I am going to ask you to take
your Bibles and turn with me to Proverbs 17.24. Proverbs 17.24.
Hold your finger right there. and turn to Psalm 42 and just
hold your place both places. I'm going to read Psalm 1724
and then we're going to look at Psalm 42 for a minute. Proverbs 1724 says this, is before him that hath understanding. But the eyes of a fool are in
the ends of the earth." Wisdom is before him that hath
understanding. The eyes of a fool are in the
ends of the earth. Now that verse of scripture speaks of the Lord's fulfillment,
of His promise to never leave nor forsake His people. What
we just read right here, there's the fulfillment, there's the
promise, I'm not going to leave you. Now, that's the answer to a very real
problem that every believer possesses. A real problem. And here's the problem. Spiritual
heaviness and doubt. and questionings within. I've entitled this message, Deliverance
from Spiritual Depression. Turn with me to Psalm 42. I want to just read each of these
verses, make just a quick comment. Now let me tell you who penned
this passage of Scripture. David. David, the Scripture said, was
a man after God's own heart. David was a man that knew God, that loved God because God loved
him first. David was a marvelous, beautiful
picture. type of the Lord Jesus Christ. A man that God taught much to. Kept Him. Taught Him. Sustained Him. David. The timing
of this Psalm 42 is more than likely Hard to say, but more than likely,
either when Saul was pursuing David, or Absalom, David's son. And David's out in the mountains,
he's hiding out what he's doing. And here the sweet psalmist of
Israel says in verse 1, Psalm 42, as the heart, as the deer, panteth after the water brooks,
so panteth my soul after thee, O God." I pant after the Lord. My soul thirsteth for God, for
the living When shall I come and appear before God? Two thoughts on that second verse. Two thoughts. Either he meant,
when shall I appear before Him with Him in glory, or he could
have been referring to this. When shall I once again appear
before Him in public worship? I am out here being pursued by whoever, Saul, Absalom. When shall I come and appear
before God? When shall the Lord allow me
once again to come and assemble myself together, either with
God's people Or when shall I stand before the Lord? Received into
His very presence. When? My tears have been my meat day
and night while they continually say unto me, he said, now this
is what my tears are saying to me. I'm broken hearted. I'm hungry. I'm thirsting after
God. As the deer pants for water,
pant for the Lord. When shall I be able to meet
together in His presence to hear His gospel preached? When? My tears, that is what I feasted
on. That is what I have. Day and
night. While they continually say to
me, where is your God now? There you are. You're broken. You're weeping. You're thirsting
after God. You want to be in the presence
of the Lord. And your tears are saying to
you, that's what David said, while they continually say unto
me, Where is thy God? Where is your comfort? Right
now. Now listen to this. When I remember these things,
I pour out my soul in me. For I had gone with the multitude. I went with them to the house
of God with the voice of joy and praise with the multitude
that kept holy day. I remember I've been with God's
people before. I've heard the gospel of God's
free grace set forth, preached. I've sung the songs of Zion. I've been there. I remember. And now I'm being pursued. And my heart is broken and I'm
weeping. And then he talks to himself,
and he speaks to his soul. Why art thou cast down, O my
soul? Why art thou disquieted in me? Hope thou in God, for I shall
yet praise him for the help of his countenance, for his presence
in salvation. Here's a good question. Here's a good question for every
believer. And I would say that any man, any woman that would
say to me, I never find myself cast down. I never find myself
doubting. I never find myself in that state
of spiritual depression. I would wonder. I'd wonder about
that. Here's the sweet psalmist of
Israel. Why art thou cast down? Why are you bowed down? Why are
you so depressed, O my soul? Why art thou disquieted? that know Him. Point myself. I'm talking to me. David was
talking to himself. Why art thou cast down, O my
soul? He's talking to himself. May I remember. Point myself back to Him. And this very pointing
is an encouragement. And it's an immediate application
to the God of my hope. I need to remind myself, while
I'm asking myself, why are you cast down? Oh my God, my soul is cast down
within me. Therefore will I remember Thee
from the land of Jordan, And of the Hermonites from the hill
of Mizar, I looked up those references right there. Let me tell you
what they were. They were places that David had gone through some
tough times. When he crossed over Jordan,
he had been instructed, you know, to give him some bad advice. You know, don't go. The Spirit
of God intervened and he crossed over Jordan and delivered him.
These different places where he thought back on the deliverance
of God. Let me ask you this. I'll ask myself this. Think back
on the times that God has delivered you in these moments of great
trial. Think when you first heard of
something that just shook your very foundation. You think, oh,
not that. Not that. He says, I remember. I remember. Lord, you delivered me out of
every one of those. As I think back on it, I wouldn't
take anything. But what you taught me, and what
you delivered me from, helped me, kept me. Lord, I remember those gracious
deliverances from the past, and that's an encouragement to me. unto deep at the noise of thy
waterspouts, all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me."
One chastisement after another. One gracious and merciful chastisement
from the Lord that loves His people, that said, if you be
without Him, you're illegitimate, you don't know Him. Your chastening hand rolls over
me. Deep calleth unto deep that the
noise of thy waters pass. All thy waves, thy billows are
gone over me. Lord, you are doing this for
my good, for your glory, for your honor. Yet, the Lord will
command His lovingkindness in the daytime. And in the night
his song shall be with me in my prayer unto the God of my
life." This I know, David said. He has
delivered me time and again. And he has promised, I will never
leave thee. I will never forsake thee. I shall praise and pray unto
the God of my life. That's what he said. Verse 8.
My prayer unto the God of my life. Number one, He's made me
naturally alive. He's kept me alive right now.
I'm breathing right now. But He's called me out of darkness
and given me spiritual life. And I'm in this world right now. And I'm bound to this old nature,
this old man. But Lord, You've kept me. In spite of my frailties, my
heartaches, these loving, chastening moments, these billows, these
deeps that you roll over, that I don't know the depth of. I
don't know what you're doing, but Lord, you've kept me. And
Lord, you who are my eternal life, one day that I'll be with
you, My prayer unto the God of my life. I will say, verse 9,
unto God, my rock. Now listen to this. And I'm going
to just tell you the way we are. He has been talking about all
of the deliverances. He's questioned. He's talked
to Himself. Why? Why are you cast down? Verse
5. Why? I'm going to look to Him. He's chasing. He's never left
me. He delivered me, verse 6. He's kept all the deeps, verse
7, that He's chasing hands. Yet, the Lord will command His
love and kindness in the daytime and nighttime. And with all of His deliverances,
with all of His mercy, let me tell you how we are, that you
that know Him know what I'm talking about. You that know Him know
what I'm talking about. Verse 9, I will say unto God,
my rock, why hast thou forgotten me? Do you think he's forgotten?
He said, I'll never leave you. I'll never forsake you. Why am I thus? Why this dull
and lifeless frame? Surely, could they be worse who
have never heard His name? I'll never doubt you again, don't
you ever say that, because I'm telling you, the very moment
you think you're going to stand, this is what you'll do. I will
say unto God, my rock, I know who he is. Why hast thou forgotten
me? Why go I mourning? Because of
the oppression of the enemy. Why? Oh, these grievous taunts
from the enemy, the greatest enemy right here, right here,
Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief from the world, from Satan. As with a sword in my bones,
my enemies reproach me while they say daily unto me, Where
is thy God? And the insinuation, Where is
thy God now? When these chastisements, these
deeds come upon you, where is your God now? That's what they're
taunting me. Taunting me. So I come back, verse 11, to
the original question. Why art thou cast down, O my
soul? And why art thou disquieted within
me? Hope thou in God. For I shall
yet praise Him who is the health of my countenance and my God."
My hope is in my God, in my covenant God. And I know and I admit that
though in my flesh there is no good thing, and I know that,
And I behold something of my weakness, but bless His holy name." He
said, I'll never leave you. You leave me to myself, and I'm
going to question Him, and I'm going to doubt, and I hate it. I hate it. Oh, wretched man that
I am. But he does not forget. He does
not forget. Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation
is all of grace. Salvation is by Christ, in Christ,
for His honor and His glory. And I am a frail creature of
the dust that He has chosen to show mercy to. Thanks be unto
God when I question, and I wish I didn't. It grieves me when
I think the things that I think about questioning His dealings
with me. Why are you cast down? I'll tell you why. Because of
the presence of sin with me. Because I see in me, that is
in my flesh, this is why I doubt. And I am so thankful that he
does not mark iniquity. Who should stand? There is the
problem. Now, I just want to read for
just a minute the deliverance from that. Back in Proverbs 17.24. Wisdom is before him that hath
understanding. Wisdom Himself. Wisdom who is wisdom. He who is made unto us who believe. Wisdom is before. Wisdom is near. Wisdom is with. Wisdom, Christ
Himself, the wisdom of God, is the face of God's deliverance. Wisdom is before Him that hath
understanding, that knows God. When I can't see Him, Scripture
says He's before Him He is near him that hath understanding.
Man is born without understanding. Psalm 14, 2, The Lord looked
down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any
that did understand and seek God, that possessed wisdom to
know anything of himself or anything of who God is. And they're all
gone aside. They're all departed. They're
all together become filthy. They're corrupt. There's none that doeth good.
No, not one. A man comes forth from his mother's
womb, a liar. Psalm 119, 151 says, Thou art
near, O Lord. and all thy commandments are
truth." But here's the comfort, here's
the assurance of the believer. Though I am my own worst enemy. Though the enemies of this world,
though the enemy of Satan himself, even this very flesh that tries
to disrupt and continually taunt. Remember something. My flesh
hates God. My flesh hates God. My flesh will not bow. My flesh does one thing. It's
going to resist. It's going to disobey. That's
all. But according to His Word, that
His Word, He who has chosen to show mercy
to His elect, He who has redeemed His people, His elect, who died
only for His elect, men that stand in pulpits and
blasphemously say, that the precious Lord Jesus Christ died to make
salvation possible. That's a lie. That's a lie. What you're doing, when you say
that or you listen to somebody say that, and they're casting
a dispersion on Him, on His ability. He didn't fail. He didn't fail.
He died and redeemed His people. He came into this world according
to that everlasting covenant of grace. There's everlastingly
been communion between Him and His people. Given Him by the
Father are people. And He is the surety of His people. When I doubt He's ever faithful,
when I'm always unfaithful, Psalm 46, verse 1, God is our refuge
and strength of very present help in trouble. And I'm always in trouble. The Lord is nigh unto all that
call upon Him in truth. So wisdom is before, is near
Him that hath understanding to direct, to comfort, to keep. those that know Him, love Him,
follow Him. And they love His presence. They
think, Lord, if You weren't here, if You weren't here, you know,
the bride in Song of Solomon, have you seen Him that my soul
loved? When the clouds, when He's pleased
to hide His presence from me. You know what that does? That
makes me vitally aware. I don't know where He is. I don't
know what He's doing. And I don't like this. Lord, help me. It causes me to
seek Him. Seek Him in His Word. I want
to read something that gives me some assurance. Lord, this
is Your Word. I want to call upon Him in prayer. And I want
to be, I need to be, I must be where the gospel of God's free
and sovereign, saving, redeeming, electing, predestinating grace
is preached. Don't tickle my ears. I don't
have time. I don't have a heart for it.
I want to be where God is honored. But the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth.
What a direct contrast to those who look upon and look for Him
that they know, according to His Word, is near. He's near. Those that know Him in truth Those that look and desire Christ,
the fool, desires only that which is temporal. They are just satisfied
with nothing, nothing, nothing. Satisfied to be cut off. Satisfied to be separate. Satisfied to stay in the wilderness Just tell me anything. Not a
believer. Not a believer. Tell me about Him that saves
sinners. Wisdom. Wisdom is near before Him that
hath understanding. But the eyes of the fool. or
in the ends of the earth. Ye that are made wise in salvation,
made so by the grace of God, be watchful. Scripture says stand fast. Stand
fast in the faith. Quit you like men. Be strong in the Lord. who may be found. Wise are on guard against false
doctrine. A believer knows when he hears
the gospel. He knows. I told you about Brother Henry.
I'll say it one time. Somebody will ask a believer,
they'll say, what do you believe? And they'll stammer and stutter
I try to think of everything they can think of. And I've heard
this before. Surely I ought to be able to
tell somebody. And they just struggle. But when
they hear the gospel clearly preached, set forth, God's Word
taken, and Christ is honored, and man is abased, God Almighty
is set forth in His sovereignty and His honor. And salvation
is all of the Lord. Let's see, that's what I believe
right there. That's what I believe. Lord, help us. We're frail creatures. We're
prone. We're prone to wander because
of the presence of sin. Remind us, Lord, of your presence
daily, for Christ's sake. Amen.