Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction -

How can People of Faith, Joy, Hope and Love ever feel down?

How can that possibly be the way that we operate.

Why is it that so many people are struggling with Mental Health Issues more and more over the last number of years, and even people of faith

Well - I’d like to suggest that these things aren’t really all that new - Especially to people of faith.

In Scripture we get RAW, unhindered emotions from people, there is a book in Scripture all about being depressed, desparing or hopeless, called Lamentations.

But what is Depression

From Matthew Stanford

A Major Depressive episode is characterized by either a persistent depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure in daily activities over at least a two week period.

Four or more of the following symptoms also most be present:

Significant weight change

Change in appetite

Sleeping too much, or too little

Not being able to sleep

Psychomotor agitation - Not being able to physically function normally

fatigue or loss of energy

Feeling of worthlessness or excessive guilt

inability to concentrate

indecisiveness

constant thoughts of death

recurent suicidal thoughts

and in the Book of Psalms the Prayer book of the Bible we see this

Individuals Laments , , , , , , , , , , , , 28, 31, 36*, 39, 40:12-17, 41, 42-43, 52*, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 59, 61, 64, 70, 71, 77, 86, 89*, 120, 139, 141, 142

Community laments , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Penitential , , 38, 51, 102, 130, 143

Imprecatory , , , , , ,

68 Psalms - more than a 3rd of all the psalms are downcast, are lamenting, are depressive in nature, are about sorrow, despair, difficulty

55 Psalms are Specific Laments - either communal or individual

KING DAVID

The Writer of Many of these Psalms is King David and he was far from perfect

David’s Failures -

Polygamy, Murder, his children were Mega Messes, one son raped his half sister, another son tried to kill David to take the throne, David on multiple occasions disobeyed God’s command, one son was murdered by Solomon.

King David knew great personal sorrow which is clear from his own writings in the Psalms.

Matthew Stanford, pg 107.

Sermon Notes -

​

NLTFor the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah.

As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God.

I thirst for God, the living God.

When can I go and stand before him?

Day and night I have only tears for food, while my enemies continually taunt me, saying, “Where is this God of yours?”

My heart is breaking as I remember how it used to be: I walked among the crowds of worshipers, leading a great procession to the house of God, singing for joy and giving thanks amid the sound of a great celebration!

Why am I discouraged?

Why is my heart so sad?

I will put my hope in God!

I will praise him again— my Savior and my God! Now I am deeply discouraged, but I will remember you— even from distant Mount Hermon, the source of the Jordan, from the land of Mount Mizar.

I hear the tumult of the raging seas as your waves and surging tides sweep over me.

But each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me, and through each night I sing his songs, praying to God who gives me life.

“O God my rock,” I cry, “Why have you forgotten me?

Why must I wander around in grief, oppressed by my enemies?”

Their taunts break my bones.

They scoff, “Where is this God of yours?”

Why am I discouraged?

Why is my heart so sad?

I will put my hope in God!

I will praise him again— my Savior and my God!

Sermon Notes on /43

Writer - I believe is David, but we are not expressly Told that this is a Psalm written by David.

If this is or is not a psalm of David is irrelevant to what I’m going to be focussing on today, and it may even help us to know that we are not bound to compare our own experience to the King of Israel.

Possible Understandings/Applications of Context here.

1 - Davidic and he is running away from his Son Absalom, in exile

2 - Voice of the Messiah during the time of his rejection from the Father on the cross, or in Gethsemane.

3 - Jewish Remnant during an exile or prolonged difficulty.

4 - A Believer having fallen away from their first love of God, and desiring that psalm closeness and intimacy of when they first came to faith.

Regardless - it is not necessary (as one commentator writes) to isolate one view, as the applications of this psalm with all these possibilities allow for us to apply it to our own experiences.

Structure of as a whole, to 43.

The structure of this Psalm works in Tandem with the one that follows it, 42 and 43 could be seen as 1 psalm for a few reasons, most notable is that there is not a title statement for and of course the close knit connection of the Lament in the Psalms themselves, and in their sharing a common response or refrain in the poetic structure

A, B structure

A - Lament

B - Hope

42:1-4, 6-7, 9-10, 43:1-4 lament

42:5, 8, 11, 43:5 Hope

Verses 1-4 Lament

CS Lewis describes the Deer Panting after God being compared to what David is feeling - an appetite for God (Reflections on the Psalms p.51)

David describes his desire to know Gods presence with increasing intimate intensity -

1st as God vs1, then as the living God v1, and then in vs2 as David longs for the face of God.

and this idea of water is profound also as the statement of Living God found in vs1 could be reference to the Jewish understanding of God being the fountain of life, or the living water as God presents himself in and 17

​ NLT“For my people have done two evil things: They have abandoned me— the fountain of living water.

And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!

​ NLTO Lord, the hope of Israel, all who turn away from you will be disgraced.

They will be buried in the dust of the earth, for they have abandoned the Lord, the fountain of living water.

Connection between streams of water and tears for food vs1 and vs3.

Living with Depression is the same in many respects to this idea of wanting to be satisfied with water, longing after God, being desperate for some relief from the difficulties of life and the lack of control over emotions

I’ve found that to be true.

There were many days of not knowing what was happening, whether or not God would show up, whether or not I would ever feel normal again, and there still are those days.

In the deepest moments of my depression I was haunted with the idea that I was always going to feel this way, feel down, feel anxious, feel broken, feel like giving up and that I already had given up.

I’ve found that to be true.

There were many days of not knowing what was happening, whether or not God would show up, whether or not I would ever feel normal again, and there still are those days.

In the deepest moments of my depression I was haunted with the idea that I was always going to feel this way, feel down, feel anxious, feel broken, feel like giving up and that I already had given up.

HOPE

When we are asking ourselves these questions, its wonderful to know that others struggled this same way, and that their hope was in the Lord.

Not is changing circumstances, not in assuming everything would turn out but even in their depression they would choose to put their Hope in God.

The Grace of Choice - for the Christian who struggles with depression as opposed to those who are not christians who struggle similarly - we have the advantage.

Some may call it a crutch, but we have a God who sympathizes with us.

and we have the CHOICE to put our hope in God, we can choose to believe God - or even to choose to pray often like I do.

Lord I believe, help my unbelief.

Lament

What a depressed State - as the Psalmist remembers feeling better, feeling joyful, but also the despair of this present situation, the depth of this depression, longing so desperately to be in the place of favour with the Lord again.

HOPE

A response of God’s grace over the writer - Each Day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me - what a statement of faith.

we don’t have to feel like its true, we don’t even have to have the ability to believe that its true, but just to be assured that God is true to his word.