The Fight for a Satisfied Soul | Psalms: An Exile's Prayer Book | Psalm 42-43 | Aug 13, 2023
Notes
Transcript
Good morning! If I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting you yet....my name is John and I serve as one of the pastors here at Mission Church. Our mission and vision is to partner with God to see His Kingdom come in Las Vegas as it is in heaven.....And.....we are working to accomplish this goal by pursuing a gospel culture that matches our gospel doctrine.
Now…you might ask...... “What exactly is gospel doctrine?” And that’s a good question! Gospel doctrine is the biblical message of divine grace for the undeserving
God......through the perfect life.... atoning death .....and bodily resurrection of Jesus....he rescues all of His people from the wrath of God into peace with God.....and he promises us that He will the fully restore His good creation.
And the Gospel culture we are working to create here at Mission Church is the shared experience of grace for the undeserving.
In other words....Gospel culture is the corporate incarnation of the biblical message in our relationships…it is the vibe, feel, tone, values, priorities.....and it’s expressed through honesty, freedom, gentleness, humility, and cheerfulness –in other words , Gospel culture is the total human reality of a church defined and sweetened by the gospel.
If you are new around here I am honored that you have joined us. This morning we’re finishing up our Summer rhythm of studying the Psalms. And we are blessed to have Brittany Rosefield’s beautiful painting on Psalm 43 displayed this morning.
If you haven’t already....be sure to take a few minutes today to enjoy all of the paintings that have accompanied each of the Psalms we have studied this summer. I am so grateful for all of the artists who participated…your creativity and your talent has been greatly used for our benefit and edification this summer. Thank you!
Now......the Psalms were a prayer book for the people of Israel during their years in exile… and …as we also live in exile ……awaiting Jesus’s return…the Psalms serve us in the same way……. as a prayer book. The Psalms have been teaching God’s people the language of prayer for 2500 years….teaching us the language of lament and petition…..the language of praise….the language of repentance and confession….Essentially….what we see in this book….are the words we are to pray.
If you would....please open your Bible to Psalm 42-43....it’s here where the Psalmist gives us words to Lament …he gives us words to pray when we find ourselves depressed and despondent…..those moments in life when joy seems to escape us.
Now…if you are able to…I would like to invite you to stand for the reading of God’s Word.
Psalm 42–43 (CSB)
For the choir director. A Maskil of the sons of Korah.
1 As a deer longs for flowing streams,
so I long for you, God.
2 I thirst for God, the living God.
When can I come and appear before God?
3 My tears have been my food day and night,
while all day long people say to me,
“Where is your God?”
4 I remember this as I pour out my heart:
how I walked with many,
leading the festive procession to the house of God,
with joyful and thankful shouts.
5 Why, my soul, are you so dejected?
Why are you in such turmoil?
Put your hope in God, for I will still praise him,
my Savior and my God.
6 I am deeply depressed;
therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan
and the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your breakers and your billows have swept over me.
8 The Lord will send his faithful love by day;
his song will be with me in the night—
a prayer to the God of my life.
9 I will say to God, my rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about in sorrow
because of the enemy’s oppression?”
10 My adversaries taunt me,
as if crushing my bones,
while all day long they say to me,
“Where is your God?”
11 Why, my soul, are you so dejected?
Why are you in such turmoil?
Put your hope in God, for I will still praise him,
my Savior and my God.
1 Vindicate me, God, and champion my cause
against an unfaithful nation;
rescue me from the deceitful and unjust person.
2 For you are the God of my refuge.
Why have you rejected me?
Why must I go about in sorrow
because of the enemy’s oppression?
3 Send your light and your truth; let them lead me.
Let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to your dwelling place.
4 Then I will come to the altar of God,
to God, my greatest joy.
I will praise you with the lyre,
God, my God.
5 Why, my soul, are you so dejected?
Why are you in such turmoil?
Put your hope in God, for I will still praise him,
my Savior and my God.
This is the Word of Lord. Praise be to God.
Pray
Throughout my life I have experienced seasons of hopelessness and desperation. I have suffered severe chronic pain and a frightful depression of mind and soul that has …at times....led me to great depths of despair.
The truth is…many believers are vulnerable to seasons of despair ...hopelessness..and despondency. Countless of Christians have wrestled with depression and …for many…it seems to strike without warning or without cause.
Charles Spurgeon is known as one of the greatest preachers in history...yet.....despite the many blessings and victories Spurgeon experienced in his ministry....he also suffered a ton throughout his life...specifically.... he suffered from “causeless depression.”
In fact......he once said in a sermon,
“My spirits were sunken so low that I could weep by the hour like a child, and yet I knew not what I wept for” (Spurgeon “The Christian’s Heaviness and Rejoicing”).
Causeless depression plagued even the prince of preachers, and he often felt ashamed of it.
For others....the suffering of the soul is caused by an experience of trauma, disappointment, heartbreak, loss, hurt or circumstance…and as a result ......your soul has begun to suffer as you experience waves of apathy, numbness, or social withdrawal....and perhaps......your soul feels brittle…weak....and dry.
Horatio Spafford was wealthy business owner who lost his entire livelihood in the great Chicago fire of 1871. And if that was not enough......he also lost his four year old son who died of scarlet fever later that year. As you can imagine Horatio was crushed........and so…in an attempt to deal with his grief and his depression he poured himself into rebuilding the city.
A few years later......In 1873 ..the Spafford family decided to take a family vacation to Europe. But..... an urgent business matter held up Haratio…so he decided to send his wife and four daughters …Maggie, Tanetta, Annie, and Bessie.
Haratio loaded his family onto the ship and said goodbye…promising them that he would join them soon......but.....on the night of November 22, 1873…as the ship glided over the smooth seas ..the passengers were jolted from the bunks… the ship had collided with another vessel and vanished beneath the waters. Their were 226 fatalities ....which included......... Maggie, Tanetta, Anna, and Bessie.
Later.....Haratio’s wife was found unconscious clinging to a piece of wreckage. When she finally reached the shore....she sent her husband a message that read.... “Saved Alone.”
Haratio immediately boarded the next boat to go be with his wife........and as he sailed across the Atlantic ......on a cold December night....the captain called Haratio aside and said, “I believe we are now passing over the place where the ship went down” ....and it was that moment that Haratio wrote:
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
“It is well, it is well, with my soul.” - Haratio Spafford
In one of the darkest moments of his life ......Haratio wrote the Hymn, “It is Well with my Soul”…and his words have comforted depressed saints for generations. (pause)
Now.....These stories of the life and the writings of Spurgeon and Spafford…show us that even the strongest believers can suffer extreme discouragement and despair.......so…what do we do when we find ourselves in a similar place of spiritual depression…what do we do when we are completely unable to follow Haratio’s example of faith? What do we do when the last thing we feel like doing is praying…or being with God’s people…or reading God’s Word? How can we hope in God when we feel as though He has abandoned us in a spiritual desert?
Well.....Psalms 42-43 teach us how we can find hope and peace in the middle of the storm.....you see....it is because of God's past faithfulness to us....that.....when we are in the midst of life's storms....we can confidently anchor our hope in the Lord.
These two Psalms…are written by a son of Korah.....who....during the reign of King David…was responsible for leading the praise of God’s people in the tabernacle. He was in charge of the music and the singing....what we have here is an ancient worship pastor.
And...... as he pens the words of Psalms 42-43....the psalmist finds himself in dire circumstances......as he’s being oppressed by his enemies ....enemies who hate God and are keeping the psalmist for attending corporate worship in the sanctuary. The psalmist laments and he mourns his circumstances…he cries out to God…with an emotional…gut wrenching question....a question that we can all relate to..... God, where are you? Have you forgotten me?
Now.....there are three natural sections all concluding with the same refrain....and in each of these sections the Psalmist cries out to God, he then remembers God’s faithfulness, and he concludes by preaching to his own soul.....…so.......With this in mind let’s pursue our understanding of Psalms 42-43 by looking at it in these two movements:
The Cry of an Unwell Soul
The Fight for a Satisfied Soul
The Cry of an Unwell Soul
When you are in a dark night of the soul....simple words are not enough to describe the depth and the intensity of the darkness you are experiencing…and from this place of emotional drought and spiritual dryness the Psalmist cries out with vivid imagery.
Psalm 42:1–2 (CSB)
1 As a deer longs for flowing streams,
so I long for you, God.
2 I thirst for God, the living God.
When can I come and appear before God?
Like a dehydrated deer who faints for streams of water after a long drought.....or like a hunted deer who instinctively seeks a river to cool down and escape from his pursuer.....the psalmist says ... that's exactly how my tired and persecuted soul is desperately longing for God.
He’s “thirsting” .....he’s “longing” like a deer that desperately needs water. In other words..... this longing.....it flows from a void. Think about it.......when we’re thirsty......it's because our bodies are dehydrated. In the same way......the longing of the soul flows from a sense that God is distant. This is why the psalmist cries out .... “When can I come and appear before God?”
Understand.......the psalmist has been unable to attend public worship because he has been separated from the assembly of God’s people…and the result is a deep and dark depression.
Look at v6
Psalm 42:6 (CSB)
6 I am deeply depressed;
therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan
and the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
In other words…the psalmist is far from Jerusalem.....in fact he is about 130 miles miles from the holy city and one of the furthest points in the Hermon Mountain Range that you can still catch a glimpse of Jerusalem. Some scholars believe that the psalmist is being led into exile…and he’s taking one last look at the holy city before it fades from sight.
But...... whatever the reason......we do know that he’s experiencing a forced absence from the temple courts.... he has been removed from the congregation…removed from the public worship of God....He has been torn from his place of ministry and service and as a result his soul is dehydrated and depressed.
And friends…it’s in those moments ....when we get our priorities out of wack … when we forsake this time of corporate worship…...its in those seasons of difficulty in which you withdraw and isolate......that most often lead to spiritual dryness.
Now…notice....in the author’s state of despair....…he wasn't looking for comfort....he didn't desire recognition for his faithfulness..........but what he urgently longed for was to connect with God…to be in God’s house with God’s people ....worshipping and praising God.
For him......connecting with God wasn’t some sort of luxury…rather …it was an absolute necessity....it was just as important as water .....Just as a thirsty hiker in the desert despairs when his hydro-flask runs dry....the psalmist felt like he needed to experience God's presence or he would spiritually wither.
You see.....at the very core of his being.....this man had an insatiable craving to be near to God ....and....just like a deer that finally quenches its thirst can find rest ....…being with God provides one with satisfaction, contentment and joy. And..... being apart from God results in emotional turmoil..........his heart races, his chest flutters, his whole being trembles, like someone struggling for a breath after a long run.
Tell me......have you ever experienced this? Do you know what it feels like to have a thirsty soul? It's a mixture of both sweetness and bitterness. You see.....the next best thing to experiencing the Lord's presence is to be unsatisfied until we experience it....in other words .....the turmoil of soul is a grace and a gift from God.
Augustine said it like this,
“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in you.”
― Augustine of Hippo, Confessions
Thirst is a constant craving that can’t be ignored....and in the same way.....the heart's longing for God is constant for the believer. Brothers and sisters.....when desiring God becomes as natural for us as thirst …that’s a sign that our souls are in a good place.....even if our circumstances stink! Even if our emotions are painful! Just as the psalmist does here...we can cry out to God with the desires of our hearts …we can plead to God with intensity and honesty.
Now....it would be enough if all he was facing was a sense of God’s absence…but his grief is increased as people are taunting him..... and mocking him....look at verse 3.
Psalm 42:3 (CSB)
3 My tears have been my food day and night,
while all day long people say to me,
“Where is your God?”
The psalmist is in a hostile environment…people all around him are mocking him and making fun of his faith saying, Where is your God?!?! And naturally the voices of his enemies became an echo of his own fears and doubts.
His desperation was so deep.... his sorrow was so strong .....the persistent mocking of his enemies was so oppressing …that he could not eat and he could not sleep....and as he laid awake ....he mourned what once brought him so much joy. look at verse 4
Psalm 42:4 (CSB)
4 I remember this as I pour out my heart:
how I walked with many,
leading the festive procession to the house of God,
with joyful and thankful shouts.
The psalmist’s remembers .....with a vivid recollection .....a time of vibrant joy… it was a time when he used to gather for corporate worship…he fondly remembers how he participated in the leading of worship…he remembers the time when he was surrounded by God’s people …he remembers the sound of their voices as they proclaimed the goodness of God together ....but....ironically.... these cherished memories are now serving as a wellspring of discouragement.
Now....not everybody has experienced what the Psalmist is lamenting here..... and that’s because many have an unbiblical understanding of the church and corporate worship. Many Christians have been in churches that have failed to teach these important Biblical truths........But .......there are some who know exactly how the psalmist is feeling........as they too have participated in faithful Biblical worship …they have sat under faithful Biblical exposition…they have participated in the life of the church…and when they miss a Sunday…or when they are absent from their small group....... there is a sense of homesickness.
In fact......there are many from Mission who have moved to a new city and they’re struggling to find a church that offers Biblically faithful worship and the faithful exposition of God’s Word....and their desire takes on an almost physical intensity...... just like a deer desperately thirsting for streams of water. The memories of gathering with the church only serves to heighten their longing....and this is exactly what the psalmist is experiencing as he was forced into exile.
His lament continues.....look at v7
Psalm 42:7 (CSB)
7 Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your breakers and your billows have swept over me.
Like a shipwrecked sailor clinging to a piece of driftwood in a raging storm…his soul was being tossed back and forth.....taking in water and sinking fast with no hope of rescue.
And notice that in the midst of the storm.....the Psalmist addresses God......... he says your breakers…your billows....your waterfalls are sweeping over me… in other words....despite his feeling of hopelessness he recognizes that even in the midst of his trials that his circumstances are under the complete control of God and are working for his good.
I am reminded of Romans 8:28
Romans 8:28 (CSB)
28 We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.
Brothers and sisters…if this morning you feel like you’re being tossed by the waves of the storm called life…remember that God is still at work in your life…do not forget that there is absolutely nothing outside of the scope of God’s providential rule. Friend.....God is working for your good....and your good is to be conformed to the image of Jesus.
But…even with this truth…that God is in complete control......deeply rooted in the psalmist’s mind.....things still didn’t feel good....and so he continues the cry of his unwell soul …look at v9-10
Psalm 42:9–10 (CSB)
9 I will say to God, my rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about in sorrow
because of the enemy’s oppression?”
10 My adversaries taunt me,
as if crushing my bones,
while all day long they say to me,
“Where is your God?”
We cry out to God in our pain… “God, why have you forgotten me?!?” .... And…I think its because when life gets difficult .......time seems to slows down and it feels like God’s not listening to our cries for help…it seems like he doesn’t care. If we’re honest.......our prayers seem to be going unheard and unanswered.
Now......the pain of the psalmist’s soul began to affect him physically.... he felt like his bones were being crushed under the weight of his enemies accusations. Could they be right? Has God really forgotten me? Is God really ignoring me? Has he really abandoned me?
And as the psalmist transitions into the final stanza in Psalm 43 the screw get tighter and the agony deeper…look at v1-2
Psalm 43:1–2 (CSB)
1 Vindicate me, God, and champion my cause
against an unfaithful nation;
rescue me from the deceitful and unjust person.
2 For you are the God of my refuge.
Why have you rejected me?
Why must I go about in sorrow
because of the enemy’s oppression?
At first....the psalmist lamented the fact that he was not with the people of God praising God.....but then…he started to feel like God abandoned him.....and now he feels like God has rejected him. In other words… “I came to you as my refuge…my rock.... my hiding place and foundation....but maybe these people are right…maybe you have shut the door ..maybe you have left me at the mercy of my enemies.”
Have you ever felt that way before? Maybe in moments of temptation …when your struggling to fight against the weight of sinful desires… or maybe in moments when you’re being ridiculed for your faith…or maybe you are depressed and you can not... for the life of you..... figure out why…the truth is…sometimes the cause or the symptoms of spiritual depression can be difficult to diagnose...
For some.....we struggle because of our own natural disposition.... in fact.....the Bible is filled with stories of men like David, Elijah, and Jeremiah who seemed to be more naturally disposed to dark feelings. Church history also tells of men like Martin Luther and Charles Spurgeon who felt emotional struggles. The reality is, some people are more naturally disposed to them than others.
But.......no matter the cause or the symptom…our souls are not always well.....and there can be many understandable and legitimate reasons for why. Life is hard....and there is a war that is being waged for our souls....and as a result....it’s easy to relate to the psalmist..and its easy to assume that God has forgotten you.
However…Psalms like these remind us that we are not alone in these seasons of spiritual depression....and they also teach us that we don’t have to passively sit back and accept them .....No! We can aggressively fight for a satisfied soul.
2. The Fight for a Satisfied Soul
The Psalmist’s was suffering a depressed soul…but..he didn’t just sit back and take it on the chin....yes.....the enemy had him on the ropes but he decided to fight back....you see....he refused to stay in the pit and wallow in his own depression....No!...... he did everything he could to claw his way out…. in fact these two Psalms describe how we can fight for a joyful and satisfied soul.
The first way we fight is to .....
a. Remember the Sovereign Love of our Faithful God
Psalm 42:8 (CSB)
8 The Lord will send his faithful love by day;
his song will be with me in the night—
a prayer to the God of my life.
Yes…the psalmist was overwhelmed by his circumstance.....yet…he could still say…without doubt…that God’s love for him is unconditional and loyal. In fact..in verse 8 the psalmist is alluding to the book of Exodus
Consider Exodus 34:6-7
Exodus 34:6–7 (CSB)
6 The Lord passed in front of him and proclaimed:
The Lord—the Lord is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love and truth, 7 maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, rebellion, and sin....
What’s even more remarkable about the Lord’s assurance of His love is that He says these words in Exodus right after his people have committed the grossest idolatry by worshiping and sacrificing to a golden calf.
In other words......the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases......not even when we rebel against Him. For even in our rebellion we can appeal to God’s loyal love.
I am reminded of Lamentations 3:22–23 (CSB)
22 Because of the Lord’s faithful love
we do not perish,
for his mercies never end.
23 They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness!
Brothers and Sisters…if we turn to the Lord…wether it be from a place of brokenness....or rebellion…or depression....we can be sure that God’s faithful love for us endures forever. Consider Lamentations 3:31-32
Lamentations 3:31–32(CSB)
31 For the Lord
will not reject us forever.
32 Even if he causes suffering,
he will show compassion
according to the abundance of his faithful love.
If you were to read Psalm 136 you would see and overwhelming list of how deep and how wide God’s faithful love is for you…and with each proclamation of God’s loving kindness the phrase ends with “God’s love endures forever.”
Think about it....
God made the heavens, the sun, the moon and the stars, because of His love for his people. He delivered His people from slavery in Egypt.... overthrew kings who opposed them, and gave them land to live in—all because of His love for them.
And Jesus.....well....He went to the cross because of His love for you. His loyalty to His people, His kindness and mercy toward them, was so unshakable that He endured the very worst that we could devise for Him.....so that we could be clothed in his perfect righteousness..... and be credited with it.......just as if we have lived out his perfect life ourselves.
In other words....... our hope that God loves us is not founded on our ability to keep His commands but rather it’s founded on God’s ability to keep being God. Tell me…are you confident that God can do that? Are you confident that God will continue to be God?
Brothers and Sisters.....If you have trusted in Christ alone....if you have turned from sin and placed your faith in God...... then you can be sure that the Lord’s goodness and faithful loving kindness will follow you all the days of your life....and you will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
This Psalmist trusted that God would continue being God ......he knew that God would not fail him and so he trusted in God’s deliverance and guidance look at Psalm 43:3-4
Psalm 43:3–4 (CSB)
3 Send your light and your truth; let them lead me.
Let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to your dwelling place.
4 Then I will come to the altar of God,
to God, my greatest joy.
I will praise you with the lyre,
God, my God.
Brothers and sisters.......when we are in a place of despair....it’s common to struggle to understand what is true and what is false…our emotions often blur the line between fact and fiction. And what we need most in those moments is a recalibration.... we need to be reminded of the truth of who God says that He is....we need a reminder of his faithful love for us…we need to be reminded that He is working all things out for our good…and we need to be reminded that HE has not left us and He will never walk out on us.
This recalibration happens when we read God’s Word…… it happens in our discipleship relationships…it happens when our brothers and sisters in Christ remind us of the truth of God Word. You see....sometimes …in moments of distress....we need someone we can trust who can speak into our lives …and help us make our way out of the fog of despair.
Recalibration also happens when we are faithful to attend Church and sit under the proclamation of God’s Word…it happens when we participate in the work of public worship....you see…the times we gather as the church are vital for the health of our soul…and when we sing together we are all ministers of the Gospel as we sing God’s Word over each other....and it’s in those moments of worship that we can find joy and satisfaction for our soul.
Finally....the second punch…the knockout punch to your despondent heart comes when you....
B. Preach to the gospel to yourself
Three times the psalmist preaches to himself. In verses 5 and 11 of Psalm 42 and also in Psalm 43:5…he says
Psalm 43:5 (CSB)
5 Why, my soul, are you so dejected?
Why are you in such turmoil?
Put your hope in God, for I will still praise him,
my Savior and my God.
The opposite of hope in God is desperation in self....and so…when self desperation sets in....we are to fight it with hope…and this is exactly what the Psalmist is doing... he's grabbing himself by the scruff of the neck and saying.... “what’s wrong with you?!?” and then he commands himself to do what he knows is right.... He says, “Self…Hope in God!” …in other words..... put your confidence in God....trust Him…believe Him…Hope in the Lord!
And this hope that we are called too …it’s not a mindless meditation…it’s not a posture of passivity…or wishful thinking.....rather it’s is an expectant…straining anticipation of God’s deliverance…it’s a spiritually aggressive confidence that God will act…that God will show himself faithful!
In fact…the psalmist ....he’s still in the storm…he’s still struggling …he’s still depressed....yet... he still chooses to praise God.... you see....faith makes it possible to worship God…even when you do not feel like it....faith makes it possible for you to say “thank you” before you ever receive an answer.
Friend…I don’t know what you are going through today....but God is a God in whom you can trust…he is a God who has a plan and a purpose for your life....and though you may not be able to trace His hand you can trust His heart ....you can wait eagerly and expectantly for Him to work in and through your life.
I love what Martyn Loyd Jones says about spiritual depression. He says,
I suggest that the main trouble in this whole matter of spiritual depression in a sense is this—that we allow our self to talk to us instead of talking to our self. You have to take yourself by the hand, you have to address yourself, preach to yourself, question yourself. This self of ours, this other man within us, has got to be handled. Do not listen to him; turn to him; speak to him; condemn him; upbraid him; exhort him; encourage him; remind him of what you know, instead of listening placidly to him and allowing him to drag you down and depress you. (Martyn Loyd Jones - Spiritual Depression, 21)
Mission Church....it’s imperative that you preach to yourself the truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. . Every moment ........ remind yourself of the death…the burial... and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
We must teach ourselves to say with Horatio Spafford
My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought:
My sin—not in part but the whole
Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
- Horatio Spafford “It is Well with my Soul”
Brothers and Sisters.....Ephesians 1 tells those who are in Christ that you are blessed....loved…chosen..adopted…redeemed..and heirs of all all the promises of God. Romans 8 teaches us that there is no condemnation for us who are in Christ Jesus…and that there is nothing....not death …not life… there is no storm …or disaster…there is no power …no government or ruler…there is absolutely nothing that can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord!!!
Write these verses down....memorize them.....put them on your mirror…hang them on your wall....tattoo them on yourself if you have too....for they are points in your personal sermon that will provide you with the truth and the light necessary to anchor your soul upon the rock …no matter what storm of life you are experiencing!
Lets pray