Spiritual Depression (2)

Context

We conclude our two week series on spiritual depression this week. Last week we were in Psalm 40:17, where David as an old man recognized his need. He considered himself to be poor and needy, despite the wealth and position he possessed as king, but also knew that the Lord was with Him and, in fact, was his deliverer. David was accustomed with suffering. He cried out to God, pleaded with Him not to delay His intervention into His life. We suggested last week that we are always at the end of ourselves, that is to say, we are not the self-sufficient, independent persons we often presume ourselves to be. We too are poor and needy, and knowing that about ourselves, and living in dependence upon God is good.

But we do contend with the feeling that God is distant from us from time to time. We may not always be able to explain exactly why we feel this way, yet it is important that we understand what is going on in our minds and hearts in those moments.

Today we will consider Psalm 77. This Psalm is part of Book 3 in the Psalter (book of Psalms) which is Psalms 73-89. To get at some of the context of this particular section of the Psalms, many agree that these Psalms were written during the time of Israel’s exile in Babylon. The psalmist observes that the wicked prosper

Psalm 73:3 ESV

For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

That the Jerusalem temple had been reduced to rubble

Psalm 74:7 ESV

They set your sanctuary on fire; they profaned the dwelling place of your name, bringing it down to the ground.

and that there was no Davidic king reigning and the crown lies in dust

Psalm 89:39 ESV

You have renounced the covenant with your servant; you have defiled his crown in the dust.

This was a dark, depressing time for the people of God. Asaph is the choir master who authored Psalm 73-83, and clearly he does not shy away from expressing his and his people’s despair. The tension, the disorientation, the desperation for answers are present in these psalms, and he was determined to lead his choir to sing through these sorrows. Asaph understood that his plight, which was shared with the rest of Israel, was beyond anyone’s resources to fix.

Psalm 77 begins with words of confusion and despair but end with words of hope. As distinct as we may think of these ideas (despair and hope), it seems to me we often experience them all at once. It’s difficult to navigate. But walking with Asaph through this Psalm, I pray, will provide us with some clarity. We will feel despair, but God’s people always have hope. Let’s read this Psalm together.

Psalm 77 ESV

To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph. I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he will hear me. In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted. When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I consider the days of old, the years long ago. I said, “Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart.” Then my spirit made a diligent search: “Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable? Has his steadfast love forever ceased? Are his promises at an end for all time? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah Then I said, “I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High.” I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds. Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples. You with your arm redeemed your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid; indeed, the deep trembled. The clouds poured out water; the skies gave forth thunder; your arrows flashed on every side. The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lighted up the world; the earth trembled and shook. Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen. You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Introduction

About two months ago we watched, for the first time, the recent cinematic presentation of Les Miserables which came out in 2012. Originally a novel authored by Victor Hugo and first published in 1862, the backdrop of the story is set against the failures of the French Revolution, ongoing political unrest and the increased suffering of the poor. At one point in the story, a student by the name of Marius, along with some fellow students and friends plot to fight for the freedom of the French people against the Monarch. Many of Marius’s friends perish in the battle. Hugo’s novel is most known for it’s adaptation into a musical, and Marius sings a song to express his mourning. I want to quote one line from this song which is entitled, “Empty Chairs & Empty Tables”

there’s a grief that can’t be spoken

there’s a pain that goes on and on.

This line reminded me of a line in Psalm 77.

Psalm 77:4 (ESV)

I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

You and I cannot relate to the grief that accompanies loss from an attempted insurrection. We cannot understand what it is to be left with no alternative but to fight for freedom and justice. But many of us have experienced a grief that is too deep to express adequately in words and many of us know what it’s like to experience hardship beyond what we think we can bear. And like we noted last week , we experience these things in cycles. We suffer, we wait, we experience relief ands then again.

Perhaps you have felt or maybe you are feeling now that the suffering you are experiencing is too much. It is beyond what you can bear. It’s a grief beyond words and pain that won’t let up.

We come to the end of ourselves. We can experience sorrow that runs deep, and while those moments feel overwhelming, they remind us that God has created us to feel deeply and that capacity is a mark of His image. It is this mark that assures us our sorrow is not the end.

But as I said last week, the puritans had a label for this kind of pain. Often it is referred to as spiritual depression. Some of the puritans called it God desertions. The feeling that God has abandoned us in our suffering. It is in this state that questions are asked that we see in verses 8 & 9:

Psalm 77:8–9 ESV

Has his steadfast love forever ceased? Are his promises at an end for all time? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah

Those of us who are in Christ know that:

We are objects of God’s favor

That His lovingkindness will never cease

That His promises are trustworthy and reliable

That He will never rescind His compassion and

That God will never change

But part of the struggle of the Christian, and we se this struggle in this Psalm, is to remain steadfast in these convictions when we experience intense and sustained pain. I think we noted last week that we have an expectation that God will intervene and end our suffering, and when He does not, we may doubt. We may feel that God has deserted us.

FCF

We may assume that we cannot escape the oppressive rays of our spiritual depression.

During our time in Bolivia, we worked hard throughout much of the day. There was an area we would gather to rest and take breaks. We moved the chairs that we sat on to where there was shade. Wherever the shade was, that’s where we sat. Our spiritual depression is oppressive, and our struggle is often moving ourselves around until we find shade from its oppressive rays.

But I want to suggest that we approach this struggle with a different perspective. We can’t commit ourselves to a constant search for shade. Often these labors are in vain. We need an eclipse.

Main Idea

The answer to the oppression of our spiritual depression is an eclipse of the gospel.

Often our problem is not that we are making too much of the problems of our lives (although sometimes we do that), but that we are making too little of the gospel. We need to understand the nature or condition of our spiritual depression for that will clarify what it is we are experiencing. But our hope cannot be in the cause of our struggles ending or being resolved in some way. Our hope is in the gospel. Our relief from our despair will be experienced as we are consumed with the truths and promises of the gospel.

So as the sermon outline on pg. 6 shows, we will first consider the condition of spiritual depression and then the counsel for spiritual depression.

The answer to the oppression of our spiritual depression is an eclipse of the gospel.

Or to put it another way

We experience relief from our big problems by being careful not to make too little of the gospel.

How do we pursue this? We first seek to understand

The condition of spiritual depression (1-9)

What we should be clear about right off the bat is that this Psalm is a prayer. This is a desperate plea to God, so as we read it, we should read it as a prayer.

what is the condition of spiritual depression?

Desperation (1-3)

Notice the words that are sued to describe Asaph’s approach to God… his desperation:

cry

seek

hand stretched out

moan

spirit faints

All of this is experienced day and night (v. 2)

There is nothing casual about his approach to God. This is not an unfeeling or ritualistic exercise.

When you and I experience times of spiritual depression, it is not insignificant. There’s a great deal at stake, but it is not as simple, or frankly, as small as gaining relief. What’s at stake is our view of God. Seeing the condition of our spiritual depression as one of desperation orients us towards God and away from ourselves.

Not without hope: He will hear me (v. 1)

So here, the psalmist is recognizing the severity of his suffering but also the hope he possesses from God

The imagery of the hand being stretched out to God in prayer is of being stretched out to maximum length or to be poured out. This is a complete emptying of self. Every last drop of of energy, of strength being extended to God.

Now, what is also part of our desperation is a difficult phrase in verse 2: my soul refuses to be comforted. I take this as a word of warning in our times of suffering. Vulnerability to deception is often strong in our times of grief.

Spurgeon, in his sermon on this very verse in Psalm 77, shared this illustration:

It is said that some years ago, a vessel sailing on the northern coast of the South American continent, was observed to make signals of distress. When hailed by another vessel, they reported themselves as “Dying of lack of water” “Dip it up then,” was the response, “you are in the mouth of the Amazon river.” There was fresh water all around them, they had nothing to do but to dip it up, and yet they were dying of thirst, because they thought themselves to be surrounded by the salt sea. How often are men ignorant of their mercies! How sad, that they should perish for lack of knowledge!

Certainly we will not be comforted by the thoughtless words of those who grossly underestimate the severity of our suffering and suggest that everything is going to be OK, but don’t loose sight of the comfort we have in Christ. Beware of this state of inconsolability. Christian, you are surrounded by the mercy of God. Your sins are forgiven and your Savior intercedes for you with the Father.

When we feel as if God abandoned us (God desertions), its difficult to receive comfort. Like when Jacob thought that he lost his son Joseph:

Genesis 37:35 ESV

All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, “No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” Thus his father wept for him.

We do not easily accept comfort amidst our pain from a loss, and when we feel as if God is silent in our suffering, there is a sense of loss in our hearts.

We struggle to understand what God is doing in the midst of our pain and His purposes in them. Sometimes attempting to answer these questions causes more despair. We doubt God, question God, and this is troubling. This is what we see in verse 3:

Psalm 77:3 ESV

When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah

This is our desperation. It’s not void of hope, but there is a struggle to maintain it. And as we struggle we also

Doubt (4-9)

Asaph couldn’t sleep (v. 4), and he implicates God in this. He is so beat down, so desperate for relief and even the momentary interruption that sleep would provide him from his suffering cannot be had.

Now, to all of this, he responds in good ways. He reflects on how God has worked in the past and seems to view his trials in light of the larger context of God’s provision for His people. (5)

As much as the night was a struggle for him he did seek to worship God in these dark moments. To have communion with God.

But in the psalmist’s mind, there was a disconnect. A disconnect between the provisions of God in the past and the anguish he was experiencing in the present. And this apparent disconnect gave way to doubt. So he asks 4 questions in verses 8 & 9

Psalm 77:8–9 ESV

Has his steadfast love forever ceased? Are his promises at an end for all time? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah

This is his struggle. He trying to maintain his footing amidst the crisis. He’s struggling with the past, he’s struggling with the unknown (when and how relief will come). As one commentator put it, His fear is like dense fog that obscures his view of God’s favor for him.

He’s questioning the character of God. Whether He can be trusted. Whether He cares. But we understand this don’t we? If we’re honest, we’ve asked God these questions. We might say something like I know in my head that this isn’t true, but my heart is having trouble believing it.

This idea is problematic. There are times that we need to stop, take a breath in our struggle, in our desperation and doubt and focus ourselves on what is true, regardless of how we feel.

So let’s catch our breath here. Let’s take the counsel of the Psalm at the end of verse 9: Selah - pause and reflect.

A word about counseling

Sometimes we want to stop at verse 9 and not go to verse 10.

The answer to the oppression of our spiritual depression is an eclipse of the gospel.

We considered the condition of spiritual depression, now the counsel for spiritual depression.

The Counsel for Spiritual Depression(10-20)

So what’s the answer to this? For Asaph, his life was in ruins. Literal ruins. Oppressed by people who despise him and hate the God he worships. Despair all around him. Life is a struggle day in and day out. Contending with doubt and fear. We all know what at least some of that is like. What’s the answer? I see in Asaph’s response

Remembering

Meditating

Muse (be absorbed with what you reflect upon)

Now remember what we suggested earlier back up in verse 4. When the psalmist says that he is troubled, he is saying that he is feeling the attacks of his troubling thoughts. There is a warfare of sorts going on in his spiritual depression. You and I need to see our spiritual depression this way, so our response to it must be one of warfare as well.

To get a sense of what I’m suggesting here, consider the words of the Apostle Peter:

1 Peter 4:1 ESV

Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,

arm yourselves. With what? The same way of thinking as Christ. The war being fought here takes place primarily in the mind. What we think when we are spiritually depressed will make the difference in how we experience it.

So first

Remember (10-11)

There is some debate regarding how to translate v. 10, but I do think the message in verses 10-11 is to remember God’s faithfulness as a means to contend with our struggles.

The right hand of God is our power. As we reflect our witnessing the power of God in the past, we arm ourselves with good thoughts about God and our suffering. True thoughts about God and our suffering.

And even beyond remembering our personal experiences, but reflecting on the works of God that we see in His word. He reflects on the redemption of Israel from Egypt. We are meant to see a connection between Israel’s exodus and our own freedom from the reign of sin in our salvation.

So arm yourselves with thoughts that are informed by the power of God by remembering. Remembering His faithfulness. Remembering His power.

Spurgeon again: faith has a good memory. The work of remembering is to tell ourselves stories of God’s mercy from the past. This will go a long way to sustain us as we wait for the Lord to act. This goes a long way to move the promises of the gospel in between ourselves and our pain.

In addition to remembering the mercy God displayed in the past, we need to

Meditate (12-13)

In verse 12 we see two words that are similar in meaning: ponder and meditate. Ponder refers to our longing. It’s almost like a hunger. There is something that we are desperate for as we meditate upon the deeds of the Lord. We want relief from the doubt and fear of our suffering. Meditate, that is reflect upon who God is and what He has done.

His meditation on the works of God gives way to worship:

Psalm 77:13 ESV

Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God?

So picture Asaph

Temple in ruins on his right

An empty throne on his left

the misery and despair of his countrymen behind him and

no discernable light at the end of the tunnel in front of him.

But his gaze is fixed upon the mighty works of God from the past. And the more he meditated upon His works, the bigger God became to Him and the smaller His troubles became. A gospel eclipse.

You and I have

health troubles on our left

strained relationships on our right

the pain of loss coming at us from behind and

the increasing alarm we have as we survey the state of our country and the rest of the world in front of us

Our response? Meditate on the works of God. Meditate on His mercy. Meditate on the display of His power in the gospel. Meditate on the way He has worked in your life.

But don’t stop there. Do what Asaph does here.

Muse (14-20)

Musing, I suppose is similar to meditating, but it seems to me that to muse about something is to be obsessed with the object of your musing. It’s a preoccupation. Everything reminds you of that thing.

As we look at verses 14-20, it is clear that Asaph is recalling the exodus of Israel from Egypt and what took place at Mt. Sinai. The more he thinks on these events, the more his trouble is dwarfed and forgotten.

It’s not that his troubles disappeared, he just got perspective on them.

What do we need to muse upon about God?

God is sovereign (16-18): He is sovereign over nature, over the winds, the waters. Asaph casts a picture of the world, and I suggest our problems, in which we see that nothing that we experience in our lives is autonomous from or unaffected by the power of God.

The picture painted is one of submission of everything in the world to God, and God power prevailing all through the world. This same display of sovereignty was clear through the life of Jesus. The winds and the waves obeyed Him. The sea provided a path for Him.

God’s ways transcend human comprehension (19): When we walk we leave footprints. Some evidence that we were there. His footprints in the water are not discernible to us. And because we cannot perceive His ways, we have no grounds to call him into question. So though Asaph struggled with doubt and even called God into question earlier in the psalm, he ultimately knew that there is a limit to our ability to understand the ways of God. And His incomprehensibility comforted His soul as he suffered.

God is our shepherd (20): God does not lead his people with indifference. He has not handed us a map, and told us He would meet us at the next checkpoint. He leads His people like a flock. In other words, He leads His people with care and affection. He leads with authority and provides direction. But He does all of this with love. Love for His sheep.

We do not dare leave this truth of God without reflecting on our Savior. He is our Shepherd. Even before we leave the Old Testament for the New we stop at Psalm 23.

Psalm 23:1 ESV

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Why are God’s people not in want. Is it because He will prevent us from walking through the valley of the shadow of death? No. It’s because He is our shepherd. He will care for us. He will guide us. He loves us.

And the words of Jesus bring this all together for us. That He is our shepherd means more than His guidence and protection. It means He is our Savior who sacrificed Himself for our salvation.

John 10:11 ESV

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

Oh church, muse on this. Let the gospel well up so that it’s all you see. This is not an appeal to pretend your problems and woes do not exist, but it is an appeal to look to Jesus. Let the gospel eclipse your sorrow.

Conclusion

So as we get clear on the condition that is our spiritual depression (the desperation it is and the doubt with which we will contend), remember not to linger there. Linger instead on the counsel for spiritual depression. Linger on the mighty works of God. Linger on His sovereignty, His transcendence and linger on His loving care of His sheep . As we do, we will experience a gospel eclipse that sustains us the the darkest moments of our lives.