when you think one adversity is finished, another comes along, and yet another is lurking around the corner. In such times, you’ll be crying out to God, “How long? How long will all these trials last? Forever?”.
At this point, we must recognize that some people may suffer more than others for reasons we do not understand — only God knows. Some of our trials may last a lifetime; you may need to suffer all the days of your life. We may not understand the complexities of trials, but we know one thing: God is in sovereign control, and He has a purpose in all things including trials. If we need to suffer all the days of our lives, God permits it. He must have a sovereign purpose. And we know through His word that our life is short. “[Life is like] a vapor, [it appears] for a little time and then [vanishes] away” (James 4:14). It is nothing in comparison with the eternal glory awaiting for us in heaven. So, don’t just look to the trials. In times of trials, look to the Almighty God — look to His promises, understand His word — that would comfort your heart.
When we are depressed and in the darkest moments of our lives, we want quick answers. We want God to act immediately. There will be many questions running through our minds, just like the psalmist; he had many questions. Like in verse 2, “when shall I come and appear before God?”. Verse 5, “[How] art thou cast down [or depressed], O my soul? [How] art thou disquieted [or troubled] in me?”. Verse 9, “I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”. When a person is depressed; troubled, there will be many doubts and questions running through his mind. Oftentimes, these questions are either unanswered or they are answered wrongly. Secular counsellors would try to give answers to all these troubles using worldly wisdom, but we all know that worldly wisdom does not work. The Bible tells us “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of [wisdom]:” (Proverbs 1:7a). So, we need to turn to the word of God and find answers in times of depression; in times of trouble.
II. The Cure for Depression
So now, we come to our second point: ‘The Cure for Depression’.
The world will offer you all kinds of cures for depression. Doctors would prescribe pills to help you to deal with depression. Some people would try to escape from their depression by running away from their responsibilities — they abandon their families; they turn to divorces. Some would take a vacation to relieve themselves to get out of their depression. Yet others would turn to drugs and drinks as a way of escape. Yet others would go shopping to buy a new dress or indulge in eating to cheer themselves. All these suggestions would only offer a false sense of temporal relief. Once the drug wears off, the depression remains. And, in fact, it will get worse.
Let us learn from the Word of God the biblical steps we need to take to deal with depression. The first step to overcoming depression is to acknowledge it. The psalmist openly acknowledged his depression before God; he did not deny it, he repeatedly acknowledged it — he cried out, “[I am so cast down], my soul is [so] cast down” (v.6a). If you do not recognize your emotional condition because you don’t want to appear weak or unspiritual, or for whatever reasons, you cannot deal with it. One theologian gave this illustration: our depression is like the red light on our dashboards in front of us when we drive our cars. When we see this red light, we know we have to stop; something is wrong with the engine. But if we continue to drive, ignore the warning signs, we will cause great damage to the car.
If you find yourself crying all the time; if you find yourself losing interest in everything; you find yourself losing sleep, you are so troubled that you cannot go to sleep — you are depressed. Acknowledge it, and then you deal with it. Once you acknowledge that you are depressed, you turn to the only One who can help you. Do you think God would save you from eternal damnation and then let you wallow in your depression without offering any help? Most certainly not.
The psalmist says in verse 11, “…hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God”. In other words, “My hope is in my God, the One who has revealed Himself to me. He is my God, He is my hope”. Where in this world can we find hope? If you put your hope in other people, they will let you down. If you put your trust in your stocks or bonds or bank accounts, they can disappear overnight. Ultimately, they cannot satisfy you. Your health will fail you; your house can be burned down; your jobs can be lost. Even great nations would suffer long periods of crisis.
Who can we turn to? God. The one who puts his hope and trust in the Almighty God, who has revealed Himself in the person of Jesus Christ — he will be strong, he will be firm. Because that foundation is infinitely strong, he will not be shaken. Remember the hymn we used to sing, and I think we love to sing, “ My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name. On Christ the solid Rock I stand – all other ground is sinking sand”. Truly, “all other ground is sinking sand”. Putting our hope in God does not mean that there will not be any troubles. There may still be adversities; but the God of Hope will fill us with strength, joy, and peace. As the saying goes, “Peace is not the absence of troubles, but the presence of God in the midst of troubles”. Even in times of troubles, you have the presence of God — you will have strength, joy, and peace.
To overcome our depression, we need to rely on the Word of God. Just “[as] the hart panteth [for] the water brooks” (v.1a), you and I long for the living water — the Word of God. The Bible is powerful; it is “quick… and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). The Word of God is able to minister to us at all times, especially during times of trouble; times of depression.
In times of fear, we turn to Psalm 118:6 which says, “The Lord is… my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?”. In times of anxieties, we find Philippians 4:6 says, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God”. In times when we are confused and in doubt, we turn to Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them [who] love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose”. In times when you and I feel as if there is no peace — only troubles — we turn to Philippians 4:7, “And the peace of God, which [passes] all understanding, [which] shall [guard our] hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” These are just some examples. The more we know the Word of God, the easier it is for us to deal with depression.
To overcome depression, we must not forsake Christian fellowship. When you are depressed, oftentimes you do not want to meet people; you want to hide yourself. Please do not hide yourself and wallow in self-pity and misery. That is not the thing to do. When you hide yourself, you go into isolation and isolation during depression is extremely dangerous. God wants us to be encouraged, and He gives to us Christian fellowship. He wants other brethren to uplift our souls in times of troubles. That is why Hebrews 10:24-25 says, “...Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much… more, as ye see the day approaching”. As we inch forward closer and closer to our Lord’s soon return — times will be difficult, many of us will be depressed — the more we need to assemble ourselves together; and encourage and edify one another.
One of the reasons why God allows trials to come into our lives is to strengthen our faith and enable us to help others. Do you know that? 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 says, “the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our [tribulations], that we may be able to comfort them which are in… trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God”. Perhaps you are a widow who has lost your beloved husband. Or you are a husband and a wife, a father or a mother, who has lost your only child. It is a most painful experience. But you have been comforted by God. And after you have been comforted by God, the command is that you now go and comfort others who are in the same predicament. That is what God wants you to do; that is what Christian fellowship is all about. We share with one another the comfort we have received from God. The same comfort we have received, we share with others and encourage them who are now in the same situation.
To overcome depression, we must pray. Verse 8, “and my prayer unto the God of my life”. Reading the Bible is God’s means of communicating with us; God speaks to us through His word. Prayer is God’s means of us communicating with Him. When we are troubled; when you and I are depressed, who can we turn to? God. We cry out to Him and pray. Finally, to overcome depression, we must sing praises to God. Verse 8 says, “and in the night his song shall be with me”. Martin Luther once said, “Music is next to theology”. A good Christian hymn is a good spiritual therapy for our soul. Hymns were written by godly men and women who had personally experienced the trials of life. They had been comforted by God, and then they wrote those hymns. Remember the biblical principle: once you have been comforted by God, you now go and comfort others. So, they comfort us by the hymns they write. And when we sing those hymns, it will most certainly comfort our hearts.
Dear friend, are you depressed? Are you troubled? If you are a believer, whatever has happened in your life is not by chance or coincidence. It is by God’s appointment. He has a sovereign purpose in all things. He allows it, He has a purpose. We may not understand the complexities of our trials but we know He is in control. He wants us to rise up and acknowledge that our hope is in Him and Him alone; all other grounds are sinking sand. He wants us to read and understand His Word. He wants us to be encouraged by Christian fellowship, so He places us in a church with faithful brethren around us to cheer our hearts in times of trouble. He wants us to pray and praise Him. When you do that, you will come out of your depression — not maybe, but surely. Do you know why? Because the God of All Comfort, He has promised us that He will comfort us in all our tribulations. Do you believe Him? If you believe Him, take these biblical steps. You will come out and be a strong and faithful Christian to the glory of God’s name.
Let us pray. Father in Heaven, indeed, the trials of life are many. Some of us are bogged down by intense trials which our finite minds cannot understand; the complexities of our trials, we cannot fathom. But we know that Thou art in control and Thou hast a purpose in all things including our trials. Jesus Christ — the God of All Comfort — He will comfort us in all our tribulations. We believe in that. And Thou hast taught us this evening through Psalm 42 about the causes of depression; how it will trouble us. But praise be to God, Thou hast also given us the biblical steps; how we ought to deal with our depression.
May each and every one of us take heed; that we learn these biblical steps, that we acknowledge — indeed we are depressed. We have been considering our trials and forget Thee. We acknowledge it and then we want to deal with it. We place our hope in Thee. All other grounds are sinking sand. Only in Thee, the foundation is infinitely strong. We learn to read and understand Thy Word; for Thy Word can bring us great comfort. And then we also do not want to forsake Christian fellowship. We want to be encouraged and edified by the believers around us. And if we have been comforted by Thee, we want to go forth out there and comfort others who are in the same predicament; who are now needing our help. We comfort them with the same comfort we have received from Thee.
We want to pray. We want to communicate with Thee. Cry out to Thee like the psalmist. And Thou will help us. And we sing praises to Thee. All glory to Thy precious name. And we trust and believe Thou will bring us up out from our depression; that we will be a strong and faithful Christian — living our lives to Thy glory. Oh Lord, remind us always; for we always forget. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
THE BOOK OF PSALMSWonderful Words of LifeWonderful Words of LifePsalm 1:1-3
Having Confidence In Times Of TroubleHaving Confidence In Times Of TroublePsalm 3
Pray with Your Eyes OpenPray with Your Eyes OpenPsalm 5:1-12
Message 3: The Test of TrustMessage 3: The Test of TrustPsalm 11:1-7
Morning Devotion 2: Psalm 13Morning Devotion 2: Psalm 13Psalm 13
Message 4: The Life of TrustMessage 4: The Life of TrustPsalm 20:1-9
Learn To Deal With DepressionLearn To Deal With DepressionPsalm 42
Dealing with DepressionDealing with DepressionPsalm 42
God Is Our RefugeGod Is Our RefugePsalm 46
Morning Devotion 3: Psalm 46Morning Devotion 3: Psalm 46Psalm 46
True Confession, Repentance and Restoration [Part 1]True Confession, Repentance and Restoration [Part 1]Psalm 51:1-9
Morning Devotion 1: The Joy of Thy ForgivenessMorning Devotion 1: The Joy of Thy ForgivenessPsalm 51:1-9
True Confession, Repentance and Restoration [Part 2]True Confession, Repentance and Restoration [Part 2]Psalm 51:10-12
The Joy of SalvationThe Joy of SalvationPsalm 51:10-12
Morning Devotion 4: The Joy of Thy SalvationMorning Devotion 4: The Joy of Thy SalvationPsalm 51:10-19
True Confession, Repentance and Restoration [Part 3]True Confession, Repentance and Restoration [Part 3]Psalm 51:13-19
O Come, Let Us Worship the LordO Come, Let Us Worship the LordPsalm 59:1-11
Hear My Cry, O God!Hear My Cry, O God!Psalm 61:1-8
The Man that is Blessed of the LordThe Man that is Blessed of the LordPsalm 65:4
Wilt Thou Not Revive Us Again?Wilt Thou Not Revive Us Again?Psalm 85:1-13
Teach Us to Number Our DaysTeach Us to Number Our DaysPsalm 90:10-12
Morning Devotion 1: Psalm 90:10-12Morning Devotion 1: Psalm 90:10-12Psalm 90:10-12
The Lord Is KingThe Lord Is KingPsalm 93
Christian ParentingChristian ParentingPsalm 127:3-5; Matthew 10:37; Matthew 6:32; Psalm 113:9; Psalm 128:3
Morning Devotion 2: Obedience to God’s WordMorning Devotion 2: Obedience to God’s WordPsalm 119:1-8
Morning Devotion 3: The Cleansing Power of God’s WordMorning Devotion 3: The Cleansing Power of God’s WordPsalm 119:9-16
I Was GladI Was GladPsalm 122:1
Christian ParentingChristian ParentingPsalm 127:3-5; Matthew 10:37; Matthew 6:32; Psalm 113:9; Psalm 128:3
Message 7: What are children for? Heritage of godly seed for Christ!Message 7: What are children for? Heritage of godly seed for Christ!Psalm 127:3, Malachi 2:15, Ephesians 6:4
Christian ParentingChristian ParentingPsalm 127:3-5; Matthew 10:37; Matthew 6:32; Psalm 113:9; Psalm 128:3
A Prayer in the CaveA Prayer in the CavePsalm 142
