Psalm 42

Intro:

I had the honor of preaching Dorie’s grandfather’s funeral last week

The love story of honey and Daddybill

Their death only separated by 26 days

We’ve said he died of a broken heart

In 2018 the University of Portsmouth did a clinical study on a medical term called “psychogenic death.”

It is when a person experiences some major injury or tragedy and gives up their fight for life

The study showed that their is medical truth to this phenomenon

It showed that those who give up most often die within a matter of days

Now, Daddybill wasn’t one to just give up but his purpose in life had been taken from him

All he known for the last 71 years of his life he lost

And it was a matter of days before he joined her in heaven

I’ve heard of stories like this before but to experience it firsthand is something different

I do rejoice that they are both with their Savior together again

One of the most interesting parts of this study done was that it showed that death is not inevitable in most of the cases they studied

And really at almost any stage they could reverse it, but they choose not to fight it

And as I began to think about this from a spiritual point of view in light of our Psalm this morning

I began to wonder, how many believers and church goers out there struggle with psychogenic death of the soul

And maybe it started with some kind of trauma or disappointment

Maybe it was a heartbreak or a hurt

And as a result that persons soul begins to suffer and he or she might even end up going through some of the same stages of withdrawal, apathy, and numbness.

And slowly but surely, such a person’s soul feels like it is on life support and the sufferer starts slowly dying because he or she loses the desire to fight anymore.

Unfortunately, this does happen. over and over again it happens

But you know what, it doesn’t have to be that way!

It can be reversed.

We can learn how to fight and flourish once again

That is why we need Psalm 42. To help address the condition of our soul. To show things about ourselves that are true down to our core.

To show us the most important part of us, the part from which everything flows.

Because the truth is:

When a soul is unhappy, it affects everything else in life.

So let’s read Psalm 42 this morning and then I’ll pray and we can learn how we can fight for our souls.

I also want to add that this Psalm is directly tied to Psalm 43 and so I would encourage you this week sometime to go back and read them together.

Psalm 42 NIV

For the director of music. A maskil of the Sons of Korah. 1 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? 3 My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” 4 These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go to the house of God under the protection of the Mighty One with shouts of joy and praise among the festive throng. 5 Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. 6 My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar. 7 Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. 8 By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life. 9 I say to God my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?” 10 My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, “Where is your God?” 11 Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

pray

One of my favorite hymns was written by Horatio Spafford in 1871 titled “it is well with my soul.”

Most of us in this room probably know it

The opening lines say:

Exalting Jesus in Psalms 1–50 When All Is Not Well with Your Soul (Psalms 42–43)

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,

“It is well, it is well, with my soul.”

What some of us may not know is the story behind that hymn

Horatio was a wealthy business owner.

He was also a strong evangelical and faithful supporter of D.L. Moody.

There was a Chicago fire that he lost his entire livelihood too as well as his 4 year old son

Not long after that he, his wife, and 4 daughters were going on a vacation to Europe

He had to finish some business at home and so he boarded his family on a boat and planned to meet them over in a few days

Tragically, he never saw his daughters again. The boat wrecked and his wife was the only one saved

And it was right after that even he wrote those words

Exalting Jesus in Psalms 1–50 When All Is Not Well with Your Soul (Psalms 42–43)

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,

“It is well, it is well, with my soul.”

What may be some of the most comforting words ever put to song happened in some of the darkest days of the author who wrote them.

And so what do we do when we find ourselves in a spiritual depression?

When we’ve gone through hell and our souls are downcast?

When we hurt, when we ache, when we’ve lost, when we’ve suffered?

Psalm 42 shows us

First it shows us that spiritual depression happens

Notice the repeat in verse 5 and 11

Psalm 42:5 (NIV)

5 Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me?

Psalm 42:11 (NIV)

11 Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me?

This word downcast means depressed, bent low, or in despair.

He goes on and asks his soul why so disturbed?

Which means disquiet or anxious?

In other words, his soul is not well

There is no peace like a river attending his soul.

His soul is more like a raging sea that has no peace, no joy, and no rest.

And so what should we see?

That spiritual depression is not uncommon

You aren’t the only one who is and has experienced this

Even the author of Psalm 42 experienced it

Even the writer of one of the most comforting hymns in the entire world experienced it

You are not alone but what can you do? What should you do?

What does the author of 42 do?

He asks why?

It’s an honest and important question

He is asking his soul why it feels this way

He honestly doesn’t know and sometimes that is the case for us as well

Sure, there are seasons where major things happen and it is easy to see and understand the why but sometimes it doesn’t make sense

But nevertheless, he wants to be restored. He understands that this is not how God intended him to stay forever

He is willing and ready to fight

Sometimes, we just have to decide to fight for it

There’s a season for everything as we know from Scripture but sometimes it’s time to stop moping around, stop feeling bad for yourself, stop the woe is me.

And I am not trying to be insensitive because there are time for that, but you can’t sit in that forever and also live in the life God intends for you

So, it often takes you, because no one else can do it for you, to decide you know what, I’m ready to fight for this!

And this is what the author of Psalm 42 does.

He is seeking change for the condition of his soul

And through that process I believe we find the reasons for the why of his condition

And maybe they are our reasons as well

His soul may not be doing well because of his spiritual dryness and isolation

verses 1-2 here are some of my favorites in all of the Psalms “as a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, o God. My soul thirsts for God.”

and although this verse expresses a deep desire for God, it is also the cry of a longing soul

He is thirsting like a deer that needs water

In other words, the longing flows from a void

Right, when we are thirsty, it is because our bodies need water and will become dehydrated if not already

The longing of the soul flows from a sense that God is distant and the soul is parched

And we pick up on that even more clearly from vs 2 when he asks “when shall I come and appear before God?”

The Psalmist has been unable to worship

Has been separated from the Lord and apparently from the assembly of God’s people when they worship

So, a lack of worship, lack of fellowship, lack of joyful singing

He is in spiritual isolation and that most often leads to spiritual dryness

And spiritual dryness affects our souls

He also seems to have physical struggles

I think we often overlook the strain our physical bodies can have on our spiritual ones

And often, our physical bodies may be an indicator for what is also going on spiritually

Vs 3 indicates to us that he is not sleeping and not eating

And whether this is a cause or a symptom is unknown but regardless, such physical struggles affect our souls

It’s important that we take care of our physical bodies

I for one, can literally tell a difference in almost every area of my life from when I’m working out, eating, and sleeping right compared to when I’m not.

It has an effect on more than just me physically

There also seems to be some relational tensions.

Those who are speaking against him (vs 3)

Those who are oppressing him (vs 9)

Adversaries who are making life difficult for him (vs 10)

Few things can affect our souls more than relational tensions and pressures

And the closer the relationship the greater the impact

Your soul will never thrive with tension in your marriage

It will be difficult with tension in your family

It will take twice the effort with tension in your friend group

There’s a correlation between relational pressures and pressure on your soul

His soul might also be struggling because of his own natural disposition

The reality is, some of us have a more natural tendency to fall into dark feelings than others

And the Bible is filled with men like that. David, Elijah, Jeremiah are some examples.

Church History tells of men like Martin Luther, charles spurgeon, William Cowper who deeply felt emotional struggles

And so we all have our areas that we will have to fight harder in than others but it’s important to be self aware enough to know this about ourselves

But the point is, our souls are not always well and there can be many understandable and legitimate reasons for this

Life is hard, things pile up, suffering can snowball

And at the end of the day, there is a war being waged for your soul

1 Peter 2:11 NIV

11 Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.

And it’s Psalms like this that remind us that we are not alone in it

But perhaps the most helpful part of a Psalm like this is the reality that we don’t have to passively accept it, we can aggressively deal with it

This entire Psalm is a fight for a joyful and satisfied soul

But how do we do that?

How do we fight for our souls when they are not well?

This Psalm gives us 3 ways and then I’ll end us with a prayer

First, we fight by stopping and asking.

The psalmist feels as if God has forgotten him (9). He knows it’s not true (8), but he feels as if it is true.

So, what does he do? Well he doesn’t ignore that feeling. He stops and asks why.

Here is my encouragement:

When your soul is not well, be honest about it; don’t ignore it!

Tell it to God, Tell it to a trusted friend

as vs 4 shows us, “pour out your heart and soul to the Lord.”

Don’t be afraid to be honest and ask the questions.

It is part of the process God uses to grow you, mold you, and mature you.

Stop and ask

Second, Go after God

Usually, when our souls are not well, the naturally tendency is to withdrawal.

We actually usually withdrawal from people and a lot of things but we also the Lord

We get passive and just think, well if I just sit in it and give it time and do nothing else then it will get better and that’s just not the reality

We must fight that temptation and instead go harder after God!

We love our comfort and understandably so

But we must learn to see that every disruption in our lives is an invitation for greater intimacy with God

Every time our soul pants for God, it’s an invitation to drink and be satisfied

So, when our souls are not well, we should sing (8) and go to God’s word (43:3-4)

Don’t just wallow in despair. fight for joy! Run after God!

Third, Preach to ourselves

Three times the psalmist not only asks why his soul is in turmoil, but he also commands his soul to put its hope in God between 42:5, 11, and 43:5.

So, he starts with his feelings but then commands his soul to do what he knows to be right

Hope in God! Put confidence in God! Believe Him! Trust Him!

These are the things we must preach to ourselves

He is good, He is gracious, He is soveriegn

When self centered desperation sets in, we fight it with hope in God.

Martin Lloyd-Jones has this to say on the matter:

Exalting Jesus in Psalms 1–50 Each Must Fight for a Satisfied Soul

I suggest that the main trouble in this whole matter of spiritual depression in a sense is this—that we allow our self to talk to us instead of talking to our self. You have to take yourself in the hand, you have to address yourself, preach to yourself, question yourself. This self of ours, this other man within us, has got to be handled. Do not listen to him; turn to him; speak to him; condemn him; upbraid him; exhort him; encourage him; remind him of what you know, instead of listening placidly to him and allowing him to drag you down and depress you. (Spiritual Depression, 21)

We must preach to ourselves the truths of the gospel of Jesus.

Every moment we must remind ourselves of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus and the implications of that in our lives

We must teach ourselves to say with Horatio Spafford

Exalting Jesus in Psalms 1–50 Each Must Fight for a Satisfied Soul

My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought:

My sin—not in part but the whole

Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more,

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!