Here, John Piper preaches on the emotional exhaustion and spiritual depression of the Psalmist in chapter forty-two. Out of this, he gleans the reactions to such state of being and the focus of the Psalmist in distress. (Note: You really must listen to the sermon. Piper’s sermons are very difficult to put into words.) Overview of Psalm 42: The State of the Psalmist and His Thoughts
1) Externally his circumstances are oppressing and he is taunted (vs. 3)
2) His internal emotions are oppressed and in turmoil (vs. 3 and 5)
3) He is fighting hard for hope—“I will again praise Him” (vs. 11)
The Psalmist does not have a definitively happy ending. But he ends with a vision—holding onto God as his refuge and deliverance.
Six Ways the Psalmist Responds to His Depression:
1) He responds by asking: “why?” (vs. 9)
. The Psalmist questions why God will allow his enemies to overcome him. Piper notes that the Psalmist knows that he is not abandoned by God but feels the temporary struggle as overwhelming where it seems as though he is detached from God. The language the Psalmist is a true lover of God but his emotions run so wild that he cries out for God’s aid though he knows He is right beside him. Therefore, he asks: “why?”
2) Though discouraged, he affirms God’s sovereign love for him (vs. 7-9)
. All of God’s “breakers” have gone over him (vs. 7)—this denotes the Psalmists recognition of God’s sovereignty and nearness during this time of struggle.
3) He sings in the night for the aid of the Lord (vs. 8), a cry of depression though his state of weariness tugs at him to sympathize with himself.
4) He preaches to his own soul; “why are you downcast oh my soul, hope in God” (vs. 5).
Do we talk to ourselves instead listen to ourselves? The Psalmist speaks to himself so that he would realize his hope in God. “If God is with you, who can be against you?”
5) The Psalmist remembers—“These things I remembers as I lift up my soul” as he lists countless joys God has blessed him with in the past (vs. 4)
. Worship is a fundamental point of praise to God. The Psalmist remembers these moments (vs. 4) in which God was faithful—seasons of God’s blessings and moments that create present hope his state of depression and agony.
6) The Psalmist seeks God and pants for God as the deer after waters (vs. 1 and 2).
The Psalmist is not pleading for relief from his current circumstances. Rather, he praises God and prays for nearness to his Father. He wants to feel close to God and feel near to his creator. He only wants God in this present time.
Questions: How do we respond to the “waves” that overwhelm us? Are we in anyway understanding God’s goodness during these times of struggle?
Sources Information:
From: Desiring God Resources Library
When: June 1, 2008
Title: Spiritual Depression in the Psalms
Speaker: John Piper
Watch: Source – Desiring God
Download: Source – Desiring God
Read Manuscript: Source – Desiring God
June 6, 2008 at 1:03 pm |
I’ve heard the phrase “don’t listen to yourself, talk to yourself” several times in the past year. I think it’s a great reminder that we don’t speak truth into our lives, God does. When we talk to ourselves, we should talk using the Word of God. We shouldn’t fall under the sway of our every whim and emotion and idea, but test everything in according with Scripture. And preaching the Word to ourselves is always a great thing to do. I know I personally recite aloud to myself the Scripture that I am trying to memorize that day and sometimes get carried away and start shouting (my apologies to any future roommates) and pretend I’m a Southern preacher or maybe a Spurgeon. But I think that’s one of the reasons why we should memorize Scripture, so that we can recite it to ourselves and also so that the Spirit can use this arsenal.
I remember I was reading “The Spiritual Disciplines of the Christian Life” by Donald S. Whitney and in it he was talking about memorizing Scripture. And he phrased this idea very well, that the Spirit is no longer revealing new revelation (there is no more Scripture being written), so that means that the Spirit, when speaking to us, recites to us Scripture from our memory arsenal. But if we don’t have a very large arsenal, then the Spirit can’t really help us recall very much.
Anyway, just a few thoughts. Definitely a challenging thing to do, and I’m sure it pertains also to mortifying sin, in not listening to temptation but preaching the Word to ourselves instead of listening to the flesh. Thanks for posting this!
P.S. Ignore the mp3 audio streamer at the beginning the summary, I embedded it, but it seems that the format of the mp3 is not compatible with WordPress’ audio player. So you can listen to it if you want to hear John Piper in chipmunk voice…I found it really funny. The Joshua Harris one, “Is He Enough?” works though.