Today, I am reading and commenting on Psalms 38-44.
In today’s psalms the psalmist speaks of enduring suffering, sometimes as a result of his sin, sometimes as a result of unjust persecution, but in all cases suffering which no one can or will provide relief. Yet despite the hopelessness of his situation, he puts his trust in God. Even if everyone has turned against him, he will trust God to deliver him. As he cries out to the Lord, he confesses his sin and begs God for forgiveness. Even in the midst of his suffering, the psalmist praises God and rejoices over His faithfulness. He acknowledges that he has allowed his troubles to distract him from seeking God, and vows to seek God once more.
Today, I am reading and commenting on Psalms 38-44.
As I read these Psalms today I thought I saw a flow of ideas. Let’s see how that works out. I am going to write this the way I see it applying to me. I start with seeing how the psalmist acknowledged that God had reason to be angry with him and begged God not to discipline him in that anger. He goes on the beg God not to leave him, not to go away from him. I recognize this in my own life. God has ample reason to be angry with me, to abandon me to my fate. The psalmist goes on to write of how he tried to keep silent, to avoid saying the wrong thing at the wrong time by saying nothing at all. Perhaps I am misreading it, but it seems like the psalmist said something which caused hurt in another and regretted it. In any case, I know that I have said things which upset people, things I wish I had not said. Every time after doing so, I promise to keep my big mouth shut. But just as the psalmist wrote, I soon find the words welling up within me. Soon I cannot help myself and I must speak out against the foolishness I hear others saying. I feel the spirit, and some of the time, the Spirit, compelling me to speak. For a time, I seek to only speak the words which the Spirit gives me, but eventually I lose my humility and begin to say that which comes from me, not from God and I find myself back where I started. So, I will strive to wait patiently for the Lord, and only speak the words He desires me to speak. When I fail once more, and I know that I will fail once more, I will still put my hope in Him and praise the Lord with all that I am.
Today, I am reading and commenting on Psalms 38-44.
Today’s psalms all focus on turning to God in times of trouble, suffering, and depression. The psalmist reiterates time and again that he will, and we should, call out to God when he is suffering, or otherwise feeling depressed. He will put his faith in God and wait for God to rescue him. And what does turning to God mean? The psalmist tells us that God does not desire offerings and sacrifices. Rather He seeks those who are willing to say, “Here I am. I desire to do Your will.”
Today, I am reading and commenting on Psalms 38-44.
Today’s psalms have a common theme. In each the psalmist is suffering from depression to one degree or another. To some degree his depression in each is a product of some other suffering. In some of these psalms he responds to his suffering by confessing and repenting of his sins. In all of them his response to his suffering is to cry out to God and to praise God. From this we learn that the first step to overcoming depression is to praise God. I am always hesitant to speak on this because I have never suffered from clinical depression, but I will still offer these psalms as a remedy to those so suffering. It may not be a complete remedy, but it contains a guide which will set one on the path to recovery. The psalmist advises us to cry out to God in our suffering and to patiently wait for Him to act. As the psalmist said previously, repent of your sins, if you can not think of any sins which you have committed, ask God to show you what you need to change. The psalmist makes it clear in today’s passage that suffering does not necessarily mean that we have sinned, but we should still examine our lives for sin. Once we have examined our lives for sin, we should review the times when He has acted to redeem us from hardship. Throughout all of this honor God and sing praises to Him. Finally, continue to cry out to God, trusting that He will hear and answer your cries for relief. Do not let the Accuser convince you that God will not, cannot, hear your cry.
Today’s first psalm, Psalm 38 is a counterpoint to the Book of Job. Although it has much more to teach than just this, the primary point of Job is that not everyone who suffers does so because they had sinned. Psalm 38 reminds us that when we suffer we should examine our life for sin which may have brought our suffering upon us. The psalmist acknowledges his sin and begs God for forgiveness. He makes no effort to defend himself against those who wish to use his sin and his suffering against him. He relies upon God. In this case, the psalmist’s opponents are attacking him for his sin for their own advantage, not in order to correct his behavior. The psalmist chooses not to defend his actions from these attacks because he knows that he did wrong. Nor does he try to convince these enemies of his contrition because he knows that they do not care if he sins or not, they merely wish to use his sin against him. Instead, he humbly offers his confession to God and waits for God to act.
As I read Psalm 39 and 40 they seem to go together for me. I don’t know if the message I see there is the one which the psalmist intended, but they speak to me. Psalm 39 starts out with the psalmist vowing to avoid sin by keeping quiet. This resonates with me. I like to talk, I like to debate, but all too often I get caught up in the debate and say things I should not. So, from time to time, after I have caught myself saying things which should not be said by anyone who believes in God, I vow to keep my silence the next time. However, I find myself like the psalmist, in turmoil about the things I hear, on fire to use my gift of gab to give the Lord’s answer until I can keep silent no longer. There, near the beginning of Psalm 39, is a hint at the answer to my dilemma. Speak of the good things, and only of the good things. Then Psalm 40 fleshes out that answer. Wait patiently upon the Lord; take joy in doing His will. Then He will give us a new song to sing, new words to speak. A song or words, or both, which will allow others to see what He has done and come to trust Him. Psalm 40, as I read it, gives us the answer: do not be afraid to speak out about God’s justice, but do not go “off message”, do not allow what I say to be about me. I am but a poor beggar with little to offer. But I will praise God and do my best to show how He has the answer for those suffering and in need.
I know that to a degree I am reading from current events back into these psalms, but I am going to go where this lead anyway. The psalmist knows why he is depressed, why he feels discouraged. He remembers being among a crowd of worshipers praising God while they gathered to worship God. He knows that he does not need to be discouraged. All he needs to do is put his trust in God and worship Him again. If he follows the guidance of God’s truth it will guide him to where he can worship God with others who love Him. Then his joy will be renewed. Worshiping and praising God with others who worship and praise God provides an antidote to discouragement and depression. That antidote may take time, so we need to wait upon the Lord. We will not overcome discouragement, depression, or whatever other obstacles we face by any human power, only by the power of God. If you are suffering cry out to God and trust that He will answer. If you feel that He does not hear you, if you need encouragement to put your faith in Him, reach out to me and I will strive to do what God enables me to do. At the very least I will pray for you, but I will also seek God’s guidance to direct you to the appropriate counsel.
Today, I am reading and commenting on Psalms 38-44.
The first of today’s psalms, Psalm 38, is a counterpoint to the Book of Job; sometimes we suffer because of our sins. Of course, today’s set of psalms ends with one which supports the point of the Book of Job, that sometimes our suffering is from no fault of our own. In either case, the psalmist tells us confess our sins, for all of us have sinned whether that causes us suffering or not, and wait patiently for God. If we put our confidence in Him, He will give us joy. God does not desire offerings; He wants us to do His will. And in Psalm 41, he tells us what is God’s will: that we be kind to the poor. In Matthew 25 Jesus tells the story of the sheep and the goats which gives us a little more detail about God’s will for us.
I am not going to write about all of the things which these psalms cover, but I really want to talk about Psalm 43. The psalmist is feeling sad and unhappy, put upon. He remembers being happy, but feels like that has all gone away. I think that we have all felt that way at some point in our lives. He identifies what was different about the good times from “now”. During the good times he walked among a crowd of people praising and worshiping God. Now God feels distant. Then comes the insight. It was not God who changed, it was himself. He will once again put his trust in God, worshiping and praising Him. The psalmist is expressing the same thought as in Psalm 34 where he said, “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” Sometimes we need to move forward in faith in order to experience the joy that comes from obeying God. Singing joyful songs praising God will often bring us joy, even if we were sad when we began to sing.
Today, I am reading and commenting on Psalms 38-44.
I was talking about how the psalmist (actually, psalmists, there was more than one) advises us to deal with depression this morning with a friend at breakfast (remember, I write these the day before you read them, sometimes longer in advance). I am cautious about saying this because I have never had depression, but I believe that reading the Book of Psalms can give you sound advice on how to deal with and overcome depression. It is clear to me that those who wrote the Psalms suffered from depression at points in their lives. I believe that the psalmists gave sound advice on dealing with depression. I do my best to condense that advice in my devotions on those psalms, but don’t take my word about it, read what the psalmist had to say.
Our first psalm today is primarily an expression of the despair which the psalmist is feeling. To a degree that is part of the psalmist’s method of dealing with despair: he expresses what is making him feel despair. But it is more than just expressing his reasons for despair, it is also a prayer. If you are feeling despair, cry out to God and tell Him why you are feeling desperate and depressed. There is one thing more the psalmist offers in this psalm: do not listen to those who threaten and condemn you. Wait for God to speak to you and listen to Him. Again and again throughout these psalms (and throughout the entire Book of Psalms) the psalmists remind us to wait for God.
Another thread in the psalmist’s advice is to watch what you say. It is better to be silent than to say something which will hurt someone else needlessly. Yet, if we are doing God’s will and listening to Him, His Spirit will cause words to burst out from us that need to be said. If you are suffering from depression read Psalm 40, see how the psalmist waited for God, then he spoke out and told everyone who would listen how God had saved Him. He did not break out of his despair by force of will. He did so by turning it over to God, by calling on God to save him and trusting that He would. Then he told people about what God had done before he even saw his deliverance completed. While his trouble still surrounded him, the psalmist told anyone who would listen about the great things which God had already done. In Psalms 42 and 43 the psalmist repeats a verse which really strikes me:
Why am I discouraged?
Why is my heart so sad?
I will put my hope in God!
I will praise him again—
my Savior and my God!
If you are feeling discouraged or depressed (and even if you are not), put your hope in God and praise Him. He will come to you and lift you out of your despair. This is not an easy fix. You may need to cry out to God day after day and wait for Him to come to you. I have never suffered from depression, so I want to make clear that I am not sure how this works, but I place full faith and trust in God. I believe that if you do the same He will rescue you from whatever is overwhelming you. Don’t rely on what I say, read the Psalms as you cry out to God and He will show you the path.
I will start my thoughts today with Psalm 39. In an effort to avoid sinning with what he said, the psalmist determined not to say anything around the ungodly. But he quickly discovered that was not the answer either, because, while by keeping silent he avoided sinning, ha also was unable to talk about the good things which God was doing. So, while we must watch what we do and not sin with what we say, keeping silent is not the answer. If we keep silent we cannot praise God.
God takes no joy in our rote obedience to His laws. Rather His laws are designed as guidelines to show us how to love God and love our neighbor. He wants us to embrace His justice and be kind to the poor. As Jesus told us, the greatest commandment is that we are to love God with all of our heart, all of our soul, and all of our mind. If we do that we will tell others about how great God is and about His wonderful faithfulness. However, we will not limit ourselves to words, we will use our actions to show people God’s love and justice.
