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welcome to everyone you can turn in your Bibles to Psalm 84 for our call to worship this evening Psalm 84 Psalm 84 beginning in verse 1 to the chief musician on an instrument of Gath a psalm of the sons of Korah how lovely is your tabernacle o Lord of Hosts my soul longs yes even faints for the courts of the Lord my heart and my flesh cry out for the Living God even the sparrow has found a home and the swallow a nest for herself where she may lay her young even your altars a lord of hosts my king and my god blessed are those who dwell in your house they will still be praising you say law blessed is the man whose strength is in you whose heart is set on pilgrimage as they pass through the valley of baka they make it a spring the rain also covers it with pools they go from strength to strength each one appears before God in Zion o Lord God of hosts hear my prayer give ear o God of Jacob say la God behold our shield and look upon the face of your anointed for a day in your courts is better than a thousand I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my god than dwell in the tents of wickedness for the Lord God is a Sun and shield the Lord will give Grace and glory no good thing will he withhold from those who walk uprightly o Lord of Hosts blessed is the man who trusts in you amen well please turn in your Trinity hymnal to him number 79 hymn number 79 will stand as we sing together [Music] [Music] well let us pray a blessed God and holy father it's a joy for us to gather in your house again on the Sabbath day we praise you we glorify you we worship you we acknowledge that you are from everlasting to everlasting that you are the God who made the world the God who governs the world and the God who has redeemed his elect out of the world we praise you Father Son and Holy Spirit for your graciousness for your goodness for your kindness and your mercy toward us we know we're not here worshiping because of our innate goodness we're not here because we changed our minds and our hearts but we owe it all to Sovereign Grace and we give you praise and glory for that wonderful gospel of our salvation how we thank you for the life and the death and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ how we thank you for his current session at your right hand that he always lives to make intercession for his people and that he is our advocate with the father we would pray tonight she would fill us with her holy spirit and cause us to approach you with reverence and with great joy and may it be the case that God would be all in all in this place we ask that you would forgive us for our sins and our transgressions when we see what scripture says concerning our God and the fact that you are a holy God a righteous God we read the revelation of your law on Sinai and in the plains of Moab and everywhere else in Scripture upheld we see our own sinfulness Lord God and we confess that transgression and iniquity and we would cry out to you for cleansing in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ thanking you that if we confess our sins you are faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness god this does speak comfort to our hearts and we thank you and we praise you for this provision in the gospel we pray for those who are not saved those who have not believed the gospel we pray that through the Word of God tonight and the power of the Holy Spirit they would be convicted and they would be able to see the glory of Jesus as the one in whom alone there is salvation be merciful to save in this place we pray for other churches here in our community and throughout this nation we pray that your word would run swiftly and be glorified we ask tonight our Father that you would be pleased to bless our brother darkness he has this procedure soon we pray God that all would go well for him and that you would just undertake on his behalf be with our dear sister Linda she starts a difficult week we know God that you are sovereign over tomorrow that you have all things under your control and we pray that she would be able by grace to be still and know that you are God it was John Proctor our dear brother and our friend we pray that she would just give him full recovery from his injury and just cause him Lord to be able to gather with the people of God to praise your holy name we also thank you Lord for the work of Christ not only in our midst we thank you for the Saints and in Surrey we pray for that church Lord God that they would know your goodness and your kindness to them that they would know the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit tonight as they meet we pray that you bless Pastor Mike and help him to handle accurately your word of truth and be with our dear brothers and sisters in Vernon as well we know Lord God that that is a group that desires to have a confessional church and their desires are good and we pray that you would bless them with an under Shepherd we know the harvest is plentiful but laborers are few so we pray to the Lord of the harvest that you would raise men up that you would send one specifically to that part of your vineyard to preach and to teach and to Shepherd the flock there and may there be a local church established in that community where sinners could hear of a gracious salvation in and through the Lord Jesus Christ and God we pray for the persecuted church we thank you for the release of this pastor Bronson we give praise to You Lord God that he's no longer in that prison cell that he's home again we just rejoice in your loving-kindness and in your goodness we pray for the multitude of others like him that you would be merciful on behalf of those in Chains those who have suffered greatly for the cause of Jesus Christ we pray for Asia Bibby that she would favor and the eyes of the court we know God that the the hearts of Kings are in the hand of God we trust that you were able to turn them the way that you turn the waters then we pray that you would be merciful in her case we pray for all those suffering under oppressive regimes that they would be encouraged by the strength of the path and the power of the Holy Spirit to persevere and to never shrink back from declaring the truth as it is in Jesus Christ we thank you Father we count ourselves privileged and blessed to be numbered among such Saints and we pray that all of your people would stand fast and all of your people would hold fast to the truth as it is in Christ and grant us help in our situation to shine as lights in this crooked and perverse generation and give us boldness and courage to hold forth the word of truth in this place continue with us now we pray and we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord amen well you may turn with me in your Trinity hymnals again to number 21 hymn number 21 will stand as we sing together [Music] we can turn with me in your Bibles to the Prophet Habakkuk where in Habakkuk chapter 3 excuse me the back ik 3 beginning in verse 1 a prayer of Habakkuk the Prophet on Shiggy and off oh lord I have heard your speech and was afraid o Lord revive your work in the midst of the years in the midst of the years make it known in Wrath remember mercy God came from teman the Holy One from mount Paran say law his glory covered the heavens and the earth was full of his praise his brightness was like the light he had raised flashing from his hand and there his power was hidden before him went pestilence and fever followed at his feet he stood and measured the earth he looked and startled the nation's and the everlasting mountains were scattered the perpetual Hills bowed his ways are everlasting I saw the tents of Kushan in affliction the curtains of the land of Midian tremble Oh Lord you were displeased with the rivers was your anger against the rivers was your wrath against the sea that you rode on your horses your chariots of salvation your bow was made quite ready both were sworn over your arrows Sayla you divided the earth with rivers the mountain saw you and trembled the overflowing of the water passed by the deep uttered its voice and lifted its hands on high the Sun and Moon stood still in their habitation at the light of your arrows they went at the shining of your glittering spear you marched through the land and indignation you trampled the nation's in anger you went forth for the salvation of your people for salvation with your anointed you struct ahead from the house of the wicked by laying bare from foundation to neck Sayla you thrust through with his own arrows head of his villages they came out like a whirlwind to scatter me the rejoicing was like feasting on the poor in secret he walked through the sea with your horses through the heap of great waters when I heard my body trembled my lips quivered at the voice rottenness entered my bones and I trembled in myself that I might rest in the day of trouble when he comes up to the people he will invade them with his troops though the fig tree may not blossom nor fruit be on the vines though the labor of the olive may fail and the fields yield no food though the flock may be cut off from the fold and there be no herd and the stalls yet I will rejoice in the Lord I will joy in the God of my salvation the Lord God is my strength he will make my feet like deers feet and he will make me walk on my high hills to the chief musician with my stringed instruments amen let us pray father we thank you for this prayer of the Prophet we thank you for the great faith expressed we thank you that though the world may crumble around us we have God to rejoice in and in this father let us follow this man let us follow this prophet in his example for we know we face various trials and afflictions and hardships in this world and God we know that Christ has overcome the world so may we in the midst of such things find great encouragement in the gospel of our salvation great encouragement in the being of God Almighty great encouragement in the scriptures of both the old of the New Testaments may you fortify me strengthen and may you help us to persevere Lord God and we ask in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord amen well you can turn with me again in your Trinity hymnal to him number 80 hymn number 80 will use the traditional tune and will stand as we sing together [Music] well please turn in your Bibles to proverbs chapter 25 proverbs chapter 25 I'll read verse 20 and then we'll pray like one who takes away a garment in cold weather and like vinegar on soda is one who sings songs to a heavy heart well let us pray father in heaven we thank you for the word of God we thank you that it's given by inspiration of God that it's profitable for us for doctrine for reproof for correction and for instruction in righteousness we acknowledge the absolute sufficiency of Holy Writ we acknowledge its infallibility and inerrancy we acknowledge our dependence our need for the Holy Spirit as we come to this this holy book and we would pray tonight that you would guide our thoughts as we consider solemn in school help us father to receive great encouragement from the Word of God and great help again forgive us for our sins and our transgressions cleanse us in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and we pray in his most blessed name amen well wanted to consider the darkness or rather the theme of the darkness of depression from the book of Proverbs I think that many of the Proverbs speak to that issue of depression one of the taxes here in 2520 and essentially it does the two things that I aim to do tonight it basically highlights that depression is a real thing and it basically highlights as well that there are those who try to provide remedy now albeit this one not a good one but that's the two things I want to look at the presence of depression in some of the people of God and then secondly the strategies for dealing with depression in some of the people of God now I realized that all of us have bad days and all of us go under you know certain dark clouds from time to time but not everybody suffers the what we call depression in the same sort of way and the Proverbs highlights the reality of this particular malady the old authors called it melancholy in fact a famous book on the subject is called trouble of mind and the disease of melancholy and it's by Timothy Rogers he lived in 1658 217 28 intriguingly he begins the book the preface with quote several advices to the relatives and friends of melancholy people and then he says with reference to them he says look upon your distressed friends as being under one of the worst distempers they can have in this miserable life melancholy seizes on the brain and spirits and incapacitates them for thought or action it confounds and disturbs all their thoughts and unavoidably fills them with anguish and vexation of which there is no resemblance and any other distemper unless it is that of a raging fever I simply highlight that to say or suggest that I think Rodgers describes the malady very well in that particular instance obviously depression means that you're sorrowful it's a cloudy day it's gloomy things just seemed somewhat hopeless and again all of us go through that I don't doubt that I don't want to minimize that but there are some that dispositional E some temperamental e some for various reasons or causes find themselves in a condition where they have a broken spirit where they have a heavy heart and Solomon deals with this repetitively in the book of Proverbs now I should make this qualification I am NOT a doctor I have no medical training whatsoever if you have a condition wherein you think you ought to seek assistance by all means do that it was Tom Cruise who famously denounced anything outside of Scientology as being legitimate for the maladies that affect people I'm not Tom Cruise God most I'm a doctors God Most High put us together in a fearful and wonderful way and no one man has insight onto the human Saiki in fact speaking to this particular issue Charles Haddon Spurgeon says it would not be wise to live by a supposed faith and cast off the physician and his medicines any more than to discharge the butcher and the tailor and expect to be fed and clothed by faith in other words God is a God of means and I think that there are two sorts of problems when we come to deal with depression on the one hand to simply treat it as only psychological or physical and neglect the spiritual element but on the other hand to simply say it's spiritual and neglect the fact that somebody might have a brain tumor we don't want to engage in any sort of an imbalance and by all means if you feel like you need to seek medical treatment do not take this sermon as sort of a substitute for that I'm just wanting to deal with several of these passages that Salomon highlights as I said under the heading the presence of depression in some of the people of God and then the strategies and not the strategies as if this is it recommended list I always just like to start propositions off with vah when I do that though I don't want you to think these are the only ones and there are no others these are some suggestions on how perhaps you might find some help again not exhaustive again not a doctor again not a psyche psyche ayat rest please if you need further assistance by all means seek it so I want to first consider the presence of depression in some of the people of God choose that language very purposefully because not everybody has this issue not everybody goes through it but there are several examples outside of Proverbs that we ought to remind ourselves of there's Elijah under the broom tree in first Kings 19 now some have misunderstood Elijah under the broom tree some have seen things there that are a whole lot more not what's there then then are there Elijah is grieved about the spiritual condition of Israel at the time Elijah just witnessed a great outpouring of God's favor Mount Carmel but Elijah sees that Ahab and Jezebel are still up to their old antics and he goes into this depression Elijah suffers under the broom tree we have Joe obviously the book of Job contains an extended treatise on the suffering of a particular fellow a particular individual Jeremiah you cannot read the Prophet Jeremiah without coming to grips with the reality that Jeremiah sorrowed Jeremiah suffered Jeremiah was a man of great tears he says as much in several places we have our Lord Jesus isaiah 53:3 tells us he was a man of sorrows and he was acquainted with grief now probably connected largely to the passion in other words I don't think every single day Jesus walked down the street looking like you know II or from winnie-the-pooh but he was in fact a man of sorrows and he was acquainted with grief and then the Apostle Paul I think there's evidence in the New Testament documents again maybe it wasn't clinical depression but the brother knew sorrow the brother knew hardship the brother knew suffering now let's look specifically at some of the examples in the book of Proverbs you can go to proverbs chapter 12 proverbs chapter 12 and what I'm trying only to do here is to highlight the presence of depression and some of the people of God basically to validate that it's real people with depression aren't people with broken arms when somebody says I have a broken arm and they have their arm in a cast it's pretty easy to sort of quantify that when somebody says I have depression it doesn't mean they have a sign on their head it doesn't mean that they're necessarily going to look miserable it doesn't mean that they're gonna you know look like Eeyore and Winnie the Pooh you believe them because they know what they're talking about that's one of the challenges I think in dealing with depression you can't see it or quantify it the way you can say a broken hip but notice in 12:25 it tells us anxiety and the art of man causes depression it's a real thing anxiety in the heart of man causes depress notice in proverbs 1410 the heart knows its own bitterness and a stranger does not share its joy that indicates for us that at times the depressed are oftentimes lonely because not everybody knows the sorts of things they're going through in fact some people can hide it very well you might be utterly surprised to hear that they are a depressed person because they aren't in the business of walking around dragging their knuckles and crying out woe is me they deal with it they've learned how to deal with it they're seeking to manage it they're seeking to just strategically minimize the effects in their lives but that heart knows its own bitterness and then notice in 1450 I'm sorry in fifteen fifteen thirteen fifteen thirteen we'll look at the latter half well we'll look at the whole a merry heart makes a cheerful countenance but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken the spirit is broken again this is a real thing and then in fifteen fifteen all the days of the afflicted are evil but he who is of a merry heart has a continual feast and then note in proverbs 17 at verse twenty-two a merry heart does good like medicine but a broken spirit dries the bones there is an effect of a broken spirit upon the physicality of a man in other words there is a psychosomatic connection between the soul and the body and if you doubt that look at proverbs 17:22 and then read Psalm 38 David highlights that when he kept quiet about his sin he was full of sorrow he was full of heartache and his bones ached in other words this can take a toll when I was a kid growing up my mother used to say don't worry so much or you'll develop a bleeding ulcer I'm amazed I've never developed a bleeding ulcer but I think the science behind her her statement there is true I think people can worry themselves into symptoms of stress upon the gastro and situation and we don't want to do such things but there is this reality this connection John Gill commenting on proverbs 17:22 he says the joy or grief of the mind those passions of the soul have a very great influence upon the body either for its good or hurt you see this over the last few days right you probably have stood up a little bit straighter when you've been outside over the last few days that that big ball of a fire up in the sky just sort of boost your spirits a little bit doesn't it there's an effect of the physical upon the spiritual there's an effect upon the of the spiritual upon the physical as well we are whole beings and it does bear upon us notice in proverbs 18:14 proverbs 18:14 the spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness but who can bear a broken spirit again the reality not developing this a whole lot right now but simply highlighting the reality that depression sorrow melancholy seasons of distress and grief in an internal sense or realities in the lives of the people of God notice proverbs 24 10 proverbs 24 10 if you faint in the day of adversity your strength is small now that is a bit of a chiding if you faint in the day of adversity your strength is small solomon is essentially telling you don't have small strength don't faint in the day of adversity but the reality is is that there are some who do faint in the day of adversity their strength is small it's not gone it's not absent it's not that there isn't any strength whatsoever they have it it's just small so you see depression or suffering or sorrowing isn't necessarily a sin even it can lead us to or promote in us a desire for sin but a broken heart or a broken spirit isn't necessarily a sin and I've always thought or found comfort in this comment by matthew henry i think it was brought to me by mr. Lawson many many many years ago and we were going through some Salty's in the life and context of our church i don't know where he found matthew henry on job 4 unless he just for pleasure would read matthew henry on job I don't know how many people would do that but this is what Matthew Henry said on job for 1 to 6 and he's referring to proverbs 24 10 he says it is true if thou faint in the day of adversity thy strength thy grace is small but it does not therefore follow that thou hast no grace no strength at all a man's character is not to be taken from a single act that's great put that little note in the margin a proverbs 24 10 yea it's an exhortation to have strength it's an exhortation to not faint in the day of adversity but remember way back last Sunday we looked at Psalm 103 remember what David says concerning God he knows our frame he pities us he knows that we are but dust there are times in the day of adversity that we may faint that is a reality for some of the people of God and then proverbs 25 20 as I already read like one who takes away a garment and cold weather and like vinegar and soda is one who sing songs to a heavy heart there there is another reference I just don't want to get into the act the exposition but notice in proverbs 31 6 and 7 again this just highlights the reality of the brokenhearted or the sorrowing or the melancholy I'm not quite sure what he means by way of you know the actual administration of alcohol that's why I didn't want to jump into this passage but notice what it says give strong drink to him who is perishing and wine to those who are bitter of heart let him drink and forget his poverty and remember his misery no more now there is one other tax that I want us to consider look at Psalm 88 Psalm 88 kind of mostly in Proverbs but a little outside of Proverbs Psalm 88 is a real downer there's nothing in couraging in Psalm 88 other than you know the the prayer of the godly in his affliction crying out to the Lord for help but there's no resolution the tension isn't solved in Psalm 88 there's not Psalm 88 last verse says and thank you Lord that you heard my prayer and that you delivered me from all of my hardship no that's not present in Psalm 88 most of the Psalms as far as I know I'd probably say all of the Psalms except Psalm 88 and on something of a high note not Psalm 88 fact I was going to read it at the outset of worship I didn't want to depress everybody as we started worship and then consider a sermon on depression my my hope and goal is not that we all hang our heads and cry but it's to try and learn a bit about this thing we call melancholy but if you look specifically at what the psalmist says in verse 6 he says you have laid me in the lowest pit in darkness in the depths now again brethren this is an argument for Psalm singing because no hem writers are this honest no hem writers are ever going to say this sort of thing no hem writers ever going to take pen to paper and say what this psalmist says we need the inspired songs of Zion to lead us to the throne of grace with this kind of honesty Spurgeon comments in his treasury of David on Psalm 88 verse 6 he says the mind can descend far lower than the body for there are bottomless pits the flesh can bear only a certain number of wounds and no more but the soul can bleed in 10,000 ways and die over and over again each hour now you should know that CH Spurgeon was a man who struggled greatly with depression or melancholy in fact there's a helpful little book by a man by the name of Zach s wine it's called Spurgeon's sorrows and Zach I think went through a particularly troubling time in his own life and it drove him to the scriptures and it drove him as well to consider the sermons of Ch Spurgeon on this issue of melon cauli one of the best things in print is by CH spurgeon called the minister's fainting fits in his lectures to his students Spurgeon on Friday afternoons would address these ministerial candidates or men that were training for the minister of ministry with various themes and in this particular lecture he deals with the the ministers tendency toward melancholy or what we call today depression so I'm going to be citing from those sources a bit tonight Martyn lloyd-jones has a series of sermons on Philippians that were bound together under the title spiritual depression as I mentioned the Timothy Rogers book earlier and then there are several Spurgeon sermons now for Spurgeon to stand up in his context and admit to having melancholy or depression you just didn't do that kind of thing in Victorian England in that that age I mean we are prone to sort of where our hearts on our sleeves today we're prone to tell everybody everything in our facebook statuses we we tell them what we did at the gym we tell them what we had for dinner even do that in you know Victorian England the Spurgeon would get up and he wouldn't hide the fact that he had great struggles in terms of depression or melancholy and I think his comment there on Psalm 88 verse six indicates that well as we look at these various passages as we survey these specific texts in Solomon's proverbs again I want to underscore that depression is a real thing sorrow melancholy whatever we want to call it is a real thing secondly it is a reality for some of the people of God again not all of the people of God and I think if you're one of the people of God that isn't prone to this do not think for a moment it ain't real people don't fake this or people don't want to be miserable if you ask somebody who's depressed do you really want to be depressed or I love it it's just a wonderful way to live I love black clouds I love gloom I love doom I want you know perpetual rainy day know there not like that when that hope is gone or that joy is gone then you come alongside of them and say rejoice of the Lord I know what I should be doing but I'm having trouble doing it it's a real thing brothers and sisters for some of the people of God it is not a sin Solomon does not say when you have a broken spirit repent because you're a wicked vile evil sinner that's not what he says he acknowledges the reality of it other authors and scriptures acknowledge the reality of it David again is a classic case in Psalms 42 and 43 why are you cast down O my soul hope thou in God he talks to himself that's one of his strategies that's one of the ways that he tries to manage this is by encouraging himself to look unto his god and find his strength and aid there it is a reality for some of the people of God now when we ask the question what causes this again not a doctor not a psychiatrist faster with a few years of experience in my own life and with the lives of others there are physical causes somebody has a tumor on the brain or somebody has a chronic illness or somebody has chronic pain do not think for a moment that depression is not going to settle in at some particular juncture chronic pain is a tough thing chronic suffering is a tough thing and one of the byproducts of chronic suffering and pain is a depressed spirit so when you come to somebody and say buck up and they've got major medical issues you may be the guy Solomon's talking about in proverbs 25 20-person that when somebody's sleeping at night on a cold night likes to take the outer garment off of them is that what makes you tick don't be that guy don't take the outer garment don't pour vinegar on soda don't sing happy songs to heavy hearts there are remedies and that we ought to proceed when it comes to dealing with ourselves and to dealing with others so chronic pain chronic physical suffering a byproduct naturally in my mind again I might be you know overstepping the boundaries here but I get it somebody's in a lot of pain there's gonna pound to be a byproduct of depression there are psychological causes psychological reasons disposition temperament we're all scrambled up in a little bit of a different way by our God we've all got our issues we've all had our upbringing we've all had the ways of the world and its influence upon us speaking of mental maladies to his students on Friday afternoons Spurgeon says as to mental maladies he's he gives a list of reasons why ministers in particular may find themselves depressed I you know could have just read that essay but you know that would have been that would have been lazy on my part probably would have been more beneficial on your part but you know be that as it may but he says he says this there's one thing about Spurgeon especially this essay you can read it and cry and laugh you know within the space of a few minutes he says genuinely funny stuff it's genuinely sad stuff in a way that it's just I don't know I outside of the Bible in my mind Menace ministers feigning fits is the best thing on depression and it's not just for ministers I think anybody could read it with great profit but in terms of the psychological sort of effect he says as to mental maladies is any man altogether sane are we not all a little off balance say absolutely positively so physical psychological difficult circumstances in life difficult circumstances in life can cast one into a depression right David was distressed according to First Samuel 30 well the text makes it clear why because Israel wanted to stone him now I would suggest that if ever there's a for the soul of a man to be distressed it's when the people that you're leading as king want to stone you that's probably a good time for soul distress to settle in upon a man Elijah as I mentioned before grieved at the apostasy of Israel goes under that broom tree and he is sorrowful he is full of melancholy there's external circumstances weighing upon the prophet which produces in him this response in terms of depression there's all kinds of circumstances that can affect the per set we have desertion by a family member by a friend this is from Zach s wines book just some examples bereavement bereavement we lose a loved one what happens we don't typically skip down the road and seeing you know glad songs there there is sorrow connected to life as well poverty basic needs you're not able to pay the rent of the mortgage or buy food or buy shoes for your kid that stuff produces hardship on the soul of a man who wants to take seriously his role disappointment defeat all kinds of things you see it's not the case where he could say okay these ten things will cause it so just avoid that and you'll be fine in fact one of those things that Spurgeon deals with in his list of causes for ministers to get depression is what he calls cause less depression sometimes it just happens and we know not why what we can't explain it I mean yeah everything seems to be gone well life is good in the home life is good in the church you know people aren't throwing tomatoes at me as I walk down the street my world seemed to be okay but there's just this weight upon me it's hard it's it's sorrow its melancholy its it's like a perpetually cloudy day and I know the sun is shining and I want to appreciate the sunshiny but for whatever reason it's just hard to do that you see we can't just nail down various causes and say avoid this or do that and you'll never have a all day in your life so we've got physical psychological difficult circumstances and then there are spiritual look at proverbs 13 12 proverbs 13 12 says Hope deferred makes the heart sick but when the desire comes it is a tree of life now I know that all believers are told that we're in the world but were not to be of the world it's been my observation and my experience that some people some believers are a little more settled in the world than others again not calling into question their conversion not calling into question their their genuine Christian profession their their content and life they're content with their families they're they're just you know moving on tickety-boo everything's happy and healthy and good and then there's others who just seem vexed in trouble they're never really settled at home and I mean not you know 923 to Woodbine I mean earth they're never just settled because Hope deferred makes the heart sick it seems to me there's a certain class of Christian who understands that their citizenship is in heaven and they can't wait to get there now that's a good thing that's an excellent thing I think this is a reality that can produce or promote in the hearts of godly man sorrow and depression you know if you've I don't even want to cite some of the news stories that I could cite that just make me sick I'm sure you all look at the news I'm sure you all see the kinds of things that are becoming rampant and commonplace I mean just it's sick do you ever just say Lord God Almighty and this and bring in the eschaton there's that reality where Hope deferred makes the heart sick we long for heaven we long for that place where we're in righteousness dwells or reigns we long to be in Emmanuelle's land we long to be away from the sorrows and the pains and the hunger and the thirst and the death and the destruction that we face your honor I think that's a legitimate cause that will provoke or promote some men to depression what do we read about lot we don't read it in the Genesis narrative but we read it in Peter it living their godless Sodom vexed his soul now when you read it in Genesis she just kind of said come on lot what's your deal defer to Abraham he's your your uncle you should you should do whatever it is it that he says well Peter gives us a glimpse into the life of of what he wasn't rejoicing in the godlessness of Sodom his righteous soul was vexed day by day as he was associated with or near by that place of debauchery Hope deferred makes the heart sick brethren and that's a reality is told by Solomon as well the practice of sin there can be a spiritual reason why you're depressed or sorrowful because you're harboring sin now I realized that we don't like to pursue this particular path we don't like to actually think that if I regard in my heart the sin of my heart God will not hear me but that's what david says in psalm 66 and david says that that when he kept silent about his sin in Psalm 38 that he was full of sorrow and trouble and hardship you're depressed brethren perhaps repentance is a remedy to free oneself from that place and then as well the attack of the devil I don't believe the devil causes it but I certainly think that he exploits in fact Truman writes concerning Martin Luther Luther certainly regards the cultivation of despair as one of the primary tasks of the devil listen to that in fact that section in Truman's book Luther on the Christian life is gold it's dr. Martin and the devil Martin Luther was a medieval the medieval saw Satan a lot more than you and I see Satan I don't mean physically cape horn pitchfork I don't mean that I mean they saw him active they saw the reality of first Peter 5 a lot more than do that he roams about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour you've heard the old story at the castle when he was trying to repel the devil II through the inkwell and there's a spot apparently that's there to this day it's the it you know the ink spot where Martin Luther tried to throw you know the the well at the devil to repel him it's also known that he would flatulate in order to try and repel the devil kids if you don't know what that is ask your parents at home later but for Martin Luther the devil was a reality and so when Martin Luther says that one of the aspects of the devil is to try and increase despair in the people of God see this is where I think medical alone will always falter we've got to see the spiritual side of deaths if it's just physical or it's just spiritual we're gonna miss something if I just say look pray five times a week read your Bible six times a day and everything will be okay and you've got serious medical deficiencies that is ungodly it is unholy it is unrighteous and I should be shut down but by the same token brethren I think doctors ought to encourage people to look into the soul to find some help in terms of the spiritual realm I'm gonna realize a lot of doctors are materialists they don't believe in the soul they don't believe in the spirit so I think God's people need to be a lot more responsible and a lot more wise in terms of resources and dealing with these particular things so the presence of depression in some of the people of God let's look secondly it strategies I won't say though I will just say strategies for dealing with depression in some of the people have got forth are depressed my dear brothers and sisters again this isn't an exhaustive list it's borne out of my own experience in my own life and in dealing with others I would stress two things first the physical ABCs and secondly the spiritual ABCs you don't know what the ABCs are means the basic stuff the basic things associated with anything if you were a mechanic your ABCs would be hammer and wrench and pliers if you're a plumber yeah same kind of thing you all get it there's ABCs there's just some things we should be doing things that are non-negotiable things that if you let slide you're gonna have problems it's just the way it is and I would suggest in terms of the physical ABCs the need for proper rest diet and exercise again not a doctor not a psychiatrist but I think the light of nature and general revelation teaches us that people ought to eat properly people ought to exercise properly and people ought to rest properly in fact we have a paradigmatic tax in first Kings 19 let's go to the broom tree first Kings chapter 19 beginning in verse 1 and Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah saying so let the gods do to me and more also if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time and when he saw that he rose and ran for his life and went to Beersheba which belongs to Judah and left his servant there but he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree and he prayed that he might die and said it is enough now now Lord take my life for I am no better than my father's then as he lay and slept under a broom tree suddenly an angel touched him and said to him arise and eat then he looked and there by his head was a cake of a cake of cake baked on coals and a jar of water so he ate and drank and lay down again what's God doing God knows the prophets got issues so what does God say get up there go fight Jezebel go rebuke her and now lay down and sleep and eat I see I don't think we allow ourselves things that God will give us right we don't allow ourselves things that God will give us turn to mark 6 for a moment mark chapter 6 I think it was ji Packers somebody once said to him look the devil they saw him on holiday or they saw him resting or they saw him you know not working and they said the devil never takes a break he said I'm not the devil that's great response I'm not the devil daaad actually has worked into the the rhythm of man rest notice in mark six thirty then the Apostles gathered to Jesus and told him all things both what they had done and what they had taught and he said to them come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest awhile that's the master in the midst of ministry saying look it's time to get some rest you know it's just so awesome when people say we just need to burn out for Jesus how about we try to preserve ourselves to serve Jesus longer how about we're responsible you think Jesus calls us to sacrifice our brains at the altar of service he doesn't Jesus calls us to come apart and rest a while listen to Spurgeon unrest he says the master knows better than to exhaust his servants and quench the light of Israel rest time is not waste time I don't believe that I need to hear Spurgeon say that I don't believe that I'm making a confession rest time is not waste time I need to believe that my wife encourages me to believe that but I don't believe it pray for me he says it is economy to gather fresh strength again ministers fainting FETs he says elsewhere it is wisdom to take occasional furlough in the long run we shall do more by doing less and then he says on on on forever without recreation may suit spirits emancipated from this heavy clay but while we are in this tabernacle we must every now and then cry halt and serve the Lord by holy in action and consecrated leisure let no tender conscience doubt the lawfulness of going out of our for a while but learn from the experience of others the necessity and duty of taking timely rest that's beautiful and of course exercise Spurgeon says also I don't know if it's in that lecture but he says somewhere I think it isn't that lecture he says next - you know the spirit and the soul the next best thing to the spirit and the soul is oxygen in the brain get out and walk get out and suck in some fresh air go out and watch the animals go view Nate that this was the way that Spurgeon managed in the way that Spurgeon Dell I don't know brethren who suffer with the pressure if there is ever going to be a cure for you I think what you need to learn to do is manage your issues with strategies calculated to try and minimize the play that that's how I see it I haven't found yet you know do this and all your troubles will go away the old World War 2 song pack up your your troubles in your old kit bag and smile smile smile well that might have roused the troops in World War 2 but it's certainly not the Christian ethic as we look at solemn in school there's going to be soul trouble there might not be the remedy that there might be techniques and tools and things that you can use to try to minimize the damage and to keep on functioning in the midst of it of course diet I mean if you're constantly ingesting sugar and flour it is going to have an impact on you I almost said butter but I don't want my brother to get upset with me and my thoughts on butter have changed radically more aligned with Shayne butters not bad now I'm not a doctor so you know don't go ingest sticks of butter say well Butler sad you don't know don't do that but you see it has an effect it hasn't affected it it's no these are this is general revelation God has not only communicated to us in special revelation but he's communicated to us in general at revelation if you eat too much and you don't exercise you are setting yourself up for problems and oftentimes they have a spear Rachele impact on the individual and then there might be the need for medical attention again that quote from earlier it would not be wise to live by a supposed faith and cast off the physician and his medicines any more than to discharge the butcher and the tailor and expect to be fed and clothed by faith no you don't do that faith is not about casting off gods means faith is about consecrating gods means it's about praying for the efficacy of the medical remedies that you're undergoing it's about asking God to bless it with His blessing so that it works that is how the Brethren ought to do it and then in terms of spiritual ABCs you got to read your Bibles and pray and show up at church it's hard for me to understand the thought that I'm gonna go through depression and not use the means that God's unveiled for me to get out of it I'm gonna miss Church now that's the devil's logic and I have to admit there are times on a Sunday I don't necessarily want to come I'm depressed I'm sorrowful I've got melancholy but that's the devil's logic to try to keep me in bed not simply because I'm going to preach but because I need the fellowship of the Saints if one of his tasks is to exploit this this depression this this this sorrow this melancholy then what better way that to keep me from the people of God you see brethren we are prey and we need to bind ourselves together so that the predator doesn't get us again persons that are undergoing depression that are not in their Bibles that are not in prayer and that are not in church in my mind they're not serious about dealing with depression I love the superscription I think it's a superscription in Psalm 102 at least in the English text it's actually inspired back turn they're 102 102 just so you can see a bit of rationale as to why perhaps cam and I read the way cam and I read the Psalms if you look at Psalm 102 and you are using the New King James Bible you'll see it idle in italics it says the Lord's eternal love those italics means it's supplied by the translators it's not a part of the Hebrew tax you don't look at the Hebrew tax and see the Lord's eternal love wasn't as if David appended titles to each and every one of his Psalms now that that little bit of print next under it that's verse one in the Hebrew text I think that superscription is that superscription or subscription superscription it says a prayer of the afflicted this is this is verse one in Psalm 102 in fact if you read commentaries sometimes you'll see a numerical system differs from the Hebrew text and the English text and it's for this very reason for whatever reason the translators didn't decide to call this verse one they just left it without a verse number but it is text it is in the Hebrew it is part of the Canon and it says a prayer of the afflicted notice when he is overwhelmed and pours out his complaint before the Lord you see if you're suffering or struggling with depression your best remedy is the Lord your best help and hope is the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob the best recourse for your weary soul and your broken spirit is the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ the spiritual ABC's prayer Scripture Church I read or I heard that John Chrysostom you've probably heard of him as the the silver-tongued I don't think it was golden I think it was silver a silver tongued preacher in the early church and somebody wanted to meet with him for spiritual counsel and he said okay I'll meet with you for spiritual counsel the fellow showed up I think it took you know a couple of minutes and then Chrysostom says I'll see you in church on Sunday now when you read that or you hear that you might think Oh Chrysostom you heartless guy you should spend countless hours disciple in this young man or this person with whatever malady now I doubt the guy was you know about to kill himself and Chrysostom just you know excused him that the point is is that Cris hasta Luther after him Calvin after him Spurgeon after him they prized and the corporate means of grace the corporate means of grace you have these you know churches where they have discipleship groups I mean one of the biggest hurts to the to the Lord's Day ethic was the removal of the evening service and what took the place of the evening service it was these discipleship groups I like to think this is a discipleship group I do I think that's what exactly is happening oh we need more disciple show up at church we have two discipleship groups every Sunday morning and evening we even I want Wednesday night and if you're so inclined to get out of bed at 6:30 on a Saturday morning every other Saturday mark we have a discipleship group then do it's the means of grace what is the weary hurting sorrowful melancholic soul need he needs God's Word he needs the grace of the Holy Spirit not to say you can't contact the spirit or have dealings with the spirit mowing your lawn but as I mentioned this morning these means of grace where God has said that he will dwell in this new covenant era it's the church I mean it may not look like that it may look pretty garden-variety it may look pretty mundane it may look pretty ho-hum but this is the most glorious place on the face of the earth right now that's why the psalmist says I'd rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my god than dwell in the tents of wickedness it's much better to do that I just want to facilitate my brethren walking in to Zion I just want to be there holding the door open for that why because God is in this place so if you are dealing with depression and you are not reading your Bibles you're not praying and you're not attending the corporate means I would suggest you're not really dealing with depression you're just rolling over and letting it have its way with you and that's not good that's not good at all now for those who deal with the depressed going back to proverbs 25 27 by way of a very humorous negative example tells us how not to deal with depressed people proverbs 25 20 my quadrant and cold weather and like vinegar on soda is one who sings songs to a heavy heart now in terms of some negatives I think that if you're dealing with people that are depressed and I'm kind of thinking through this not on the moment but my wife and I were talking about this I would suggest that within the depressed that that group those some who have this sometimes it's worse than others it's kind of like you know any sort of malady that you might have you can have a really heightened impact of of you know whatever the particular malady is or it may not be as big of what I think depression is kind of like that there are times when the depressed or in a situation or state where you know if you sing happy songs to them it's gonna destroy them there might be another time where it just will bug them but it won't destroy them you see there's a gradation there's there's there's sorts of ways that you dealing with the press people have to have a bit of wisdom and and I know that is a bit of a struggle and you might say well I don't know that I want that as my lot in life well you might be married to somebody that has it you might have a child that has it you might have a parent that has it and you can't just divorced em or leave them or you know go live on a mountain whenever that sort of breaks out you've got to deal with it and these are just some things to think about again not you know you must or you can't or you shouldn't but I would suggest in the first place a negative way of dealing with the depressed is a denial of depression I've never had it so you know just can't conceive of it now if you've never had it praise God Almighty but that doesn't mean it it isn't there all right there might be a whole host of diseases that you've never ad but they're still real you may never have had a thyroid condition but that doesn't mean there are no thyroid conditions to deny depression with the depressed is a very bad thing to do it is like taking a garment away from somebody that's freezing you wouldn't do that would you oh yeah I see that you're freezing in that garments really keeping you warm let me take that front no don't do that Solomon says don't do that be kind as well the minimizing of depression this kind of goes along with the not denial but the minimizing of it it's not a scraped elbow it's not you know even a broken arm there's a dimension involved that you may not fully understand and that's okay you don't have to fully understand but but don't minimize it as well some very wrong things that I would suggest to do you know as one who has both given and received bad advice I you know these are some things just again think about if you sing songs to a heavy heart it seems to be akin to what Paul is saying in Romans 12:15 he says rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep if somebody's weeping singing glad songs to them may not be the best application of Romans 12:15 saying certain things like to an anxious man don't worry be happy' he knows that that's what he needs but for whatever reason he can't do it you're not giving him new and what I never thought of that it just never dawned on me or telling somebody depressed sorrowful and low you just need to buck up you just need to pull yourself up by your bootstraps yet you think yet really that's the problem I can't do that you see now you may think you are helping and I'm not gonna yell at you like I am now if that happens but these are a can to taking away a garment and cold weather and like pouring vinegar on soda telling a depressed man what he needs to do is also a real winner the way I look at it is that sometimes people get in holes so I look at depression you're kind of in this hole and then you have people in your life that are telling you how you should function when you're out of the hole and it's probably stuff you know you need to this you need to that you need I know but my task presently is to get out of the hole and you telling me how to live my life outside of the hole is doing nothing to help me out of the hole does that make sense because it makes makes a great deal of sense in my head it makes perfect sense in my head I know when I'm in a place and when people come and well-meaning and well-intentioned but they say look you need to this and you need to that and you need to this and they lay a list of things on you you already feel miserable because you're in this hole and now you feel miserable because you're not gonna do the five things they've recommended that are really good to do you get that it's like this vicious cycle you know I just need out of this hole and then and then and then I can sort of attack these five things or these you know ten things or whatever and then in terms of positives how what are some good things I mean you know give a garment to this fellow that that's freezing dope don't pour vinegar on soda don't sing songs to a heavy heart I would suggest first the recognition that prayer for them is absolutely necessary you know why oh I know exactly what you're going through it's another thing I have found if you say to somebody man I'm really struggling and their response is all I am to that there's context where that's good but there's other contexts where it's not quite so good if somebody trusts you to be able to vent to you and pour out their hearts maybe they just want you to listen I think this was job's prow job's friends as problem at least at a certain point joke just says key just listen to me and not lecture me you know what you're saying is good keeping what you're saying is valuable and I agree at a theological level how about you just let me cry how about you just let me agonize how about you just let me dump without you trying to fix me and put me back together again most of the times the people know what has to be done in terms of fixing and putting back together they don't have the energy to get out of the hole let alone start to put themselves back together again you see it's a terrible place to be as well the recognition that they may require help that you cannot give them I've got a candid admission it didn't take me long to figure out that pastors get this are not miracle workers it took me about I don't know three seconds to learn that that was one of my big you know welcomes to the path there's no way one man can do it all I've come to embrace the pastor's role as something akin to your family doctor your family doctor can spot a lot of things he's got a bit of knowledge about a lot of things and can say it could be this or it could be that or it could be this I'm gonna farm you out to a specialist I think pastors are like that you know pastors have their limitations pastors primary jobs are to be expounding scripture and preaching and teaching that that's their primary job but if you come to them for counsel or for help there's not everything they can do they can hopefully encourage you in most of the things hopefully you know remedy several of the things but there may be an instance where they just got to farm it out and that might be the case with some of you and you're dealing with people you might need to say look I I'm gonna pray for you but I don't know what you're going through I don't know the sorrows and the Agony's that you're suffering perhaps you should find some help perhaps you should find somebody safe that you can talk to that you can pour out your soul to and I can hear you now perhaps you should go see pastor Butler which is fine I'll be happy to meet with anyone at any time but then pastor Butler may say I'm gonna pray for you and I'm going to encourage you as far as I'm able but there are limitations no one man has it all figured out and then a third thing I think is most important and again if you're dealing with somebody who's in the bottom of the hole not the guy that's having a few you know rough go at it and it's just been you know a week or two that it's just your garden-variety depression if the guys in the bottom of the hole please learn this lesson again I don't have chapter and verse I wish I did but you know general revelation light of nature has taught me this allow time for rest and recovery before reconstruction rest and recovery then reconstruction other words get out of the hole just that's the goal get you out of the hole rest recover eat sleep enjoy life just get out of the hole once he's out of the hole okay brother now you need to start to reconstruct to make sure this doesn't happen again you need to you get that telling somebody in the bottom of hole how not to end up in the bottom the hole no he didn't get out of the hole that's what he need he needs to get out of the hole don't lecture him on how he got into the hole and how he cannot get into the hole gap there's a time for that lecture but most preferably it's when he's out of the hole so it makes sense let's get you out and then put you on a course of reconstruction and then the recognition that a little encouragement goes a long way the recognition that a little encouragement goes a long way Spurgeon somewhere says you know even a dog licking the hand of a depressed man ministers the aid that he can with his capacity Virgen had a dog and he loved that dog it made me warm my heart I read through the second volume of the autobiography last year and his relationship with his dog warmed my heart he would write letters home to his wife and say say hi to punch for me you know the dog and I think as I understand the autobiography Spurgeon got broken into his house got broken into and the thief allegedly wrote him a letter and says you would have done yourself a favor by locking your windows or having a dog and so that's when Spurgeon got his dog and he fell in love with his dog and he would pray God's blessings on the dog I just I love that Spurgeon was such a real guy you know the realest of guys and it just makes me happy but the reality that a little dog can lick your hand and bring encouragement ought to encourage us as image bearers that a little encouragement goes a long way that rest of proverbs 12 says but a good word makes it glad proverbs 16 24 Pleasant words are like a honeycomb sweetness to the soul and health to the bones proverbs 25:11 a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver again not get out of the hole but let's get you out of the hole let's encourage you let's help you and let's put you on a path to healing 2nd Corinthians 1:3 and 4 blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ the father of mercies and God of all comfort who comforts us in all our tribulation that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God you see God's purposes even in this he lays this upon a person and uses that person to minister to others bridges on proverbs 25 20 says the tenderness that shows a brother's tears that knows how to weep with them that weep as members of the same body and directs the mourner to the mourners friend in God this is Christian sympathy a precious balm for the broken heart I think those are some good things for us to keep in mind as we deal with those who go through this trouble of spirit in conclusion we have the instruction of a of an inspired Word seek the Word of God brethren those who sorrow those who are melancholic those who are depressed your best health is the written word of the Living God secondly find the comfort of the Christian gospel I mean that's the place where ultimately all sorrows all depression all things melt away when we consider the cross and our Lord Jesus Christ and the forgiveness wrought out by him even in the midst of sorrow even in the bottom of a hole that brother and the bottom of the hole is still singing 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 I may be in the bottom of a hole I may be sorrowful I may be melancholic I may be depressed but I know I'm heading to heaven and I know my Savior has me in the grip of his hand that is encouraging and then find comfort in a sovereign God Spurgeon at the end of the essay ministers fainting fits says be not dismayed by soul trouble even if the enemy's foot be on your neck expect to rise and overthrow him cast the burden of the present along with the sin of the past and the fear of the future upon the Lord who force saketh not his Saints live by the day.i by the hour put no trust in frames and feelings care more for a grain of faith than a ton of excitement trust in God alone and lean not on the reeds of human help he says any simpleton can follow the narrow paths in the light faiths rare wisdom enables us to march on in the dark with infallible accuracy since she places her hand in that of her great died amen a hundredfold well let us pray father we thank you for your word we thank you for its clarity we thank you for its honesty we thank you that the writers led us in not only on the glories of God Most High but on the struggles and men in this world we ask that you would help us to think through these things properly help us if we struggle to struggle in a way that is distinctly Christian help us as those who are surrounded by those who struggle to be wise not to be like the sort of man that takes away a garment from another in cold weather but help us God to rejoice with those who rejoice and to weep with those who weep we ask that you would go with us now we pray that we would know your nearness and your kindness and your goodness to us in this coming week and we ask through Jesus Christ our a man will close with a brief time of meditation and then be dismissed you