WEBVTT 00:00:01.040 --> 00:00:05.660 Thank you. Be seated, please. Well, I see that 00:00:05.660 --> 00:00:08.500 our VBS is set up on the platform here. Kind 00:00:08.500 --> 00:00:11.179 of makes me hungry, doesn't it, you? Pizza, a 00:00:11.179 --> 00:00:16.579 bakery, Italian food. Looks pretty good. It's 00:00:16.579 --> 00:00:18.199 going to be a great week for our boys and girls. 00:00:18.239 --> 00:00:20.899 Let's remember to pray for them and for our teachers 00:00:20.899 --> 00:00:24.559 and workers through the week. Well, tonight we're 00:00:24.559 --> 00:00:26.940 going to open our Bibles to the book of Psalms 00:00:26.940 --> 00:00:32.619 again. some of our summer Psalms. And tonight, 00:00:33.219 --> 00:00:36.000 Psalms 42 and 43, we're going to look at two 00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:39.740 Psalms because actually these two fit together. 00:00:44.000 --> 00:00:47.939 Probably, originally, they were one Psalm. In 00:00:47.939 --> 00:00:50.960 fact, some translations even unite them today. 00:00:52.179 --> 00:00:58.880 There are three stanzas to the Psalms. And those 00:00:58.880 --> 00:01:01.060 will be obvious as we read them. They're almost 00:01:01.060 --> 00:01:05.340 identical, verses 5 and 11 of Psalm 42 and verse 00:01:05.340 --> 00:01:09.739 5 of Psalm 43. We do not know who the psalmist 00:01:09.739 --> 00:01:14.939 is that writes of his sad circumstances, but 00:01:14.939 --> 00:01:17.120 because of his circumstances he is struggling 00:01:17.120 --> 00:01:21.319 with depression or discouragement. Do you ever 00:01:21.319 --> 00:01:25.140 do that? Yeah, we all do. That's part of life, 00:01:25.260 --> 00:01:29.739 isn't it? It's not a sin to be depressed. That's 00:01:29.739 --> 00:01:32.760 a normal response of the human emotions to certain 00:01:32.760 --> 00:01:37.519 situations. Here we find a psalmist who is depressed. 00:01:38.439 --> 00:01:41.780 And I'm glad he was. I mean, I'm not happy for 00:01:41.780 --> 00:01:44.040 the sadness he experienced, but I'm glad that 00:01:44.040 --> 00:01:47.079 he was depressed. And I'm glad that God, by the 00:01:47.079 --> 00:01:49.700 Holy Spirit, led him to write about his feelings, 00:01:49.760 --> 00:01:53.799 because that helps me, and it helps you. By the 00:01:53.799 --> 00:01:57.519 way, Do you ever write about your feelings? Do 00:01:57.519 --> 00:02:00.659 you ever find yourself in a particular mood and 00:02:00.659 --> 00:02:03.739 sit down and write a page or a paragraph about 00:02:03.739 --> 00:02:07.700 that? It's a good thing to do. It helps give 00:02:07.700 --> 00:02:11.680 feelings out. And you may find that you start 00:02:11.680 --> 00:02:14.240 the paragraph with one kind of feeling and the 00:02:14.240 --> 00:02:16.180 time you're done you have a whole different one. 00:02:18.039 --> 00:02:20.659 Notice what this psalmist says, as the deer pants 00:02:20.659 --> 00:02:24.610 for the water brooks. So my soul pants for thee, 00:02:24.689 --> 00:02:28.849 O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living 00:02:28.849 --> 00:02:32.110 God. When shall I come and appear before God? 00:02:33.389 --> 00:02:36.590 My tears have been my food day and night, while 00:02:36.590 --> 00:02:40.729 they say to me all day long, Where is your God? 00:02:42.389 --> 00:02:46.250 These things I remember, and I pour out my soul 00:02:46.250 --> 00:02:49.569 within me. For I used to go along with the throng 00:02:49.569 --> 00:02:52.270 and lead them in procession to the house of God. 00:02:52.569 --> 00:02:56.270 with a voice of joy and thanksgiving, a multitude 00:02:56.270 --> 00:03:00.770 keeping festival. And here's the refrain, Why 00:03:00.770 --> 00:03:04.110 are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you 00:03:04.110 --> 00:03:08.090 become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for 00:03:08.090 --> 00:03:11.069 I shall again praise him for the help of his 00:03:11.069 --> 00:03:17.389 presence. Stands at number two, O my God, my 00:03:17.389 --> 00:03:22.189 soul is in despair within me. Therefore, I remember 00:03:22.189 --> 00:03:27.150 thee from the land of the Jordan." Now we begin 00:03:27.150 --> 00:03:30.069 to understand a little bit more about his circumstances. 00:03:31.490 --> 00:03:34.990 We see that he is not in Jerusalem. He is in 00:03:34.990 --> 00:03:38.409 the land of the Jordan at the peaks of Hermon 00:03:38.409 --> 00:03:42.689 from Mount Mizer. We don't know where the latter 00:03:42.689 --> 00:03:48.389 mount is. It may be part of Hermon. Huge mountain, 00:03:48.469 --> 00:03:52.810 20 miles long is the ridge of it. Miser may be 00:03:52.810 --> 00:03:56.550 a peak along the ridge. Hermon is located 40 00:03:56.550 --> 00:04:00.370 miles north of the Sea of Galilee. From the Sea 00:04:00.370 --> 00:04:03.229 of Galilee, you can look to the north and see 00:04:03.229 --> 00:04:07.810 its peaks. And in the winter time, and in fact 00:04:07.810 --> 00:04:10.110 most of the year, there's snow on the top of 00:04:10.110 --> 00:04:14.729 Mount Hermon. Today it is the ski resort for 00:04:14.729 --> 00:04:19.079 Israel. People from Jerusalem and Tel Aviv along 00:04:19.079 --> 00:04:21.459 the coast, the populated areas on the weekends 00:04:21.459 --> 00:04:27.500 of the winter often go north and they turn inland 00:04:27.500 --> 00:04:31.139 after they've gotten past the West Bank area, 00:04:31.720 --> 00:04:33.819 follow the highway down through the Valley of 00:04:33.819 --> 00:04:38.800 Jezreel, which is the Valley of Armageddon, and 00:04:38.800 --> 00:04:42.800 they either turn toward the Sea of Galilee where 00:04:42.800 --> 00:04:46.160 they can enjoy some warm weather. Not exactly 00:04:46.160 --> 00:04:49.160 tropical, but a lot warmer than some other parts 00:04:49.160 --> 00:04:52.899 of the mountainous region of Israel. Or they 00:04:52.899 --> 00:04:54.779 turn the other direction and they go to Mount 00:04:54.779 --> 00:04:59.000 Hermon where they can ski. And what do you suppose 00:04:59.000 --> 00:05:04.779 is located right there at that crossroads? The 00:05:04.779 --> 00:05:10.360 only McDonald's in all of Israel. The only McDonald's 00:05:10.360 --> 00:05:15.379 in all of Israel is right there. Well, this psalmist 00:05:15.379 --> 00:05:20.639 is apparently in the area of Mount Hermon. Perhaps 00:05:20.639 --> 00:05:23.740 he had been taken prisoner by some group that 00:05:23.740 --> 00:05:25.959 had come through, some king or nation had invaded 00:05:25.959 --> 00:05:30.540 the land and he was among those taken away. He 00:05:30.540 --> 00:05:33.819 says, Deep calls to deep at the sound of thy 00:05:33.819 --> 00:05:38.040 waterfalls. All thy breakers and thy waves have 00:05:38.040 --> 00:05:41.819 rolled over me. On the slopes of Mount Hermon 00:05:41.819 --> 00:05:45.480 you have little rivulets, little streams that 00:05:45.480 --> 00:05:50.360 carry away the snow as it melts. And those streams 00:05:50.360 --> 00:05:52.879 gather together and ultimately become the Jordan 00:05:52.879 --> 00:05:56.720 River. And so when he talks here about the waterfalls 00:05:56.720 --> 00:05:59.839 and the breakers and the waves, he's listening 00:05:59.839 --> 00:06:04.800 to the sound of these streams. He's watching 00:06:04.800 --> 00:06:07.259 them gather together for the Jordan as it begins 00:06:07.259 --> 00:06:12.120 its southward journey toward the Dead Sea. He 00:06:12.120 --> 00:06:14.819 says the Lord will command his loving kindness 00:06:14.819 --> 00:06:18.060 in the daytime, and his song will be with me 00:06:18.060 --> 00:06:23.000 in the night, a prayer to the God my life. I 00:06:23.000 --> 00:06:26.439 will say to God my rock, why hast thou forgotten 00:06:26.439 --> 00:06:32.240 me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression 00:06:32.240 --> 00:06:37.889 of the enemy? As a shattering of my bones, My 00:06:37.889 --> 00:06:40.970 adversaries revile me while they say to me all 00:06:40.970 --> 00:06:45.250 day long Where is your God? Second time there's 00:06:45.250 --> 00:06:48.949 that question asked you see that So apparently 00:06:48.949 --> 00:06:51.589 these people who had taken him captive were taunting 00:06:51.589 --> 00:06:55.910 him with that question and It was like somebody 00:06:55.910 --> 00:06:59.569 breaking a bone in his body as they taunted him. 00:06:59.569 --> 00:07:04.089 Well, where is your God? You see, whatever nation 00:07:04.089 --> 00:07:06.009 this may have been, it was a pagan nation. They 00:07:06.009 --> 00:07:11.589 had their gods. They were seated on pedestals 00:07:11.589 --> 00:07:16.410 or placed in temples. They were made out of wood 00:07:16.410 --> 00:07:18.769 and stone and they prayed to them. They bowed 00:07:18.769 --> 00:07:23.310 down to them. And these pagans say to this Israelite 00:07:23.310 --> 00:07:26.930 who worships the true God, who's a monotheist, 00:07:28.170 --> 00:07:31.009 who does not believe in making carved images 00:07:31.009 --> 00:07:34.709 in the likeness of God, they say to this Israelite, 00:07:34.730 --> 00:07:39.550 where is your God? They want to know where he 00:07:39.550 --> 00:07:44.829 is. And so then he repeats his refrain, verse 00:07:44.829 --> 00:07:51.170 11. Then moving into Psalm 43, we have stanza 00:07:51.170 --> 00:07:54.490 3, Vindicate me, O God, and plead my case against 00:07:54.490 --> 00:07:59.329 an ungodly nation. O, deliver me from the deceitful 00:07:59.329 --> 00:08:04.490 and unjust man. For thou art the God of my strength. 00:08:05.709 --> 00:08:09.110 Why hast thou rejected me?" Do you ever feel 00:08:09.110 --> 00:08:12.949 that way? Again, he states that his feelings 00:08:12.949 --> 00:08:17.110 say God has turned his back on me. Why do I go 00:08:17.110 --> 00:08:19.329 mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? 00:08:20.430 --> 00:08:24.449 O, send out thy light and thy truth. Let them 00:08:24.449 --> 00:08:28.540 lead me. Let them bring me to thy holy hill and 00:08:28.540 --> 00:08:31.879 to thy dwelling places." The word dwelling here 00:08:31.879 --> 00:08:35.419 means to thy residence. You see, the gods of 00:08:35.419 --> 00:08:38.159 the pagans had their residences. They were here 00:08:38.159 --> 00:08:40.980 and there at these different hills and high places 00:08:40.980 --> 00:08:45.279 and temples. But he says, Lord bring me to your 00:08:45.279 --> 00:08:47.299 residence, to your dwelling place. Now where 00:08:47.299 --> 00:08:51.159 was that? Where was the Lord pleased to dwell? 00:08:51.179 --> 00:08:54.039 In Jerusalem, where he could not go, but that's 00:08:54.039 --> 00:08:57.379 where he wants to go. He says, then I will go 00:08:57.379 --> 00:09:00.940 to the altar of God. That's where the altar is, 00:09:00.960 --> 00:09:04.440 of course, at the temple in Jerusalem. To God, 00:09:04.519 --> 00:09:07.559 my exceeding joy, and upon the liar, I shall 00:09:07.559 --> 00:09:12.159 praise thee, O God, my God. And once again the 00:09:12.159 --> 00:09:15.759 refrain, why are you in despair, O my soul? And 00:09:15.759 --> 00:09:18.440 why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God, 00:09:19.019 --> 00:09:22.200 for I shall again praise Him the help of my countenance 00:09:22.200 --> 00:09:28.490 and my God. What we have in these Psalms is an 00:09:28.490 --> 00:09:31.370 inner conversation of the psalmist with his own 00:09:31.370 --> 00:09:36.129 spirit. Do you ever talk to yourself? Do you 00:09:36.129 --> 00:09:40.389 know we all do all day long? And not only that, 00:09:40.549 --> 00:09:43.529 we answer ourselves. Now they say it's okay if 00:09:43.529 --> 00:09:45.649 you talk to yourself, just don't answer yourself. 00:09:46.049 --> 00:09:50.470 The thing is we all do both all day long. There's 00:09:50.470 --> 00:09:53.049 a running conversation going on in our heads 00:09:53.049 --> 00:09:56.970 all the time. And it's wise for us to pick up 00:09:56.970 --> 00:09:59.409 on that because we tell ourselves some very stupid 00:09:59.409 --> 00:10:02.950 things sometimes, don't we? We really do. We 00:10:02.950 --> 00:10:06.529 give ourselves some lousy advice. We say some 00:10:06.529 --> 00:10:08.929 nasty things to ourselves not even realizing 00:10:08.929 --> 00:10:14.210 that we're doing it. And so the psalmist is writing 00:10:14.210 --> 00:10:18.009 down his conversation inside here for us to learn 00:10:18.009 --> 00:10:21.389 what to do when we get depressed or discouraged. 00:10:23.200 --> 00:10:25.980 And I believe that we have the answer to that 00:10:25.980 --> 00:10:29.820 in three lessons that we see in the refrain, 00:10:30.240 --> 00:10:33.840 verses 5 and 11, and then again in verse 5 of 00:10:33.840 --> 00:10:37.759 Psalm 43. When you and I are depressed, the first 00:10:37.759 --> 00:10:40.899 thing we need to do is to inquire the reasons. 00:10:42.320 --> 00:10:50.460 Isn't that what he does? He says, why? Why? Why 00:10:50.460 --> 00:10:56.399 are you in despair, soul? Why have you become 00:10:56.399 --> 00:11:00.179 disturbed within me? Do you ever ask yourself, 00:11:00.559 --> 00:11:06.159 why do I feel this way? Sometimes we just live 00:11:06.159 --> 00:11:09.179 in the pits without ever asking that question. 00:11:09.220 --> 00:11:12.419 We need to ask that question. Why am I feeling 00:11:12.419 --> 00:11:15.240 this way? Now there could be a hundred reasons 00:11:15.240 --> 00:11:20.899 why. You may be distressed, depressed, discouraged 00:11:20.899 --> 00:11:24.799 because you're tired. Physical fatigue can cause 00:11:24.799 --> 00:11:30.879 it. You may have worn yourself out serving the 00:11:30.879 --> 00:11:35.820 Lord. You may have an enemy that's attacking 00:11:35.820 --> 00:11:38.980 you as the psalmist did. There could be lots 00:11:38.980 --> 00:11:41.179 of reasons, but you need to start by asking the 00:11:41.179 --> 00:11:46.919 reasons why. And as he asks that question, he 00:11:46.919 --> 00:11:49.440 seems to come up with three answers for himself. 00:11:50.759 --> 00:11:54.340 In the first place he is distressed, he is in 00:11:54.340 --> 00:11:59.960 despair because God seemed far away to him. He 00:11:59.960 --> 00:12:02.539 sees himself like a deer who is in the wilderness 00:12:02.539 --> 00:12:06.379 searching for water, desperately thirsty but 00:12:06.379 --> 00:12:11.340 can't find it, panting, the tongue hanging out, 00:12:11.440 --> 00:12:15.940 and yet can't find God. He says, when shall I 00:12:15.940 --> 00:12:22.779 come and appear before God? And he says in verse 00:12:22.779 --> 00:12:26.340 6, My God, my soul is in despair within me. I 00:12:26.340 --> 00:12:30.080 remember thee from the land of Jordan. He wants 00:12:30.080 --> 00:12:33.799 the presence of the Lord. And to his Jewish thinking, 00:12:34.659 --> 00:12:36.740 the presence of the Lord was in Jerusalem at 00:12:36.740 --> 00:12:40.919 the temple, the place the Lord had ordered for 00:12:40.919 --> 00:12:45.919 his dwelling place. But God seemed far removed 00:12:45.919 --> 00:12:49.279 from him. Does God ever seem far away from you? 00:12:50.430 --> 00:12:54.490 He does to me from time to time. He does to all 00:12:54.490 --> 00:12:59.470 of us. And as he asks the reason why, there's 00:12:59.470 --> 00:13:04.529 a second answer, I think, in verse 4. He is in 00:13:04.529 --> 00:13:08.830 despair because he is longing for the past. Here 00:13:08.830 --> 00:13:10.990 he is up all these miles away from Jerusalem 00:13:10.990 --> 00:13:14.429 and all he can do is remember. Now I'm not going 00:13:14.429 --> 00:13:16.370 to point my finger at him because I tend to be 00:13:16.370 --> 00:13:21.129 melancholy too. But he looked to the past. He 00:13:21.129 --> 00:13:25.330 said, these things I remember and I pour out 00:13:25.330 --> 00:13:29.009 my soul within me. To pour out means to pour 00:13:29.009 --> 00:13:33.090 out like a libation, like a sacrifice. He sees 00:13:33.090 --> 00:13:37.509 his innards just turned upside down and his very 00:13:37.509 --> 00:13:40.389 being just being poured out in his memories. 00:13:41.730 --> 00:13:44.669 These things I remember, literally that Hebrew 00:13:44.669 --> 00:13:49.860 word means to pierce and then to impress. upon 00:13:49.860 --> 00:13:54.500 something like your mind, your memory. Sometimes 00:13:54.500 --> 00:13:56.220 memories are like that, aren't they? They just 00:13:56.220 --> 00:14:00.159 hang on. It's like they have a hook on them, 00:14:00.279 --> 00:14:02.820 they poke a hole in your mind and they just hang 00:14:02.820 --> 00:14:07.700 there. And sometimes that's alright and sometimes 00:14:07.700 --> 00:14:12.179 it's not alright because the memories hurt and 00:14:12.179 --> 00:14:15.700 they bring on depression. He says, I remember 00:14:15.700 --> 00:14:18.399 I used to go along with the throng and lead them 00:14:18.399 --> 00:14:21.059 in the procession to the house of God. He's thinking 00:14:21.059 --> 00:14:23.460 back to earlier times when he would be among 00:14:23.460 --> 00:14:26.139 the worshippers going up to the temple mount 00:14:26.139 --> 00:14:30.419 to worship God. And he sang with joy and thanksgiving. 00:14:30.500 --> 00:14:33.200 He was one of the multitude going to a festival 00:14:33.200 --> 00:14:37.779 of Israel. That's his memory. And he can't do 00:14:37.779 --> 00:14:43.139 that now. And he's depressed. You know, that's 00:14:43.139 --> 00:14:49.919 one of the things that older people face. Longing 00:14:49.919 --> 00:14:56.179 for past events. When this or that used to be 00:14:56.179 --> 00:14:58.720 done that brought a lot of joy and they can't 00:14:58.720 --> 00:15:02.759 do that anymore. Shut -ins face this when they 00:15:02.759 --> 00:15:05.700 think on Sunday morning, boy, I used to be able 00:15:05.700 --> 00:15:09.299 to go to church. I used to sing in the choir. 00:15:09.320 --> 00:15:13.220 I used to teach Sunday school. I used to be there 00:15:13.220 --> 00:15:18.299 every week. And now they can't be there at all. 00:15:20.419 --> 00:15:24.240 And that memory, as wonderful as it is of good 00:15:24.240 --> 00:15:31.860 days, now haunts them. And it could be that in 00:15:31.860 --> 00:15:34.000 the loss of a loved one, you've experienced the 00:15:34.000 --> 00:15:39.120 same thing. And you look back to those happy 00:15:39.120 --> 00:15:42.779 years. When there was companionship and there 00:15:42.779 --> 00:15:47.220 was shared love and dreams And now that's gone 00:15:47.220 --> 00:15:50.940 And as wonderful as those memories are they hang 00:15:50.940 --> 00:15:56.059 on and bring depression Well now you see what 00:15:56.059 --> 00:16:00.720 this man's going through He was inquiring as 00:16:00.720 --> 00:16:03.500 to the reasons now why his soul is in despair 00:16:03.500 --> 00:16:06.340 And the first thing he says to himself is God 00:16:06.340 --> 00:16:08.740 seems far away from me. I can't seem to find 00:16:08.740 --> 00:16:12.960 God right now I'm searching for him like a deer 00:16:12.960 --> 00:16:16.039 out in the wilderness searches for water, but 00:16:16.039 --> 00:16:20.539 I can't find God. God's far away. And secondly, 00:16:20.539 --> 00:16:23.360 he says, I think of the past. I think of the 00:16:23.360 --> 00:16:29.919 good old days. And third, in answer to the question 00:16:29.919 --> 00:16:34.500 why, we find that he listened to the wrong talk. 00:16:36.480 --> 00:16:39.899 He says in verse 3, my tears have been my food. 00:16:40.110 --> 00:16:42.990 day and night, while they say to me all day long, 00:16:43.169 --> 00:16:47.169 Where is your God? And again in verse 10, as 00:16:47.169 --> 00:16:50.149 a shattering of my bones, my adversaries revile 00:16:50.149 --> 00:16:53.250 me while they say to me all day long, Where is 00:16:53.250 --> 00:16:56.950 your God? You notice he says several times here, 00:16:56.990 --> 00:17:02.529 all day long, day and night. Life is dreary for 00:17:02.529 --> 00:17:06.529 this fellow. And one of the things that he hears 00:17:06.529 --> 00:17:11.109 all day long, is this question, where is God? 00:17:11.509 --> 00:17:13.890 Where is God in all of this? And he listened 00:17:13.890 --> 00:17:17.329 to it. You know when you and I listen to the 00:17:17.329 --> 00:17:19.589 wrong talk from other people, that can bring 00:17:19.589 --> 00:17:23.089 us to discouragement. There are some people who 00:17:23.089 --> 00:17:25.109 have the spiritual gift of discouragement. Did 00:17:25.109 --> 00:17:27.569 you know that? And they go around just sharing 00:17:27.569 --> 00:17:31.190 it everywhere they go. And when you see them 00:17:31.190 --> 00:17:32.849 coming, you turn around and you walk the other 00:17:32.849 --> 00:17:37.170 way. But this fellow couldn't do that. And people 00:17:37.170 --> 00:17:42.410 were saying to him, taunting him, teasing him. 00:17:42.470 --> 00:17:45.990 Where's God? Where's your God? And of course 00:17:45.990 --> 00:17:47.890 it brought him to depression because he allowed 00:17:47.890 --> 00:17:50.849 that question to settle on his heart and his 00:17:50.849 --> 00:17:55.210 mind. So when you and I are facing depression, 00:17:55.309 --> 00:17:58.170 which we all do from time to time, and sometimes 00:17:58.170 --> 00:18:02.109 it's for an hour or a few hours and sometimes 00:18:02.109 --> 00:18:06.460 for a few days and sometimes for longer. But 00:18:06.460 --> 00:18:09.099 when we're facing depression, we can approach 00:18:09.099 --> 00:18:11.900 the answer to it by first of all asking this 00:18:11.900 --> 00:18:17.619 question, why? Why am I feeling this way? Now 00:18:17.619 --> 00:18:20.539 secondly, we notice that the psalmist initiated 00:18:20.539 --> 00:18:27.759 a response. He says to himself, hope in God. 00:18:27.839 --> 00:18:32.180 He preaches himself a three -point sermon. Hope, 00:18:32.940 --> 00:18:37.880 point number one. Point number two, God. Point 00:18:37.880 --> 00:18:46.240 number three, hope in God. Why hope in God? Well, 00:18:46.240 --> 00:18:50.099 first of all, he tells himself, in essence, God 00:18:50.099 --> 00:18:55.700 is not far away, but he's present. Now, God seemed 00:18:55.700 --> 00:18:58.980 to be far away to him. He wondered when in the 00:18:58.980 --> 00:19:01.539 world he and God would get together, but as he 00:19:01.500 --> 00:19:04.500 tells himself hope in God, he reminds himself 00:19:04.500 --> 00:19:07.440 that God in fact is not far away. He is present 00:19:07.440 --> 00:19:09.799 with him. He says that. Hope in God, for I shall 00:19:09.799 --> 00:19:12.539 yet praise him for the help of his presence. 00:19:14.339 --> 00:19:18.900 God is there. Turn to Psalm 115 where we have 00:19:18.900 --> 00:19:21.460 a similar question asked by another anonymous 00:19:21.460 --> 00:19:30.519 psalmist. Psalm 115. The context is similar because 00:19:30.859 --> 00:19:34.140 The psalmist here is struggling with the same 00:19:34.140 --> 00:19:38.700 question and comparing or contrasting his own 00:19:38.700 --> 00:19:42.640 situation with idolaters. He starts out with 00:19:42.640 --> 00:19:45.859 praise to God, and then he says in verse 2, this 00:19:45.859 --> 00:19:51.440 is Psalm 115, why should the nations say, where 00:19:51.440 --> 00:19:54.720 now is there God? You see the same question? 00:19:54.960 --> 00:20:00.650 Where is God? And so he answers it. He says, 00:20:01.150 --> 00:20:05.450 our God is in the heavens. That's where he is. 00:20:06.329 --> 00:20:09.430 Quite unlike the gods of silver and gold that 00:20:09.430 --> 00:20:11.650 are work of man's hand, who have mouths that 00:20:11.650 --> 00:20:14.910 cannot speak, eyes that cannot see, ears that 00:20:14.910 --> 00:20:17.609 cannot hear, noses that cannot smell, hands that 00:20:17.609 --> 00:20:21.029 cannot feel, feet that cannot walk, and they 00:20:21.029 --> 00:20:26.329 can't make a sound from their throat. Look at 00:20:26.329 --> 00:20:30.920 the impotence. of the gods of the nations. Where 00:20:30.920 --> 00:20:35.039 are their gods? Well, sitting over here. Oh, 00:20:35.059 --> 00:20:37.200 and there's one over there about half finished. 00:20:41.000 --> 00:20:43.039 And in answer to the question to him, he says, 00:20:43.480 --> 00:20:46.019 our God, the God of Israel, is in the heavens. 00:20:46.380 --> 00:20:50.859 And he says he does whatever he pleases. He's 00:20:50.859 --> 00:20:54.220 not only in the heavens, he rules in the heavens. 00:20:55.859 --> 00:21:00.740 He's sovereign. in the heavens. And if my circumstances 00:21:00.740 --> 00:21:04.319 are pleasant for the moment, or if my circumstances 00:21:04.319 --> 00:21:08.440 are difficult for the moment, He does what He 00:21:08.440 --> 00:21:10.960 pleases. He's still in heaven. That's where He 00:21:10.960 --> 00:21:15.180 is. And then in verse 9 He says, Oh Israel, trust 00:21:15.180 --> 00:21:19.539 in the Lord, for He is their help and their shield. 00:21:19.759 --> 00:21:22.920 Same words, verse 10. He is their help and their 00:21:22.920 --> 00:21:26.039 shield, verse 11. He is their help and their 00:21:26.039 --> 00:21:30.819 shield. There's both an offense and a defense 00:21:30.819 --> 00:21:34.440 here. God is their help, that is their support. 00:21:35.220 --> 00:21:39.160 God takes the offense with His people. He is 00:21:39.160 --> 00:21:44.259 there on their behalf to help them. And God takes 00:21:44.259 --> 00:21:46.660 the defense on their behalf too, because He is 00:21:46.660 --> 00:21:51.079 their shield. He puts up the shield to protect 00:21:51.079 --> 00:21:56.279 them. So he provides and he protects. And therefore 00:21:56.279 --> 00:21:59.380 he says, Israel, and he says to you and to me 00:21:59.380 --> 00:22:03.140 tonight, trust in the Lord. Trust in the Lord. 00:22:03.599 --> 00:22:06.359 You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord. Verse 00:22:06.359 --> 00:22:11.660 11. Now verse 12. The Lord has been mindful of 00:22:11.660 --> 00:22:15.920 us. That's good to remember. Because there are 00:22:15.920 --> 00:22:21.440 times our feelings say, God's forgotten me. Somewhere 00:22:21.440 --> 00:22:27.619 I fell in between the cracks with God. I must 00:22:27.619 --> 00:22:30.180 not be as important as some others because God 00:22:30.180 --> 00:22:34.299 doesn't care, God doesn't know God isn't here. 00:22:35.160 --> 00:22:37.380 And the psalmist reminds us that the Lord has 00:22:37.380 --> 00:22:41.299 been mindful of us and he will bless, he will 00:22:41.299 --> 00:22:45.279 bless, he will bless, he will bless. See that? 00:22:47.380 --> 00:22:52.019 So the time that the psalmist in Psalms 42 and 00:22:52.019 --> 00:22:57.720 43 writes about are not uncommon times. And as 00:22:57.720 --> 00:23:01.059 he remembers that God is not far away but present, 00:23:01.140 --> 00:23:03.859 so did other psalmist, and so do we need to remember 00:23:03.859 --> 00:23:09.220 that. Now going back again to our original psalm, 00:23:09.299 --> 00:23:11.720 the second thing that we see in this response, 00:23:11.819 --> 00:23:16.220 hope in God, is the psalmist's confidence that 00:23:16.220 --> 00:23:20.740 God is greater than his feelings. God is greater 00:23:20.740 --> 00:23:26.480 than his feelings. Notice that he says, verse 00:23:26.480 --> 00:23:30.180 3, my tears have been my food day and night. 00:23:31.180 --> 00:23:37.799 What do you do with food? You eat it. You absorb 00:23:37.799 --> 00:23:41.140 it. You take it in. And what he says here is 00:23:41.140 --> 00:23:44.799 that his emotions is what he's been living on. 00:23:46.119 --> 00:23:49.430 It's what he confesses. He's been living on his 00:23:49.430 --> 00:23:53.190 emotions. My tears have been what I've been eating 00:23:53.190 --> 00:23:56.430 day and night. You know, when you and I eat our 00:23:56.430 --> 00:24:00.390 emotions, it's going to result in this kind of 00:24:00.390 --> 00:24:04.950 a problem. And what the psalmist remembers here 00:24:04.950 --> 00:24:07.170 is that there's something better to feed on than 00:24:07.170 --> 00:24:09.690 our emotions. It's found over in verse 3 of the 00:24:09.690 --> 00:24:14.009 next psalm. O send out thy light and thy truth, 00:24:14.109 --> 00:24:17.950 let them lead me. Let them bring me to thy holy 00:24:17.950 --> 00:24:20.829 hill and to thy dwelling place." You and I can 00:24:20.829 --> 00:24:23.309 either feed on our feelings or we can feed upon 00:24:23.309 --> 00:24:27.829 the light and the truth of God. God is greater 00:24:27.829 --> 00:24:30.029 than our feelings. We need to remember that. 00:24:31.069 --> 00:24:34.109 Even though at the moment it's tough to overrule 00:24:34.109 --> 00:24:39.269 our feelings, we need to remember consciously 00:24:39.269 --> 00:24:43.230 that God is greater. Than the feelings that we 00:24:43.230 --> 00:24:45.869 have and we need to feed on his word so we are 00:24:45.869 --> 00:24:51.089 kept aware of that truth Now when he says hope 00:24:51.089 --> 00:24:53.130 in God there's another confidence that he has 00:24:53.130 --> 00:24:56.670 and that is that God demonstrates his involvement 00:24:56.670 --> 00:25:00.470 God has a way of demonstrating his involvement 00:25:00.470 --> 00:25:06.589 In verse 8 he says the Lord will command his 00:25:06.589 --> 00:25:09.829 loving -kindness in the daytime and his song 00:25:09.829 --> 00:25:12.819 will be with me in the night The word command 00:25:12.819 --> 00:25:16.599 here means to order or to delegate. He says God 00:25:16.599 --> 00:25:20.539 is going to delegate to me his grace, his loving 00:25:20.539 --> 00:25:22.839 kindness. He's going to remember his covenant 00:25:22.839 --> 00:25:27.500 with me in the daytime, even when I feel like 00:25:27.500 --> 00:25:32.059 I do. And he says his song will be with me in 00:25:32.059 --> 00:25:35.779 the night. He's not saying here a song that God 00:25:35.779 --> 00:25:38.240 is singing to him. He's talking about a song 00:25:38.240 --> 00:25:42.880 of response in his own life. to God. He says 00:25:42.880 --> 00:25:45.900 this song is a prayer to the God of my life. 00:25:46.960 --> 00:25:50.900 His song will be with me in the night. Turn over 00:25:50.900 --> 00:25:56.980 to Psalm 63 for a minute. Where we have a parallel 00:25:56.980 --> 00:26:09.230 verse. Psalm 63 Verse 6, When I remember thee 00:26:09.230 --> 00:26:13.549 on my bed, I meditate on thee in the night watches. 00:26:14.390 --> 00:26:17.049 For thou hast been my help, and in the shadow 00:26:17.049 --> 00:26:22.349 of thy wings I sing for joy. My soul clings to 00:26:22.349 --> 00:26:27.670 thee, thy right hand upholds me. Three good verses 00:26:27.670 --> 00:26:32.369 to memorize. Do you have trouble sleeping because 00:26:32.369 --> 00:26:36.349 of your anxieties? Does sleep come hard because 00:26:36.349 --> 00:26:41.329 of depression or memories of the past? Days that 00:26:41.329 --> 00:26:45.710 you long for that cannot come again? Well the 00:26:45.710 --> 00:26:48.049 psalmist says here that God gives us His grace 00:26:48.049 --> 00:26:51.150 in the daytime and in response at night we can 00:26:51.150 --> 00:26:54.089 sing to the Lord. We can sing praise to Him. 00:26:54.690 --> 00:26:57.329 God demonstrates His involvement on our behalf 00:26:57.329 --> 00:27:00.609 and He reminds us here in this psalm that our 00:27:00.609 --> 00:27:04.650 circumstances Our circumstances are really God's 00:27:04.650 --> 00:27:08.650 breakers and God's waves. He says then in verse 00:27:08.650 --> 00:27:14.829 7, deep calls to deep. Now, he probably has in 00:27:14.829 --> 00:27:18.970 mind here the depths of waters that are like 00:27:18.970 --> 00:27:21.190 answering to one another. Here's a waterfall 00:27:21.190 --> 00:27:24.670 and there's a waterfall and the noise that they're 00:27:24.670 --> 00:27:28.309 making, the roaring is like an antiphonal chorus. 00:27:28.390 --> 00:27:30.990 They sing to one another, deep calls to deep. 00:27:32.129 --> 00:27:35.750 But poetically, he may have something else in 00:27:35.750 --> 00:27:38.390 mind. He may be talking about the depths of our 00:27:38.390 --> 00:27:44.730 spirit calling out to the depths of God. Or it 00:27:44.730 --> 00:27:47.230 could be an expression that talks about the depths 00:27:47.230 --> 00:27:51.730 of our souls calling out to other depths within 00:27:51.730 --> 00:27:58.250 us. The kind of deep meditation that we experience. 00:27:59.339 --> 00:28:04.079 And he says that this happens, this deep reaching 00:28:04.079 --> 00:28:07.359 down and reaching up to God, this happens at 00:28:07.359 --> 00:28:10.660 the sound of thy waterfalls when your breakers 00:28:10.660 --> 00:28:13.779 and your waves have rolled over me. Notice whose 00:28:13.779 --> 00:28:17.579 breakers and waves and waterfalls they are. They're 00:28:17.579 --> 00:28:23.039 God's. It's good for us to remember that God's 00:28:23.039 --> 00:28:27.029 in charge of them. When he says that they have 00:28:27.029 --> 00:28:29.690 rolled over him, he pictures a stationary object 00:28:29.690 --> 00:28:34.990 that stands firm while something rolls over him. 00:28:36.809 --> 00:28:38.650 It kind of reminds me of being in the ocean. 00:28:38.690 --> 00:28:41.670 Do you like to swim in the ocean with all those 00:28:41.670 --> 00:28:43.690 creatures that are below the water you can't 00:28:43.690 --> 00:28:49.250 see? The sharks floating around, swimming? I 00:28:49.250 --> 00:28:52.089 enjoy the ocean anyway. And it's fun to be out 00:28:52.089 --> 00:28:55.430 there where, you know, it's this deep. somewhere 00:28:55.430 --> 00:28:57.670 and you're just standing there doing the best 00:28:57.670 --> 00:29:00.250 you can to stand and the waves just come and 00:29:00.250 --> 00:29:02.630 they pick you up and they set you down. They 00:29:02.630 --> 00:29:04.609 pick you up and set you down. That's fun, isn't 00:29:04.609 --> 00:29:07.910 it? But he's not talking here about recreational 00:29:07.910 --> 00:29:12.950 waves, okay? He's talking about waves of trial. 00:29:14.410 --> 00:29:19.430 Waves of heartache. Waterfalls of difficulty. 00:29:19.910 --> 00:29:23.369 And he says all of them originate from God's 00:29:23.369 --> 00:29:29.650 hand to me. God is demonstrating to this psalmist 00:29:29.650 --> 00:29:32.170 his involvement in his life, and he's seeing 00:29:32.170 --> 00:29:34.930 that. His feelings haven't caught up with it, 00:29:35.009 --> 00:29:39.230 but he's beginning to see it. And so the first 00:29:39.230 --> 00:29:42.049 thing he does is to inquire as to the reasons 00:29:42.049 --> 00:29:44.970 for his depression. He says, why am I experiencing 00:29:44.970 --> 00:29:49.369 this? Then he initiates a response from his heart. 00:29:51.589 --> 00:29:56.359 And that response is hope in God. And the final 00:29:56.359 --> 00:29:59.339 thing that he does is to start his recovery. 00:30:00.640 --> 00:30:08.319 He says, I shall again praise him. You notice 00:30:08.319 --> 00:30:13.180 the determination of his heart, the set of his 00:30:13.180 --> 00:30:18.519 will? He says, I shall again praise him for the 00:30:18.519 --> 00:30:22.980 help of his presence. The reason he's able to 00:30:22.859 --> 00:30:25.119 Well, let me say first of all that we begin to 00:30:25.119 --> 00:30:29.920 recover from depression when we learn to praise 00:30:29.920 --> 00:30:32.799 the Lord, just as we heard sung earlier tonight. 00:30:34.440 --> 00:30:37.099 Songs begin to bring us out of depression. One 00:30:37.099 --> 00:30:39.119 of the greatest things that you and I can do 00:30:39.119 --> 00:30:43.019 when we're feeling low is to go to the tape player, 00:30:43.079 --> 00:30:45.799 to the CD player, and put on some good music. 00:30:47.480 --> 00:30:50.200 For me, that's the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, 00:30:51.460 --> 00:30:55.700 for one mood. or it's Bill Gaither and his friends, 00:30:56.420 --> 00:31:00.880 if I'm in another mood. There's all kinds of 00:31:00.880 --> 00:31:03.380 music and then there's the kind of music that 00:31:03.380 --> 00:31:05.940 originates within our own souls and we sing to 00:31:05.940 --> 00:31:08.559 God and when we can begin praising the Lord, 00:31:09.700 --> 00:31:13.940 we begin our recovery. And what he tells himself 00:31:13.940 --> 00:31:17.359 here is that his circumstances will pass. They're 00:31:17.359 --> 00:31:20.200 not permanent. He says, I shall again praise 00:31:20.200 --> 00:31:23.539 the Lord. He recognizes though he's in the depths 00:31:23.539 --> 00:31:27.079 of the pit right now that he's going to be lifted 00:31:27.079 --> 00:31:29.079 out of the pit. He's going to be happy again. 00:31:29.099 --> 00:31:35.680 He's going to praise the Lord again. And he's 00:31:35.680 --> 00:31:38.160 going to praise the Lord because the Lord is 00:31:38.160 --> 00:31:41.500 his Savior. This is interesting. I discovered 00:31:41.500 --> 00:31:44.900 this this week. He says, I will praise him for 00:31:44.900 --> 00:31:53.619 the help of his presence. The word Praise, here, 00:31:53.799 --> 00:32:01.099 is the word yada in the Hebrew. That's y -a -d 00:32:01.099 --> 00:32:05.460 -a -h. And it means to use the hand to throw 00:32:05.460 --> 00:32:10.299 something. But then it came to me to lift the 00:32:10.299 --> 00:32:15.500 hand to confess sin to God, or to lift your hand 00:32:15.500 --> 00:32:19.900 in praise to the Lord, like some of us are doing. 00:32:20.839 --> 00:32:24.559 This name Yadah is where we get the name Judah, 00:32:26.460 --> 00:32:28.900 the tribe from which our Lord descended. It is 00:32:28.900 --> 00:32:32.480 the tribe of praise. He says, I will praise him 00:32:32.480 --> 00:32:37.279 for the help of his presence. And this word help 00:32:37.279 --> 00:32:41.440 literally means victory or deliverance. And it 00:32:41.440 --> 00:32:45.359 is the Hebrew word Yeshua. Does anybody recognize 00:32:45.359 --> 00:32:48.819 that? If you've been around any messianic Christians, 00:32:48.920 --> 00:32:54.599 you immediately recognize the name Jesus. Yeshua 00:32:54.599 --> 00:32:58.819 or Joshua or Yahashua is the name Deliverer or 00:32:58.819 --> 00:33:04.279 Savior. And so we have here the tribal name for 00:33:04.279 --> 00:33:10.319 Jesus' earthly ancestry, Judah, praise, and we 00:33:10.319 --> 00:33:17.299 have His name, the name Yeshua, Jesus, the Savior. 00:33:17.740 --> 00:33:20.440 And so what he does is he says, I'm going to 00:33:20.440 --> 00:33:23.940 start my recovery by recognizing that my circumstances 00:33:23.940 --> 00:33:27.700 are temporary and I am going to choose by an 00:33:27.700 --> 00:33:33.500 act of my will to begin praising the Savior because 00:33:33.500 --> 00:33:38.099 He is going to deliver me. My victory, my help 00:33:38.099 --> 00:33:43.299 will come from His presence in my life. And so 00:33:43.299 --> 00:33:46.339 I believe in this psalm or these two psalms combined 00:33:46.339 --> 00:33:49.720 we have Something of an answer for depression. 00:33:50.460 --> 00:33:52.259 It's something for you to tuck away in your own 00:33:52.259 --> 00:33:55.019 heart. Maybe to share with someone who's going 00:33:55.019 --> 00:33:58.799 through the valley right now. I'd like for us 00:33:58.799 --> 00:34:02.259 to sing together in closing a hymn that comes 00:34:02.259 --> 00:34:04.480 out of a verse that I read earlier from another 00:34:04.480 --> 00:34:14.030 psalm. It's hymn 356. And it says, under his 00:34:14.030 --> 00:34:17.710 wings I am safely abiding. It's a wonderful hymn 00:34:17.710 --> 00:34:21.230 of assurance and trust in God's presence and 00:34:21.230 --> 00:34:24.150 care in our lives. I invite you to sing along 00:34:24.150 --> 00:34:27.489 as we turn to 356. Do you want to lead us? Do 00:34:27.489 --> 00:34:31.150 you know this song? You'll learn it? No, I'll 00:34:31.150 --> 00:34:32.849 just lead. I know it. That's fine. Let's stand 00:34:32.849 --> 00:34:38.070 together as we sing. 356. How many of the rest 00:34:38.070 --> 00:34:42.619 of you know it already? Ah, we've got some teaching 00:34:42.619 --> 00:34:47.360 to do, that's great. Let's sing it. Under his 00:34:47.360 --> 00:34:55.420 wings I am safely abiding Though the night deepens 00:34:55.420 --> 00:35:02.059 and tempests are wild Still I can trust him, 00:35:02.260 --> 00:35:10.219 I know he will keep me He is my lame, he and 00:35:10.219 --> 00:35:21.139 I am his child. Under his wings, under his wings, 00:35:21.699 --> 00:35:30.880 Who from his love can sever? Under his wings 00:35:30.880 --> 00:35:44.159 my soul shall abide, Listen again to these words, 00:35:44.559 --> 00:35:47.820 For thou hast been my help, and in the shadow 00:35:47.820 --> 00:35:52.179 of thy wings I sing for joy. My soul clings to 00:35:52.179 --> 00:36:00.420 thee, thy right hand upholds me. Under his wings, 00:36:00.940 --> 00:36:07.280 O what precious enjoyment, There will I hide 00:36:07.280 --> 00:36:14.940 till life's trials are o 'er. Heltered, protected, 00:36:15.559 --> 00:36:27.449 no evil can harm me. Thus I'm safe evermore. 00:36:28.110 --> 00:36:37.389 Under his wings, under his wings, Who from his 00:36:37.389 --> 00:36:47.510 love can sever? Under his wings my soul shall 00:36:47.510 --> 00:36:59.079 abide, safely abide forever. Of course that language 00:36:59.079 --> 00:37:01.679 reminds us of the cherubim on the Ark of the 00:37:01.679 --> 00:37:05.440 Covenant with their wings stretched out over 00:37:05.440 --> 00:37:09.539 the mercy seat of God. And what he's saying is 00:37:09.539 --> 00:37:12.920 that they're underneath those wings at the mercy 00:37:12.920 --> 00:37:16.360 seat of God, where God dwells, where God hears 00:37:16.360 --> 00:37:19.539 me, where God is satisfied. where God receives 00:37:19.539 --> 00:37:24.519 me under his wings, I may safely abide. Let's 00:37:24.519 --> 00:37:30.260 pray. Lord Jesus, thank you that whatever the 00:37:30.260 --> 00:37:34.460 emotional condition we may be in might be, that 00:37:34.460 --> 00:37:38.599 you're there with us. And though others may say 00:37:38.599 --> 00:37:42.659 even to us, where is your God? And we may ask 00:37:42.659 --> 00:37:45.980 ourselves the same question within, why have 00:37:45.980 --> 00:37:50.059 you forsaken me? that it doesn't change the fact, 00:37:50.320 --> 00:37:55.500 the truth, that you are the help, the savior 00:37:55.500 --> 00:38:02.099 of our souls by your presence with us. Thank 00:38:02.099 --> 00:38:04.940 you for the invitation to rest under the shadow 00:38:04.940 --> 00:38:10.920 of your wings and to know there the calm protection 00:38:10.920 --> 00:38:16.340 from life's storms. Help us this week, I pray, 00:38:16.360 --> 00:38:19.190 to walk under the shadow of those wings and with 00:38:19.190 --> 00:38:22.889 the conscious awareness that you're with us. 00:38:25.590 --> 00:38:32.050 In Jesus' name, amen. Good night. May we be respectful 00:38:32.050 --> 00:38:36.010 of it, realizing that it's your masterpiece. 00:38:37.289 --> 00:38:40.070 And with all of its work yet to be done, you're 00:38:40.070 --> 00:38:43.389 still at work on it. And thank you that you're 00:38:43.389 --> 00:38:47.960 patient in our lives. May we go away from here 00:38:47.960 --> 00:38:51.880 today, determined that by your grace, that wherever 00:38:51.880 --> 00:38:54.420 our priorities, our thinking, our attitudes need 00:38:54.420 --> 00:38:57.860 to be adjusted, we're going to do that because 00:38:57.860 --> 00:39:04.920 of the place that you've given the church. In 00:39:04.920 --> 00:39:11.019 Jesus' name I pray. Amen. And we are dismissed.