Please turn with me in your Bibles to Proverbs chapter 15. Proverbs chapter 15. We'll return to Acts, God willing, next Sunday. There's a bit of theology proper in Acts chapter 14 that I don't wanna gloss over.

I wanna give it some detail. And so this morning, we're gonna recover a sermon that I preached when we went through Proverbs or themes from Proverbs. The title of the sermon is The Darkness of Depression. So I wanna read Proverbs 15, verse 13, and then pray, and then we'll look at this theme.

Proverbs 15, 13, a merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of the heart, the spirit is broken. Let us pray. Father in heaven, we thank you for the written word of the true and living God. We thank you that your word is sufficient for all matters of faith and practice.

We thank you that it's given by inspiration of God, and you know us intimately, you know us perfectly, and how we praise you that your word addresses the very real issues that we face in this world. We ask now that Your Holy Spirit would guide and direct us as we consider this particular theme. We ask that You would encourage and strengthen our hearts, that You would build us up in our most holy faith. And as well, Father, we pray that through the Word and by the Spirit, Christ would be exalted in this assembly.

God, we thank you for that one who is altogether lovely, that one who is chief among 10,000, that lover of our souls. May we see him as he is in Scripture, and may we respond with faith and worship and adoration and praise. And forgive us for all of our sins and unrighteousness now, and we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Introduction

As I said, I want to look at the darkness of depression. And by depression, I don't mean an occasional bad day. I don't mean seasonal affective disorder. If I meant that, we'd have this sermon every other week at this particular time of the year here in Chilliwack.

I also do not mean the ordinary disappointments associated with life in a fallen world. I'm going to take as a bit of a working definition, a statement from Timothy Rogers. He lived in 1658 to 1728 and he wrote a book on the topic called Trouble of Mind and the Disease of Melancholy. Kids, if you hear me say melancholy, that's just an old-fashioned word for depression.

But Rogers writes or begins the book with stating several advices to the relatives and friends of melancholy people. So if you yourself do not struggle with depression or melancholy, you most likely know someone who does, so hopefully this sermon will be helpful for you as an encourager of those around you. He goes on to say, 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 in any other distemper unless it is that of a raging fever. Again, I'm not convinced that all of us who go through this particular issue suffer to that degree, but I think that gets at the root of the situation. So, I want to look at two things this morning. First, the presence of depression in some of the people of God.

I acknowledge not all of the people of God, undergo this. And again, if you're one of them, listen so you can know how to pray for those who do go through this.

Presence of Depression in God's People

So first, 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. But let's look first at the presence of depression.

The Reality of Depression in Scripture

In the first place, I want to show the reality of depression. Outside of the book of Proverbs, we see this as well. We see it Elijah under the broom tree in 1 Kings chapter 19. We certainly see it with Job as he undergoes severe affliction and distress and he's under a melancholic spirit.

We see it in David in the Psalms. David in Psalm 42 and 43 asks himself, why are you cast down, oh my soul? We see it in David's greater son, who, according to Isaiah the prophet, is a man of sorrows and one acquainted with grief. And you see it in the apostle Paul also.

As well, there is a psalm in scripture that is almost altogether devoted to that particular theme. It is Psalm 88. Especially in verse 6, the psalmist says, you have laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the depths. C.H.

Spurgeon makes this comment. 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, I understand that that's a pretty severe comment, but that is a severe comment on a severe psalm.

Again, Psalm 88 has no sort of redemptive end. It just ends on this sad note of melancholy and depression. Thankfully, it then goes on into Psalm 89, which is the covenant Psalm, where we rejoice in the Savior King. Now, in terms of the book of Proverbs, let's look at a few of the Proverbs specifically.

Notice in Proverbs 12 at verse 25, again, just underscoring the reality of depression. Proverbs 12, 25, anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, but a good word makes it glad. Over in Proverbs 14, 10, we see the reality of heart bitterness and the fact that persons oftentimes suffer alone. Proverbs 14, 10, the heart knows its own bitterness and a stranger does not share its joy.

As well, Proverbs 14, verse 13, we have the persistence of sorrow, even when outward circumstances may be good. Proverbs 14, 13, even in laughter, the heart may sorrow and the end of mirth may be grief. We see the reality of heart sorrow in the passage we read. Proverbs 15, 13, a merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of the heart, the spirit is broken.

And then drop down to verse 15, all the days of the afflicted are evil, but he who is of a merry heart has a continual feast. Over in Proverbs 17, we see the psychosomatic nature of depression. And all that means is that what happens in terms of the immaterial can affect the material. In other words, heartbrokenness can affect the very body that we have. in this particular world.

So over at Proverbs 17, at verse 22, we read, a merry heart does good like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones. John Gill 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 its hurt. And we will see this in a bit more detail later on. in Psalm 38. When David kept silent about his sin, his bones were broken, his flesh was weary.

There is an effect upon the body that heart sorrow does deliver. And then the difficulty of persisting with a broken spirit over in Proverbs 18 at verse 14. The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, but who can bear a broken spirit? And then the proneness to faint in the day of adversity is given to us by Solomon in Proverbs 24 at verse 10.

Proverbs 24 10, if you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small. Again, there are those who are better able to deal with days of adversity, when there are others that aren't as skilled to be able to deal with those days of adversity. I've always benefited from Matthew Henry's comment on Job 4, 1-6. He gives a nod to this particular passage.

Matthew Henry said, it is true, if thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength, thy grace is small. Proverbs 24.10. He goes on to say, 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.

We all do well to remember that when we're dealing with our fellows in this lower world. And then also the reality of a heavy heart, Proverbs 25 at verse 20. Like one who takes away a garment in cold weather and like vinegar on soda is one who sings songs to a heavy heart. And if you turn to Proverbs 31, you see an example of that or an illustration of that.

Proverbs 31, 6 and 7, 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.

Implications from the Survey

Now in terms of several implications based on this quick survey of the book of Proverbs, we learn in the first place that depression is a reality. Melancholy is a reality. And it's a reality sort of unlike other things that affect us. If I have a broken arm, it's obvious.

You can see it. You can hopefully not touch it, but you can see demonstrably that there's something wrong with the person. Depression isn't like that. We don't have a light bulb that comes on our forehead to indicate to people that we have depression.

Those who don't struggle with it, those who don't go through melancholy, oftentimes are perplexed at the reality of those who do. Just buck up, just suck it up, pull yourself up by your bootstraps. Don't worry, be happy, and everything will be great. Well, that's not the way to deal with this particular malady.

This is not the way to try and restore a brother or a sister that is going through some of these things. So it is a real issue. Secondly, by way of implication, the reality of depression for some of the people of God. Again, it's not the case that being a Christian necessarily means that you will suffer with depression or melancholy.

It doesn't mean that at all. There are those, as I said, that are given to this particular malady. And then a third implication is the reality that depression is not Now listen to this, in and of itself sinful. Now we may respond to depression or melancholy in sinful ways, that is certainly under our purview, but the fact of depression is not necessarily sinful.

For those, some of the people of God." Again, David in the Psalter, at Psalm 42, verse 5 and verse 11, and then again in Psalm 43 at verse 5. He asks the question, why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance. And then I mentioned David's greater son, Isaiah 53, 3.

He is despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. So that's the reality underscoring depression, at least in those two men, David and David's greater son, where we see that it's not necessarily sinful. Again, a person's response to this malady It may in fact be sinful, but the fact is, is that having this doesn't classify you as a gross sinner under God. So we see the reality in terms of the presence of depression in some of the people of God.

Causes of Depression

What are the causes? What causes this? I do not know. I'm not a doctor.

And if you are struggling with these things, I'm not a Jehovah's Witness. I believe in medical care. I believe the light of nature or general revelation has taught us many things. And so if you need help, by all means seek help.

Again, we're not Jehovah's Witnesses. We're not going to keep you from proper medical care. But there are some things that may lend themselves to this malady of depression. In the first place, there may be physical causes.

Physical causes. I have, for my Christian life, acknowledged the reality that it's hard to be holy when you don't feel well. Physical sickness, chronic illness, disease. can all produce depression in the heart of man. That's just the way it goes.

That is a byproduct connected to physical suffering and we are wrong to minimize that aspect in those among us that have these chronic illnesses or that have these ongoing physical suffering. And then there are psychological causes. Some people are just wired differently. There's those kinds of people, and I don't understand them, that are wired to smile all the time, and they're just so happy.

I happen to be married to one of them, and she often rebukes me for my complaining when we're driving around the town. She says, these people come from God, they're in your way as a result of God, and you shouldn't complain about that. And in my heart of hearts, I'm saying, oh yeah, but, oh yeah, but, but there are those dispositionally wired in a more positive way, and then there are those dispositionally wired in a more negative way. There really are optimists and there really are pessimists.

And pessimism is a fact. We all like to say, I'm not a pessimist, I'm a realist, but the fact is some of us do see the glass as half empty. That's just the way it goes. C.H.

Spurgeon says, with reference to psychological causes, Now I'm gonna pick on, or pick from rather, Spurgeon often. For those of you who do not know, he was the most famous, perhaps one of the most famous preachers that ever walked the earth. He ministered in the 1800s in London, England at the Metropolitan Tabernacle. He was extremely gifted, he was extremely blessed, and he was extremely depressed.

He was a very happy soul, a very funny man. You can't read his writings without having, you know, a great deal of laughter, but he struggled often with this. He struggled much with depression, and as a result, he reflected upon it often. He often, in his sermons, and then as well one particular essay in his lectures to my students on the minister's fainting fits.

There is a book that has come out of that. It's by a fellow today called Zach Eswine, and it's called Spurgeon Sorrows. And this man, Zach, knows his own depression and heartache and hardship. So it not only sent him to his Bible, but it sent him to the preaching and ministry of C.H.

Spurgeon, where he fetched out a lot of help. And he wrote this very little book that's very powerful and very helpful as a compendium of thought to deal with this particular malady. but relative to the psychological causes. This from his minister's fainting fits, and if I laugh, forgive me. He says, as to mental maladies, is any man altogether sane?

Are we not all a little off balance? I would suggest, yes, we are. And sometimes, in some of us, a little off balance, it's manifested by depression or a melancholic spirit. So you've got physical causes, you've got psychological causes, and then you've got the garden variety difficult circumstances of life. 1 Kings 19, Elijah is under the broom tree because of the apostasy of Israel.

In 1 Samuel chapter 30, David is sorrowful of heart because his people want to stone him to death. You can understand why a man in that condition would be sorrowful. As well, Zach Eswine mentions desertion by family member or friend, bereavement, poverty of basic needs, disappointment and defeat. There's really no end to the various causes in terms of the difficult circumstances of life that can affect God's people in this negative way that exhibits or manifests itself through depression or through melancholy.

And then a final cause is the spiritual cause. Spiritual causes. And again, I'm not suggesting that I'm able to diagnose everybody. I cannot.

These are just some observations that I hope and pray will be helpful. In the first place, in terms of a spiritual cause, turn back to Proverbs 13. Proverbs 13. I would suggest one of the first spiritual causes is the deferment of hope.

Notice in 1312, hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life. There are some saints among us who really do not like this world. It's not because they're ascetic, it's not because they're anti-creature, it's because they don't seem to have rest in the world. Hope deferred makes the heart sick.

They're longing for Emmanuel's land. They're longing for the reality of Christ coming again in glory to judge the living and the dead. And they live as men and women with hope deferred. Their hearts are sick because they're not at home.

A second way or a second means by which spiritual causes can affect us is the practice of sin. And here you can turn to Psalm 38. Psalm 38 indicates this relative to David's sorrow. Psalm 38 verses three and following.

He says, there is no soundness in my flesh because of your anger, nor any health in my bones because of my sin. For my iniquities have gone over my head. Like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me. My wounds are foul and festering because of my foolishness.

I am troubled. I am bowed down greatly. I go mourning all the day long, for my loins are full of inflammation and there is no soundness in my flesh. I am feeble and severely broken.

I groan because of the turmoil of my heart. You see, brethren, if we engage in the practice of sin, I'm not suggesting the garden variety struggle with sin that we all face. Vis a vis Romans 7 and Galatians 5. The flesh lusts against the Spirit.

The Spirit lusts against the flesh. These two are contrary to one another so that you don't do the things that you want. That's the reality for all of God's people. But when we give in to sin, when we practice sin, when we make peace with sin, and when we stay far from God, our experience will ape or imitate what David underwent when he kept silent about his sin as well.

He went into Bathsheba and to cover that up, he had Uriah murdered on the field of battle. It wasn't an act of murder in terms of the enemies killing Uriah, but it was an act of murder because David conspired that that would happen. He had him put out in the very hottest part of the battle so that he would be struck down and died. David kept silent about that.

And he records his experience here for us in Psalm 38. And the encouragement for all of us is, do not practice sin. Make no peace with sin. Resist sin, resist temptation, and seek by the grace of God to know that peace of conscience that does surpass the peace of Christ, that surpasses all understanding, but it floods the conscience and it affects us for good.

And then finally, in terms of a spiritual cause, the attack of the devil. the attack of the devil. Now, he doesn't cause depression or melancholy, but he can certainly exploit it. Remember, he's not a sovereign being. He's not omnipotent.

He's not omniscient. He's not omnipresent. I think at times, people that profess faith in Christ predicate way too much of the devil. In fact, James and Peter tell us in our dealings with the devil, resist him and he will flee from you.

We don't need a bag of incantations. We don't need tapes from, or tapes, I just dated myself, CD, we don't even have CDs anymore. We don't need to download or stream or whatever the latest guy with his 15 tips on how to get rid of demons in your life. We don't need that.

We need to resist the devil and he will flee from us. But if this is a chink in our armor, we ought to know that the devil will be at work trying to exploit that. Carl Truman, in his biography of Martin Luther, made this observation. He says, Luther certainly regards the cultivation of despair as one of the primary tasks of the devil.

And if you ever read about the life of Martin Luther, remember that Martin Luther is a reformer. We put him in time at the Reformation, but he was really a medieval man. He lived in the Middle Ages when spiritual warfare and the effects or attacks of the devil seemed to be a lot more lively and real than what we experience today. You've perhaps heard the famous story where there's an ink spot at the place where he lived, at the castle at Wittenberg.

It was where he threw that little basin of ink at the devil to try and repel him. Perhaps you have heard of Martin Luther's engaging in flatulence as a means to repel the devil. Again, I'm not suggesting go thou and do likewise, because not everybody around you is going to appreciate that, but that is the reality in terms of how he saw the devil. Not giving him this, but attempting to exploit it.

So again, this is not psychiatric advice, this isn't from a medical book, it's just observations based on the Bible and general revelation. There are physical, psychological causes, there are difficult circumstances of life, and there are certainly spiritual causes that we need to reflect on when it comes to this issue of depression or melancholy.

Strategies for Dealing with Depression

Now, secondly, I want to look at the strategies for dealing with depression in some of the people of God. And I've got two sub-points here. First, for the depressed, and secondly, for those who try and help the depressed. Everybody got me?

That's the roadmap, and that's where we're going. So first, for the depressed, again, some advice, some encouragement, some counsel based on both special and General revelation, the world around us is a great teacher also. The great creeds and confessions of the faith often refer to the light of nature or to general revelation. General revelation is wonderful.

It has yielded for us refrigerators. It has yielded for us fireplaces. It has yielded for us the sorts of benefits that we enjoy in this world. The Bible doesn't have a chapter on how to build a car, but in general revelation, God has structured things in such a way that image bearers can reflect upon that data and then engage in those particular activities that exponentially benefit our lives.

And we ought to give all praise and glory to God as a result of that. He's over special revelation to be sure, but he's also over general revelation. These are the two books by which we learn something of who God is.

Counsel for the Depressed

So first of all, for the depressed. I would encourage that you apply what I call the physical ABCs. The physical ABCs. And that means the need for proper rest, diet, and exercise.

Proper rest, diet, and exercise. Now you may be wondering, I didn't think Free Grace Baptist Church peddled this sort of thing. I actually did peddle it about a year and a half ago in our studies in Proverbs, and this was one of them. This is important stuff the Bible speaks to.

When Elijah is under the broom tree, when Elijah is perplexed as a result of the apostasy of Israel, God the Lord gives him rest and God the Lord gives him food. proper rest, diet, and exercise. A few weeks ago, preaching on the fourth commandment, I mentioned what a blessing it is to be in a context where persons respect the Protestant work ethic. Everybody that I know in this church works hard, and that's a good thing. The Bible enjoins that upon us.

Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But it occurs to me at the encouragement of a faithful brother, and I can't say I'd never thought about it either, some of you may need to be advised on what the Bible says concerning rest. Spending your energy, your every waking moment working, is not wise either. If the lazy man is condemned in the Bible, so is the man who neglects his wife, so is the man who neglects his children, so is the man who is so tied to his work that he doesn't have that work-life balance.

So in 1 Kings 19, God says to Elijah, eat and rest. Mark 6 31, you know what our Savior says to his disciples? Come apart and rest a while. Why is that?

Because we're not disembodied spirits. We're not angelic beings. We're not persons that are not affected by the necessity for rest. Listen to Spurgeon again.

And again, this is from ministers fainting fit. So he's speaking specifically to pastors, but I think you can extrapolate from this principles to govern every one of us. He says, commenting on Mark 6 31, the master knows better than to exhaust his servants and quench the light of Israel. Rest time is not waste time.

I think we think it is. We always have to outdo everyone on how busy we are. Oh, well, we bow to you, king of busyness. There's nothing noble in busyness in and of itself.

I would imagine mafia members are quite busy at what they do. Busyness in and of itself isn't something that we have to parade around and try to prove to everybody that we never sit idly by. If the master tells you from time to time, sit idly by, then obey him. Honor Him, be faithful to Him.

You keep running and pushing and pressing and persevering, you're going to collapse. We're not John Deere tractors. So Isaac will probably record this. We're not Jehovah's Witnesses, we're also not John Deere tractors.

I've never ran a John Deere tractor. I see them, they're beautiful. From what I understand, they're the best of the best. Of course, I'm sure some of you go, oh no, they're not.

But take the illustration. They just keep running, don't they? They just keep going and going and going. We're not John Deere tractors.

So he goes on to say, rest time is not waste time. It is economy to gather fresh strength. Beautiful. And obviously a church full of hard workers, because no one amen that.

No one's saying, amen, brother. except some wives are probably amening it in their hearts, nudging their husbands. You should pay attention to this. He goes on to say, it is wisdom to take occasional furlough. In the long run, and I love this, we shall do more by doing less.

Oh, no, not us. We believe in the Protestant work ethic. Spurgeon believed in the Protestant work ethic as well. Spurgeon worked hard, but Spurgeon also burned himself out to the point where he had to take large segments of time and go to France to try and recuperate.

He goes on. on, on, on, forever without recreation may suit spirits emancipated from this, quote, heavy clay. But while we are in this tabernacle, we must every now and then cry halt and serve the Lord by holy inaction and consecrated leisure. Let no tender conscience doubt the lawfulness of going out of harness for a while, but learn from the experience of others the necessity and duty of taking timely rest. Some are gonna have melancholy and sorrow because all they ever do is work.

We're not created that way. We are not angels. We are not disembodied spirits. We need to understand that God knows our frame.

He pities us. He knows we're but dust. And he gives us the very things requisite to maintain health. And if you are off with reference to your rest, with reference to your diet, and with reference to exercise, you are putting yourself into jeopardy relative to this issue of depression.

As well, in terms of some physical ABCs, there is, and at times may be, the need for medical attention. Again, if you come to me and I say, perhaps you should see a medical doctor, then don't think I've apostatized. I don't know everything. I am not a psychiatrist.

I am not a doctor. I am not skilled in general revelation the way that these particular fellows are. Do not be foolish with your health. Do not just assume, well, that's for those sorts of people that don't believe the Bible.

Again, listen to C.H. Spurgeon, a man who believed He 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 by faith. In other words, there are persons that know more than you. And there are persons that are skilled in trying to remedy the sorts of things that we face.

And I'm not suggesting in every instance it's medical, I'm not suggesting in every instance it's spiritual, but probably in most instances it's a combination of both. So don't do one to the neglect of others.

The Spiritual ABCs

But then under this heading, how to deal with it if we are the depressed, I would suggest the spiritual ABCs. If there are physical ABCs, diet, exercise, and rest, there are spiritual ABCs. And those persons who say, I am sorrowful, I am depressed, I am going through a bout of melancholy, ought not to be persons who leave off the means that God has ordained. In other words, prayer, scripture, and church attendance are the ABCs.

If we neglect those particular things, we're neglecting a vital part of our overall health. Listen to the psalmist in Psalm 102. He says that the subscription is a prayer of the afflicted when he is overwhelmed and pours out his complaint before the Lord. He's overwhelmed, he's afflicted, so what does he do?

Well, I can't pray when I'm in this state. Because I'm in this state, I must pray. Because I'm in this state, I must go to God. Because I'm in this state, I must not absent myself from the very people of God that are there and calculated to do my soul good.

So if you are dead set against neglecting the physical, be dead set against neglecting the spiritual as well. Brethren, the very thing we need from God is God. And the way that God delivers himself to us is through what we call the means of grace. Prayer, scripture, corporate worship.

This is how we come into vital contact with God. You can meditate upon God and think about God as you look at general revelation to be sure, but you get more God in special revelation. For those of you who happened to be out last night around dusk, you perhaps saw Mount Sham with the full moon and the beauty that was displayed. It was gorgeous.

Everybody, or not everybody, some people were stopping, and I wondered why, and then I looked up. They were stopping so they could take pictures of how glorious this was. I wasn't quite that sharp on the uptake, so I didn't get a picture. But if you happen to see that, you think God, you think glory of God, you think magnificence of God.

But as well, when you come to Scripture, when you come to the Lord in prayer, when you come to the Lord in public worship. We need to imitate David in Psalm 122. I was glad when they said unto me, let us go to the house of the Lord. It is the devil's logic when you are downcast and despairing to try and keep you from the means of grace.

Well, God doesn't want me because I'm so sorrowful. God doesn't want me because I'm disobeying Paul. Paul tells me to rejoice always. Again, I will say, rejoice.

Now, why do you think Paul tells us that? Why do you think Scripture emphasizes that? Because of the disposition in many to not do it. We need to be called on by God often and repeatedly hear those things that are best for us.

But the devil will get in there and say, God doesn't want to hear you pray. You're not glad. God doesn't want to hear you pray. You're not happy.

God doesn't want you at worship. You look like a mess. That's the devil's logic, brethren, and you need to resist him and he will flee from you. And then some other considerations I offer to my brothers and sisters who struggle with depression or melancholy.

In the first place, I would suggest the recognition that you may never be cured. You may never be cured. I think a better goal is to try and manage and strategies to cope and ways to deal. Now, God can heal you.

God can plaster the big smile on your face. God can flood you with a disposition that is altogether different. But in my experience, he doesn't normally do that. And so the way that we ought to proceed is figuring out ways to manage.

Okay, I should eat properly, I should diet, I should exercise, I shouldn't miss the means of grace, and especially when I'm in the throes of depression or melancholy. Again, it's counterintuitive, because when you're in the throes of depression or melancholy, you just want to go hide. You just want to be on your own. You don't want to exercise, you don't want to eat, right?

Big Macs never look so good as they do when you're in that sorrowful state. But brethren, be counterintuitive and do what God says. As well, you need to recognize that you are not to rely on the creature in order to gain hope. Let me just qualify that.

Everything not God is creature. I'm not suggesting you can't use creature, but you cannot rely on creature. How do we describe food today? We call it comfort food.

Well, brethren, I get it, and I'm not here to tell you everybody on the Food Network is going to hell, but our comfort is in God. Our comfort is in Jesus. He is our only hope and comfort, both in this life and that which is to come. Recreational drugs, sex, Those things that persons use in an attempt to try and deal with their depression, those things are counterintuitive.

Those things are not calculated to deliver the goods for the people of God. And I would suggest finally, relative to those who are depressed, the recognition that God has given this to you. As I mentioned, my beloved wife tells me that person is driving because God is sovereign. They're going slow, 40. 40 in a 50 zone.

I don't know why anybody would ever do that, but she reminds me those persons are there by God's decree. What does the psalmist say in Psalm 88? I already read it. Verse 6, you.

You have laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness in the depths. Now, there's intermediaries, there are those immediate means, but God is the immediate cause of the afflictions that you and I go through. You have laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the depths. And to get that consciously in our heads, again, I'm not suggesting you're gonna be cured, but you're gonna be helped.

And that's, I think, what we can hope for in this sin-cursed world.

Counsel for Those Helping the Depressed

And then finally, For those dealing with the depressed, and I give this advice as someone who has both given and been given terrible advice, okay? So I just want to acknowledge that. I myself have given terrible advice, but I also want to say I have been given terrible advice. Not for many of you, of course.

You guys are all great. Only ever great. Wonderful, awesome, beautiful. Words of honey dripping from your mouth.

I'm just kidding. In the first place, I want to deal with the negative and the positive. First place, negatively, is to deny depression. Oh, well, you know, I just can't see why people don't just Yeah, you can't see because you're not affected by it.

Imagine saying that to somebody who has cancer. Imagine saying that to somebody who has some internal malady. Imagine, well, I just don't know what that... Yeah, so you should probably be quiet instead of lecture them on what they need to do.

In his treatment, the minister's fainting fits. Spurgeon gives a series of reasons as to why ministers may find themselves sorrowful and depressed. And the last one I think is the most difficult to get one's mind wrapped around. It's called causeless depression.

Causeless depression. Again, if you have a chronic illness, it's pretty easy to see why you've got a sorrowful heart. If you've got cancer, it's probably easy to conclude that that's going to affect your heart negatively in terms of melancholy or depression. But if there's no sort of cause, if there's nothing you can put your finger on, That's a really difficult sort of thing to get one's mind wrapped around.

So in his treatment on causeless depression, Spurgeon makes this observation. He says, if those who laugh at such melancholy did but feel the grief of it for one hour, their laughter would be sobered into compassion. You may not know what it's like, so perhaps you're not the best one to make comment. Get me?

You know, we do that. Well, I know what you're going through. No, you don't. That's a tough statement to try and say to people.

I know what you're going through. No, not necessarily. See, God has made us all as individuals. There's patterns, there's similarities, there's overlap to be sure, but there are those individual circumstances that persons undergo that you can never say wholeheartedly or infallibly, I know what you're going through.

You do not necessarily. Secondly, and this is a corollary, the minimizing of depression. Okay, I guess it's out there. I guess it's a real category.

I guess there are some of the people of God that go through it, but it's not really bad. It's pretty easy to deal with. All you gotta do is buck up or read more chapters in your Bible or pray more or go to church more and everything will be good. Don't minimize it either.

Imagine minimizing again the malady of a person that had great suffering. We just wouldn't do that. And yet when it comes to depression or melancholy, we are masters of minimizing the various things that affect our fellows. Let's not do that.

And then just some real practical wrong things to do. Again, I say this as a man who has both done wrong and who has received wrong. Remember Proverbs 25, 20, it says, like one who takes away a garment in cold weather. Don't you love Solomon?

You want to be that guy that takes away somebody's garment in cold weather? Last night, it seemed a bit chillier than it had been over the last little while. Imagine me saying to my beloved, oh, no, you don't need extra blankets. You don't, no, no.

You just need to suck it up. You just need to knuckle under. You just need to be a Stoic or a Spartan and deal. Not that that's outside of my purview.

I'm certainly given to do that sort of thing. Like one who takes away a garment in cold weather, and like vinegar on soda, is one who sings songs to a heavy heart. Do you understand what Solomon is saying? Paul in Romans 12, 15 says, Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.

Singing songs to a heavy heart is akin to rejoicing with those who weep. See, we're supposed to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. If we sing songs to a heavy heart, we've turned that on its head. We are now rejoicing with those who are weeping.

Solomon says, don't do that. Don't be that person that takes away the garment from somebody who's freezing. Don't be the one who pours vinegar on soda just to see this weird reaction. That's not how we're supposed to govern ourselves when it comes to trying to help our fellows.

And then, real practically, telling the anxious man, don't worry, be happy. Now, that may fit for a pop song, but that doesn't fit for the various contours of soul problems that human beings face and suffer. Telling the depressed man, secondly, just suck it up. You know, that really doesn't work with depressed people, any more than it works with people who have cancer, any more than it works with people who have epilepsy.

Well, just stop having seizures. Brethren, if they could stop having seizures, don't you think they would? Seriously, don't you think they would? And then perhaps my favorite is telling the depressed man how bad you have it.

And it kind of goes like this. I was thinking about this in the shower this morning or on my walk. If I were to say to you, I've been suffering with headaches, and you say, oh man, I have the worst headaches, I've got the baddest headaches, I've just got severe headaches. Do you want an award for being king of the headaches?

I don't understand. How does that help me? If somebody says, oh, I have headaches and here's some things or strategies that have assisted or aided or helped me, that's different. But nobody knows sorrow the way I know sorrow.

Nobody knows that. Now you feel like a real heel because you're talking to the king of sorrows and actually deigning to submit that you likewise have some issues. And may I just say, there might possibly be somebody out there who has it worse than you. That's a real possibility.

Perhaps you've seen that meme floating around the internet with St. Greta Thunberg. And it's that quote, you've stolen my dreams. You've stolen my childhood.

Well, somebody has put all these pictures of children from other parts of the world. Some little children, soldiers. Some working in mines. Some slaves.

Well, St. Greta, you got it bad, but you ain't got it as bad as them. So you see, when you tell somebody, oh yeah, of course I'm the best at suffering. I'm amazing.

I'm the king of suffering. That doesn't help the person that has opened their heart and said, hey, can you give me some help? Telling the depressed man what he needs to do. Actually, I think this is my favorite.

Telling the depressed man what he needs to do. Let me try and illustrate. The depressed man is in a hole. And his friends come and they say, you need to get out of the hole.

And he at the bottom of the hole says, yeah, genius, I realize that, but it's tough. It's really hard. It's difficult. I understand the malady, but you just telling me to fix it doesn't do anything whatsoever.

So you see, there's some ways, if you don't have depression, if you don't have melancholy, if you don't suffer with the sorrow of heart, that Solomon says is in some of the people of God, and the rest of scripture demonstrates is in some of the people of God. then you can be of aid or assistance to those who do suffer. Again, I'm not binding your conscience. I'm not gonna say, well, don't ever do that. But if you do that, just realize that in the bottom of the hole, the guy's gonna say, yeah, thanks a lot.

I appreciate your advice. It's been very helpful. I need to get out of this hole. This is not the way to help people.

Now, what are some positive ways? First, the recognition that prayer for them is necessary. You may not know what they're going through, but God does. And who better to go to on their behalf than God?

Who better than God Almighty for you to try and fetch a blessing for a fellow, for a wife, for a husband, for a child, for a parent, for somebody that is undergoing these things? I don't know what you're going through, but I know who does, and I'm going to pray to Him for you. I'm going to go and seek a blessing from God Almighty on your behalf. Secondly, the recognition that they may require help, you can't give them.

Again, you can give them prayer to be sure, but they may need to see doctors, they may need to see pastors, they may need to seek out some help at a level that is a bit more familiar with those sorts of maladies. Thirdly, the recognition that rest and recovery needs to come before reconstruction. Let me explain those terms. Rest, recovery, reconstruction.

If you look at Elijah under the broom tree, rest, refreshment, and then reconstruction. Rest, refreshment, and then reconstruction. And that is what happens with Elijah. That's what happens in our Lord.

Again, you tell the man in the bottom of the hole, you need to get out. Throw him a sandwich. Tell him to lay down and have a nap. That might help.

I mean, you might think that's an odd place to have a nap, but hey, it's a good place as any, right? Go ahead, take a nap, rest, refresh. Maybe then you can try and claw your way out of that hole. You see, we want to reconstruct everybody by bypassing the very things that are going to aid them in their reconstruction.

They might need some refreshment and some rest and some recovery time. And then a final observation is the recognition that a little encouragement goes a long way. Proverbs 12.25. Let's go back to those passages and highlight what we see here.

Proverbs 12.25. Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, notice, but a good word makes it glad. Proverbs 16, 24, the way of life, I'm sorry, the way, 16, 24, I'm looking at 15. 16, 24, pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones. And then Proverbs 25 and verse 11.

Proverbs 25 and verse 11. A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver. Bridges comments here, or 2520. 2520 we've read. Like one who takes away a garment in cold weather and like vinegar on soda is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.

Bridges 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 mourner's friend in God, this is Christian sympathy, a precious balm for a broken heart. And Paul in 2 Corinthians 1, 3 and 4 says, 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. Again, I don't think Paul said, hey, I'm the chief sufferer. Whatever you got, ain't got nothing on me.

No, rather, he went through the sorts of things he went through so that he would be in a position to be able to minister to fellow sufferers along the way to Zion. Brethren, there are ways to deal and hopefully ways not to deal that we will avoid.

Conclusion: Four Closing Thoughts

Now in conclusion, got four quick thoughts. First, the instruction of an inspired word. The Bible is not silent here. The Bible is not silent on this matter of heart or soul sorrow.

It speaks to depression. It speaks to melancholy. And in the context of the church, it may be the case that not everybody is great. We just assume that, and that's the way we respond.

How are you doing? Great, great, great. Perhaps there's a hesitancy among us to actually reveal what's wrong, because we're afraid of the sorts of things that may come our way. Now, for those of you who are thinking, Butler must really be going through a tough time.

Butler isn't. I mean, Butler does, things aren't great in Butlerville, but it's not the worst it's ever been either. So this isn't a pity Butler sermon. This is a, I got to do more work on Acts 14 before I preach it, but this sermon has been tugging on my heart for some time because I think it transcends Butler.

I think there's a lot of us who undergo this kind of a mindset, this kind of struggle, and at times we feel vulnerable and would never ever relate it to someone else for fear of the sorts of responses that may come our way.

The Cries of a Suffering Saint

Secondly, the cries of a suffering saint. I've got a few sub points here. First, the value of lament in the Christian life. There are sections of scripture where the writer of scripture is expressing his grief to God.

You see it in the Psalter, and then there's a book by that title called Lamentations. That is an expression of faith. When the soul is downcast, going to God and rehearsing it to him doesn't dishonor God, but rather delights God, because God deals with honest people. And so when we express those heartaches and those hardships and sorrows, we're expressing them to the divine physician of our souls.

Secondly, under the cries of a suffering servant, the exercise of faith in the midst of suffering. Doesn't Paul say in 2 Corinthians 5, 7, for we walk by faith, not by sight. I fear that too far often, or too often rather, believers walk by experience. Believers walk by a feeling.

Believers walk by whatever the prevailing winds of the day may be. We are called to walk by faith. In the book, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy, by Mark Rogop, He comments on Lamentations, the book of. He says, Lamentations shows us that hope does not come from circumstances.

Rather, it comes from what you know to be true, despite the situation in front of you. In other words, you live through suffering by what you believe. Why is it that we don't internalize this concept? Why is it that we don't believe Paul when he says, walk by faith and not by sight?

Rather, it comes from what you know to be true despite the situation in front of you. You know the song, Great is Thy Faithfulness? In the old Trinity hymnal, it would have scripture texts at the top of the page for the various hymns. That's one of the problems with the new Trinity hymnal or the Psalter hymnal.

Do you know what the text was at Great is Thy Faithfulness? As far as I can remember, it was Lamentations 3. God's mercies, God's mercies are new each morning. His compassions fail not.

Now for those of you who perhaps do not understand the context of lamentations, it's the prophet Jeremiah's lament over the destruction of Jerusalem, over the desecration of the temple, over the exile of Judah. This was a time of great severe distress in Israel, and the prophet says that God's mercies are new each day, and His compassions fail not. Why? Because he doesn't walk by sight.

He doesn't say, well, Jerusalem is a mess, the temple is gone, therefore I'm just going to come apart and not confess the glory of God. No, he walks by faith. He doesn't let circumstances dictate, he lets faith dictate. You live through suffering by what you believe, not by what you see or feel.

And then the third thing, with reference to the cries of a suffering saint, is the practice of gratitude toward our gracious God. Now, a lot of you were brought up in the tradition that used the Heidelberg Catechism, and if you know me, you know that I love that catechism. I'd get rid of the paedo-baptism, and I might tinker with a few other things, but overall, it's a great catechism. There was a Baptist, a particular Baptist, what Reformed Baptists used to be called back then, who rewrote the same confession.

It's called the Orthodox Confession. You didn't get in trouble back then, you know, for basically ripping off other confessions. You could do that. His name was Hercules Collins.

Great name. Fantastic name for a theologian. Some of y'all ought to call your kids Hercules. That'd be great.

Hercules. What a... That's actually a very tough name for a kid to live up to. It's like Samson.

What kid is going to grow up to be a Samson? But what is the pattern or paradigm for that great catechism? Guilt, grace, gratitude. Some of us interpret it as guilt, grace, grumbling. a gracious or rather a thankful heart might ward off a downcast heart.

Counting our blessings each and every day, reflecting on the goodness of God in that the bigger problems of our lives are being behind people that go 40 miles an hour instead of 50. Talk about a first world problem, brethren. And gratitude indicates that. Think about Israel as they're going to enjoy tenure in the land of Canaan.

At the end of Deuteronomy, in chapter 28, God gives them a series of blessings and a longer series of cursings. In other words, if you go into the land and you disobey God, you transgress the covenant, you are insubordinate, you are lawless, then God is going to dispossess you from the land. This is how you answer people that say, oh, I couldn't serve a God who told Israel to chase the Canaanites out of their land. That same God chased Israel out of the land when she acted like the Canaanites.

There's no capriciousness or arbitrariness with God, but justice and righteousness. But one of the intriguing things that I wonder if we reflect upon as we look at those particular curses is Deuteronomy 28, 47, and 48a. because you did not serve Yahweh, your God, with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything. Therefore, you shall serve your enemies. What's God saying?

When you go into the land, you're supposed to have joy, gladness of heart, and express that gratitude to God. In that old covenant setting, they had their guilt, bondage in Egypt. They had their grace, the deliverance at the Exodus. They should have expressed their gratitude when they got into the land, and yet they grumbled, they complained, they whined, they murmured.

There's a New Testament passage that tells the people of God not to live that way. Philippians 2.14, the Apostle Paul says, Twice or thrice I have referred to the relationship that obtains between me and my beloved. She is right. And I am wrong, and I own that publicly.

I am not supposed to complain about the sorts of things that I do. And I'm thankful for someone faithful in my life that exhorts me and encourages me that way. But I need to be reminded what Paul says. Paul says, do all things without complaining and disputing.

The very real temptation of allowing a melancholic mind to lead to a whining attitude instead of thanking God Almighty for His many, many mercies is real. And brethren, a thankful heart may ward off, or at least help ward off a downcast heart. So when somebody says gently, encouragingly, and graciously, you should contemplate your many blessings, that's not bad advice. That's really good advice.

So if you're in the bottom of the hole and they say, you do have a lot to be thankful for, there's no water in the hole, that's a plus. The hole is something you can ultimately navigate your way out of. That's a plus. You've got sunshine, which are in the bottom of the hole.

God is good, brother. Be faithful and persevering. Trust in his many mercies and thank him for those that have been. poured out on you. So we've got the instruction of an inspired word, the cries of a suffering saint.

The Protection of a Sovereign God

Thirdly, the protection of a sovereign God. C. H. Spurgeon again.

He 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 forsaketh not his saints. Live by the day, aye, by the hour.

Put no trust in frames and feelings. Care more for a grain of faith than a ton of excitement. Man, if you don't ever hear me say that, listen to Spurgeon. Don't walk by feeling.

Don't walk by experience. Don't walk by gladness. Walk by faith. That's what Paul says.

He says, trust in God alone and lean not on the reeds of human help. And then elsewhere in the same treatment, he says, any simpleton can follow the narrow path in the light. Faith's rare wisdom enables us to march on in the dark with infallible accuracy, since she places her hand in that of her great guide. Beautiful.

The Comfort of the Gospel

And then the final thought, we close here, the comfort of the Christian gospel. the comfort of the Christian gospel. I'm gonna lean on Mote here, Edward Mote. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name.

I think that's a biblical doctrine. I think what he's saying there is true. And I think there's an inference or an implication that we ought to draw. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but I also don't abandon hope under the most difficult frame.

Mote goes on. When darkness veils his lovely face, I rest upon unchanging grace. In every rough and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil. His oath, his covenant, his blood support me in the whelming flood.

When all around my soul gives way, he then is all my hope and stay. On Christ, the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand. And if you don't know this Christ, it is by grace through faith in Him. Look on to Jesus Christ. the author and finisher of faith.

Look unto Jesus Christ, the one who came into this world, the second person of the Trinity, comes into this world. He assumes our humanity with everything that is essential to humanity, with all the common infirmities associated with humanity, yet without sin. And as a man, he lives in obedience to the Father's law, because we don't. As a man, he dies on the cross, as the God-man, he dies on the cross, taking the punishment due for our sins in his own body.

He's then laid in the tomb, but on the third day, he's raised again. And the Apostle Paul summarizes this transaction beautifully. In Romans 4.25, he says that Christ was delivered up because of our offenses, and he was raised for our justification. You may be melancholic, you may be depressed, you may be a sorrowful soul, and you may ultimately end up in the very bosom of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

It isn't gladness, it isn't joy, it isn't happiness that secures our place in heaven, it's blood atonement, it's the righteousness of Jesus Christ, that soul righteousness imputed to us and received by faith alone. So as we go forward, if we have sorrow, if we have melancholy, if we're living in the bottom of a ditch or in the bottom of a hole, this one thing is sure. God hasn't abandoned us. God hasn't forsaken us.

God hasn't said, well, too bad for you. In Christ, whether in the bottom of a hole or outside of the hole, that's the glory of the Christian gospel. Well, let us pray.

Closing Prayer

Father, thank you for your Word, and thank you that it speaks to these things that affect us in this world. I ask God that you would encourage each of my brothers and sisters, those struggling with sorrow, with despair, with this depression and melancholy, I just commit them to you and to the Word of your grace, and I pray that they would know your sweet smile, they would know your kindness in their lives, and even if the afflictions are not removed, they would see the glory of God Almighty in the midst of the affliction. And for those who are not saved, Father, I pray that they would believe the gospel, that they would look unto Jesus Christ and live, that they, by grace, would come to Him who says, come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. What a glorious, what a wondrous, what a good Savior.

And I pray that all over the earth today, as this gospel goes forth, it would run swiftly and be glorified. And we ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Well, you may take your hymn book and turn to 568.

Scripture References

• Deuteronomy 28:47-48
• 1 Samuel 30
• 1 Kings 19
• Job 4:1-6
• Psalms 38:3; 42:5; 43:5; 88:6; 89; 102; 122
• Proverbs 12:25; 13:12; 14:10; 14:13; 15:13; 15:15; 16:24; 17:22; 18:14; 24:10; 25:11; 25:20; 31:6-7
• Isaiah 53:3
• Lamentations 3
• Mark 6:31
• Romans 4:25; 7; 12:15
• Galatians 5
• Philippians 2:14
• 2 Corinthians 1:3-4; 5:7