Well, good afternoon. I hope your heart's refreshed after that part of our worship service. And I trust with great dependence on the Lord that your soul will be encouraged from the actual preaching of the Word of God as well. My goal, since we're beginning the Gospel of John soon and we had an opportunity for a unique sermon, a topical sermon as it were, is that we might be able to provide some biblical help for those that suffer with depression. And really, all of us suffer from time to time, right? Pastors commonly have the Monday blues, you know, and there's this kind of thing and some are diagnosed with this and some struggle with it their entire lives. Some have a season and then it goes away, you know, and it just varies. It's a very complex Topic and I just want to say at the outset this will by no means be an exhaustive message as I Chose this and dug down into it and worked even into the evening last night. I Realized that this is this could be a long series of messages and maybe someday we'll do that But at least to provide some encouragement for us today Depression is a general term for mental health, the issue that affects mood and causes symptoms like sadness, fatigue, weakness, a loss of interest in activities. The statistics vary greatly, but Statista.com in March of 2022 estimated, or did a survey, 23% of people in the United States suffer from depressive disorder, which is the clinical term. I think that stat's a little high. But it certainly has been in the teens. There's various. I saw so many of them. You can boil them down. But for women, I think 13%, 14%. For men, maybe 8% to 10%. Whatever it is, that's just in the whole nation, not necessarily for Christians. 50% of those that suffer with depression also suffer with anxiety, an anxiety disorder. And you can't give an overly simplistic definition of depression. It just doesn't exist because it varies depending on your age, your social status, your sex, where you're living. There's so many factors. And that's why if you're taking one of these assessments with a therapist or even a medical doctor, they'll give you a series of 15 or 20 questions. And how many of these do you suffer from? And then on what range? sometimes, you know, that kind of thing. And so there's a clinical assessment afterwards that one could be diagnosed. And believe it or not, Christians, those who are truly saved, also get depressed. And if you think about it, there's an awareness of personal sin, a struggle with sin, a fighting of the devil that can also weigh on us compared to the person that's just outside of Christ. Many people will experience depression at some point in their lives. Why? Well, we live in a fallen world, a world that's full of sorrow and heartache and disappointment and grief. It's common, even as Job says, for a man is born for trouble as sparks fly upward. So at that campfire you may have been out in the last month or two and you're looking at the fire and with the night sky up above and you see the sparks just flying up. That's that kind of thing. Man is born for trouble. And some of you have told Pastor Steve and I that sometimes you just feel like your world's falling apart. You're to the point of despair. And all of us go through this from time to time. even for the Christian with the cry and the prayer of lamenting and crying out to the Lord and it seems as though the sky is brass and your prayers are not getting through. Have you ever felt like that? Cancer, disease, broken relationships, divorce, poverty, even wealth, being burdened by sin, slander, pain, conflict, all of these can contribute to this Well, if you feel like that you struggle with that, you're going to relate to the psalmist in Psalm 42 and 43, who was depressed and downcast, and he lamented that. He says, why are you cast down, O my soul? Why are you in turmoil within me? You see, to lament is a good thing. It's actually a good thing. And some people confuse lament with complaining, grumbling, right? It's not complaining and grumbling. It's a loud moan or a cry unto God, but it's based on a belief of who God is and His character, that He's full of mercy and that He's sovereign in all things. I'm so glad that beginning actually in a week or two, the ladies will be going through for about the next six months a book on biblical lament, Dark Clouds and Mercy. It's an excellent book. I read it when it came out. I encourage you to be a part of that, women. Lament is rooted in what we believe. It's a prayer that's loaded with theology. We just read one. Our brother read Psalm 77. We're gonna see this here. It's rooted in theology. It's rooted in the character of God. It's rooted in remembering what God has done in our lives in the past. Lament, one man said, lament is not the opposite of praise. Lament is the path to praise as we are led out of our brokenness and disappointment. The space between, this is a quote from the book Dark Clouds, the space between our brokenness and God's mercy is where the song of lament is sung. Think of lament as a transition between your pain to God's promise. So let's go back to Psalm 42. I'm gonna read both 42 and 43. I'll explain why we're gonna take both in a moment. Psalm 42, this is God's word, give attention to it. 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 the procession to the house of God with the voice of joy and thanksgiving and a multitude-keeping festival. Why are you in despair, O my soul? Why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise him for the help of his presence. Oh my God, my soul is in despair within me, therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan, and the peaks from Hermon, and even Mount Mizar. Deep calls to deep, and the sound of your waterfalls, and 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, or more a wounding of my bones, my adversaries revile me, while they say all day long, where is your God? Why are you in despair, O my soul? Why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, and I shall again praise Him, and the help of my countenance and my God. Psalm 43. Vindicate me, O God, and plead my case against the ungodly nation, and 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 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 are you disturbed within me? Hope in God, and I shall again praise him, the help of my countenance and my God. Father, we confess that these are deep waters Your word is loaded with truth. It is infallible. Give us understanding, O God. Help us to give our attention unto your word even this day. Help the weak one that is presenting it, we pray in Jesus' name, amen. These psalms reflect the common experience of God's people. We can identify with it. Martin Lloyd-Jones, in his wonderful book called Spiritual Depression, chapter one, is really based on these psalms. And he says this, most of the Lord's family have sailed on the sea which is here so graphically described. In other words, from time to time, all of God's people can understand something of this and how it affects us. Yet we need to remember what Paul told the church in Corinth, no temptation is overtaking you except for such as common to man. Right? But with the temptation, he will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able. Even the great saints in church history, many suffered with deep depression. We are talking about the giants such as John Calvin, such as Charles Spurgeon, missionaries such as Henry Martin, at times crippling depression. So it's not a measure of how holy you are or how godly you are as to whether you suffer or not. It is all about God's providence. Some people are just more wired to anxiety and depression. God has made us all differently. Even the pandemic, COVID-19, were catalysts for many that had never suffered before to begin to suffer in these areas. I mentioned earlier, even the pastors often struggle with the Monday blues. Pastors will actually talk to each other and encourage each other on those things. There was once a man that claimed that he never had a blue day in his entire life. Do you believe that? I don't believe that. Even famous comedians that would make us laugh, like Robin Williams, you know, throughout his career, suffered with incredible depression off and on in his life. Back 40 years ago, partying with John Belushi, and seeing John Belushi overdose and die, put him into depression for many, many years. He struggled with drug abuse throughout his life, but the last years of his life, severe depression. But yet, he could get up and make people laugh, right? This psalm shows the way out of darkness. It's a mask that will teach us how to understand and overcome depression. Just a brief personal testimony about myself. I've been preaching for roughly 25 years now. I've been a pastor most of those years. 25 years ago, my preaching was more law-based. It was hard. The biblical counseling movement at the time was just, here, take three scriptures and drink a glass of water and you'll be better, right? And so there wasn't a whole lot of really understanding this. Of course, it wasn't talked about as much in the mid-90s, late 90s, early 2000s. And I came to the conclusion that I needed to be more compassionate and to understand this. And over the years, the Lord has given me a compassion and a sympathy to bear one another's burdens with people that suffer in these ways. And I continue to desire to want to grow in gentleness and tenderness. in these areas. These two psalms are taken together. Well, it should have been obvious. It just seemed like there was no break, right, in the psalm. You've got that refrain that occurs three times in verses 5, 11, and then again in verse 5 in Psalm 43. So they're taken together because of that. But also, there's no introductory title for Psalm 43. And many of the Hebrew manuscripts just have them together in one psalm. So we're going to take them together Written by the sons of Korah, it says, although some theologians believe, especially with some of the descriptions here, that this could be David as the author. This is the beginning of Book 2 of the Psalms. Interestingly, Book 1, the first 41 Psalms, mentions Jehovah many, many, many times, and Elohim, another name for God, a few times. Book 2 shifts to where Elohim is the primary name for God, and Jehovah is a few times. Anyway. written by the sons of Korah, who were musicians, and I could say a lot more about them, but we know that the author was on the run. He was driven away from the place of worship. So, just going to look at this under three simple points, the lament and the despair of the psalmist, and then we're going to see how to overcome this despair from the psalmist, and then we're going to see how this all points to Christ in a glorious way. So first of all, the lament and despair of the psalmist. First of all, ask yourself, do you have a thirst for God? As the deer pants for the water brook, so my soul pants for you. That's a sign of sickness if you don't have that kind of desire for God. Maybe not depression, but that you're not spiritually right. We are to have a thirst for God. The psalmist here is experiencing a spiritual drought, as it were. Sometimes depression is the consequence of personal sin. Surely. Think of David in Psalm 32. That was our meditation over the Lord's Supper and prayer meeting. His body was wasting away. His vitality was drained when he didn't confess his sin to the Lord. But once he confessed it, the load was lifted. Sometimes it can come on from external circumstances. Things that you can't control. Loss of a loved one. Loss of a sibling. loss of a job, wayward children that just reject the Lord, even though you train them, catechize them, the whole nine yards, and they're just wayward, can bring great discouragement. Well, the psalmist was far from Jerusalem and its temple worship on Mount Zion, and he therefore felt himself, as it were, cut off from God. The psalm begins with the panting, these streams of water. Actually, the whole psalm is just vivid imagery, isn't it? It's just vivid imagery. You can actually put yourself right in it. So, verse 1, as the deer pants, so my soul pants for you. There could be a sense of which, this picture of a man running from a hunter, a hunter that has him in his sights, and he's running to get away, to go to a place of safety. In verse 2, it says, when shall I come and appear before God? He's missing God's presence. You get a picture of this man running, missing God's presence, and so thirsty. Verse three, my tears have been my food day and night. This is a man who's lost his appetite. Whether there was a juicy steak there or not, or whether there was nothing there and it was a famine or whatever, all he could have was the saltiness of his own tears from weeping. Too tired to eat, perhaps. And then the second half of verse three, the taunt from the enemies, while they say to me all day long, where is your God? That's a taunt. That's a, you know, we saw those taunts in the book of Nahum or Nahum taunts Nineveh, right? Just that we just finished up even just last week. And so, in this distant land, the psalmist is surrounded by unbelievers who taunted him with the challenge, where is your God? You speak so highly of him. Where is he now? Where is your God when you actually need him? When you're in the lowliness and then the pits, where is your God now? How powerfully do the scoffs and reproaches of the ungodly tend, when our faith is already shaken, to shake it even a little more. Verse 4, these things I remember when I pour out my soul within me. That's the imagery of a libation. You know what that is? It's a drink offering on the altar, a pouring out. Paul uses that terminology in Philippians chapter 2. What he's saying is, my whole soul is being poured out. One of the Puritans, Timothy Rogers, says this, to a person in misery, it is a great increase of misery to have once been happy. It was to Psalmist on occasion of new tears where he remembered the former joys. Time was, says the poor soul, when I thought that the God of God with comfort, but then I thought of him as my own God. But to lose a God that I once enjoyed with the loss of all my losses and all my terrors are most terrible. So he remembers here, my soul's poured out and he goes, oh man, I used to go along with the throng. When he used to come and grace Bible church chapel and sing, is he worthy? Oh, those days are such days that I relish and that I long for, but now I'm away from the temple and the worship of God and God's people. Verse 6, Oh my soul, Oh my God, my soul is in despair within me. Therefore, I remember you in the land of the Jordan and the peaks of Hermon from Mount Mizar. So this is beyond the Jordan. He's away from Jerusalem. He's sort of as it were in a unfamiliar type of land. Mount Mizar, all kinds of speculation. It means little hill, so it could be one of the hills beyond the Jordan and in the Hermon range, but nevertheless it's far from Jerusalem. It's far from the worship of God. So He finds himself in a strange land, full of dangers, full of uncertainty. No friends or contacts that he can go to stay with to find relief. You can relate to that. Have you ever been at somewhere where it's just so unfamiliar and maybe unsafe? I remember when we went to New York City in Manhattan, having never been there before, got an Airbnb or a motel, whatever it was, but we had the park like a long ways away and like to get to a store just to get food was a long ways away. And so walking around at night was a little interesting. It was, there was uncertainty as it were. So the psalmist finds himself in an unfamiliar area. which just causes his heart to groan all the more. Verse 7, deep calls to deep at the sound of the waterfalls and all your breakers and your waves have rolled over me. This is a picture of the psalmist speaking of the overwhelming trials in his life, referring to them as waves and breakers and again vivid terminology one man wrote deep to deep incessant calling tossed by furious tempest roll endless waves and billows falling overwhelm my fainting soul There was a Russian sailor that the boat had capsized. The cargo had gone over. And somehow he survived for over two days in the ocean. And it was a big storm that had knocked it over. And he's describing how these huge waves were coming over him. He found himself 10, 15 feet plunged below the surface of the water, only to come back up and to be tossed all around again. And I think that's the imagery that I get here. is that he's just overwhelmed with that. That's how the psalmist felt. When was the last time you felt really overwhelmed? Like beyond what you felt like you could bear? We all have those seasons. God is faithful though. Verse 10. As the shattering of my bones, that's the new American standard. It's better, the wounding or the sword in my bones, my adversaries revile me. This is no doubt the psalmist. If it was David, certainly he knew what battle was, right? Goliath and Saul and others, he was a mighty man. But whoever it was, whether they had physical battle experience, this, the imagery here, is that it's a spiritual sword that's wounding him. And it's deep. And it's provoked by the enemies of God. While they say to me all day long, where is your God? Notice the repeated theme. It says that twice here. So he gives us this vivid detail. Maybe there's some here that can relate. Do you feel at times like you're being hunted? That you're on the run? That you're famished? You have no appetite for food, but you're famished? That you're lost and a stranger? That you're like a drowning sailor at times with the waves billowing over you? Can you relate to the psalmist? Was there a time in your life that you could relate to the psalmist? Or maybe you just feel far from God. Dry. Spiritual drought. No desire to read the Word. You try to pray, and the heavens are brass, and you just give up. What's the use? You're just exhausted. Are you sad when you're separated from the people of God? When you miss a Lord's Day, does it affect you? We're going to be gone next Sunday, God willing, visiting our grandson just for a quick couple day trip. It's going to hurt to be away from the people of God. from our spiritual family here. Do unbelieving enemies mock your faith? You know, if you've got the blue-collar jobs, you know, it's very foul, right? The language, just the wickedness of how women are talked about and all of that. And then when they find out you're a Christian and they just mock you, right? Make fun of you. Well, You will be discouraged and despair at times in your life. If you haven't already, you young people, expect it. It will come because we live in a fallen world. But for the Christian, it should drive us closer to God and be convinced that every earthly remedy will fail. Now let's move on how to overcome spiritual despair. Athanasius counseled his friend that when any trouble should fall upon him he should fall immediately to the reading of this psalm. What good counsel that is to be able to identify with that. Well, one of the key ways to overcome depression is to don't listen, don't allow your feelings to control you. Right? Our feelings are subjective. They're very subjective, right? You can't let them control the destiny of your life. Now, our culture says, and especially today, listen to your feelings, right? It's like, that's gospel truth, your feelings. They're not necessarily the word of God. That's gospel truth. It depends on how you feel. The world turns to many false cures and overindulgence, excessive entertainment, addiction, video games, drugs, and all of that. By the way, I should have said, I do think that there is a place for medication for a season. Hopefully it's not something that you become dependent on for your entire life, but sometimes medication can actually help and assist with that. This whole idea of listening to your feelings, I believe, is why the phenomenal growth or popularity of the LGBTQ movement. It is insistent to listen to one's feelings. And that's what you'll hear about, right? It doesn't matter what your biological sex is. How do you feel? Men, do you feel a little feminine? Well, maybe you're really a female, or whatever, you know, this kind of thing. Listen to your feelings. How do you feel? So that's, don't do that. And then, how about this? Don't isolate. Because when you isolate from others, it's not a good thing. You need to be around others, and especially be around other believers. When we isolate alone, you know what we do? We're not really isolating. We're with me, myself, and I, and we're listening to what our brain is telling us. And we've got no one else to speak gospel truth or encouragement of brothers and sisters. And so what happens is you begin listening to the voices in your head. Martin Lloyd-Jones, again, in the Spiritual Depression book, quote we've used many times, Stop listening to yourself and start talking to yourself. Famous quote. Stop listening to yourself and start talking to yourself. Now what does that mean? It means like what the psalmist does, right? He's saying, hope in God. He's remembering that, wait a minute, I've got this truth, and he starts talking to himself, and he slowly is lifted out from the depths of despair. That's why he asked three times the rhetorical question, why are you in despair? Or why are you cast down the ESV? Also, don't judge reality by your external circumstances. Peter is walking on water looking at Christ. As soon as he looks away, what happens? He begins to sink. You can't judge reality by your external circumstance. And then you have to remember this, that God's covenant faithfulness for you, if you're a child of God, His steadfast love, which can never, ever, ever change. He cannot forsake you. Hebrews 13, what? He will never leave you or forsake you. Jonah, in the belly of the sea monster, in chapter 2, as he's praying and recounting so many Psalms, it says in verse 7, then he remembered the Lord! He remembered the Lord! covenant faithfulness is our hope it's an anchor in the midst of those waves and swirling around we must turn away from our own thoughts we must speak the truth to us and then we must do what the psalmist says hope in God hope in God my God you too must put your hope in God There could be no lasting hope in anything else in this sinful, fallen world. There never has been, there never will be. Besides, we believers put our trust in God. Just as we have in the past, we can do that again in the present. Hebrews 6.19, this hope we have is an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast on which enters within the veil. Charles Spurgeon says, hope itself is like a star, not to be seen in the sunshine of prosperity. How many stars can you see, kids? When we go out to the picnic, you look in the sky, how many stars are you going to see? Maybe one, the sun, right? You're right. Maybe you might find another in the twilight sky. But Spurgeon says that hope itself is like a star, not to be seen in the good times and prosperity, but it's discovered in the night of adversity when afflictions are black. and the black foils of which come upon you, then he shows what that hope is. Also, we must keep seeking God's face in prayer, even when it seems like, is God even listening? Right? We know better. Of course He is. If you're coming with the right heart, of course. And if you're in Christ, but also draw near to God through the public means of grace, the worship of God, what we're doing here today, such an encouragement, such a balm for souls. then look at how he says it he says and yet I will praise him the final step of this holy war against oppression is based on the very character of the God that we trust him I will yet again praise him is he worthy is he worthy yes he is Praise him. This is a great certainty. God has not changed. He's completely immutable It's the same God that you knew when you came to Christ. He cannot change his purposes have not changed And he has led me to uplifting victories in the past and he will do so again in the future weeping might may last the night but a shout of joy comes in the morning and It's encouraging to see how the psalmist really progresses through his own reasonings. Look at his mood, how it rises as the psalm progresses. You get a sense of the depression being lifted. Where is your God? In the second stanza, he answers that God is with him. In verse 8, he says God is absent. God is, but then in verse 9, God is a rock. By the time we come to 43 and verse 2, what does he say? God is his stronghold. He can pray confidently that God will guide him to the place of worship and the joys of former days. So really, you have these three stanzas, as it were, right? Verses 1 to 5, 6 to 11, and then you have Psalm 43, which is the third verse. So really, there's a lament that occurs in the first two. But then it changes. Psalm 43 is more of a faithful prayer unto God as he enters into that So, is there a cure for depression? A cure is kind of a, you know, not a very good word there. James Montgomery Boyce says, yes, but it's not in us. It's only in God. The cure is to seek God's face. Well, how does this point to Christ? You know, part of, like, dealing with depression is knowing that there's somebody that understands. You know, we've got family members that have struggled with that, but it's at a different level than what we have, so it's hard to understand completely. But we have a great high priest who's been tempted in all things as we are, and yet without sin. we can relate to our dear Savior who endured the same suffering. Just come with me a little bit as I go through this. Just think, Jesus suffered incredible thirst, right? In verse one, as the deer pants for the water books, so my soul pants for you, oh God. But the cause of his thirst was our sin, not his sin. He was separated from the Father's presence. Look, Psalm 42b, When shall I come and appear before God? The psalmist asked the question. And yet we're told of Jesus, for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich in heaven, he became poor for our sakes, so that through his poverty you might become rich. The psalmist says in verse 4, I used to go along with the throng and lead the procession of God, the voice of joy and thanksgiving. Jesus, too, remembered better times, as it says in John 17. Now, Father, glorify me together with yourself with the glory which I had with you before the world was. He was overwhelmed with grief and hardship, even as the psalmist says, my tears have been my food day and night. Verse seven, the deep billows of waves rolling over him. And yet Jesus says there, when he took Peter and the sons of Zebedee and began to be grieved and distressed. And then he said to them, my soul is deeply grieved to the point of death. Remain here and keep watch with me. And the Greek those words are so deep. They're so strong. It's it's to be as it were in agony Well the psalmist cries out a few times while they say to me all day long Where's your God again in verse 10 the psalmist is being mocked Jesus too was mocked by his enemies wasn't he on the cross He saved others, but he can't even save himself What mockery what folly? That is He felt, also, forsaken, as the psalmist did here. He says, I will say to God my rock, why have you forgotten me? And what does Jesus cry out when he quotes Psalm 22? About the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani! That is, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? See, Jesus can relate when we feel like the psalmist, when we're going through these types of things. And your Savior Jesus is the only answer to the psalmist and our prayers. He satisfies you with thirst. As the deer pants, so my soul pants after you. What did he tell the woman at the well in John chapter 4? Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again. But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst. But the water that I shall give will become in him a well of water springing to eternal life. Jesus quenches our thirst. or in John 7 37 now on the last day of the great feast Jesus stood crying if anyone is thirsty let him come to me and drink and you imagine you'd almost like you know imagine somebody saying that at Balboa Park or something you say this is a madman right but what is he saying It's in fulfillment of the feast if anyone is thirsty let him come to me and drink He says he who believes in me as a scripture has said from his innermost being will flow Living water and this he spoke about the Spirit of God whom those who believed in him were to receive Because of Jesus you'll never thirst again if you're in Christ Revelation 22, the spirit and the bride say, come. Let the one who hears say, come. Let the one who is thirsty, come. Let the one who wishes to take the water of life without cost, free. God's provision of water in the Old Testament. You remember when Moses struck the rock in Exodus 17? Water flowed from it. Paul could tell us that they all drank from the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from the spiritual rock which followed them, and that rock was Christ. The psalmist says in verse 9, I will say to God, my rock. He pours out the promise of the Holy Spirit, Isaiah 44.3, for I will pour out water on a thirsty land and streams on the dry ground. I will pour out my spirit on your offspring and my blessing on your descendants. Notice in verse 1 of chapter 43, the prayer goes, he's asking, vindicate me. Be my defender. Stand up for me, O God. Do you see me in my agony? Be my defender. Vindicate me and plead my case before an ungodly nation. Plead my case. Does that not sound like first john 2 1 little children i'm writing these things to you that you may not send but if anyone sends he has a what advocate with the father even the lord jesus christ by his cross work Jesus alone can give us what we need, justice and mercy. Justice in that He paid for our sins on the cross, and mercy to help us along. That truly just outwits the devil. It outwits the common thought of man. The psalmist says in 43.3, Oh send out your light and your truth, let them lead me. Jesus himself and John chapter 1 verse 4 or sorry It's quoted there in him was life and the life was the light of men Or later Jesus says I am the light of the world It's just a few ways many ways how the psalm points to Christ right he understands what you're going through a couple of points of application now Praise God that you have a local church of which you can be a part of. Praise God that you have a local church that fears God and worships God in the way that He desires. Praise God that you have His word. Praise God for the character of the Triune God, Father, Son, and Spirit, and how they work in our lives. You see, your life circumstances might be hopeless. Your family situation might be hopeless. Your community may be hopeless, but God is not hopeless. One of the beautiful things about this psalm is we see this conflict and tension all through it, don't we? I mean, my soul is being poured out, and then he remembers something of God. He remembers the worship. Oh, my soul is being poured out. The waves are coming over me. It's this conflict. It's a true battle. It's a holy war, as it were. See, Spurgeon said, the Christian life is a riddle. God's people are very familiar with this riddle. He says, say again, this casting down is consistent with the most elevated degree of piety. Depression of spirit is not an index of declining grace. What's he saying? Even the most pious, godly people can suffer with this type of depression and never look at that as a mark of God's grace. Secondly, do you actively use your memory to recall God's dealings with you? You should. Look at verse 4, he remembers how he used to worship with the voice of thanksgiving. We need to remember that we have a great high priest that can show true compassion on us. that sympathetic renaissance. So if you had two instruments, two pianos, real pianos, on each end of the room that as middle C is struck, and they're both tuned the same, middle C and the other piano will just make some noise. And that's the way it is with Christ. When we suffer, when we have pain, when we're going through whatever we're going through, Jesus feels it in a really real sense. George Whitefield, the great evangelist, said, let us never despair while we have Christ as our leader. So beloved, hope in a sovereign God. Hope in a God that is sovereign over your life, over your family, and most of all, over your soul. Hope and a saving God. A God that can save. You can't save yourself. It's all by grace. Why don't we have it right here, right? It's grace alone, faith alone, and Christ alone, according to the scriptures alone, and for His glory alone. And if you're here today and you're not a Christian, oh, the agony, the despair to know that you're gonna stand before a holy God someday. If you don't, repent. But the door of opportunity is wide open. See that God is compassionate. See that Jesus died for sinners. If you would run to him, he will save you. Let's pray. Father, thank you for your word that does not return void. May you have your way with it. I pray that we would be effectual doers and not forgetters of what we have heard even this very day. Lord, for those who are not suffering currently in these things, may we be better equipped to encourage others around us to be true brothers and sisters in the family of God, to come alongside, to point to Christ, when often when we're struggling with these things, we forget you. Oh Lord, we thank you so much for your goodness. Thank you so much for the honesty and transparency of even the psalmist in these two psalms that we've considered this day. We praise you. You are indeed worthy. In Jesus name. Amen.