Hope For The Downcast

As many of you know, the book of psalms was the original song book for Israel. It was considered a hymnal. Every psalm was sung. We don’t know the music, the tunes to any of these psalms anymore, but we have the lyrics. So Psalm 42 is one of these songs that would have been sung.

As a background on this psalm, you’ll notice in your Bible that it is subtitled, “To the Chief Musician. A Contemplation of the sons of Korah.” It is an instructive psalm. Sometimes you can put important things you need to learn to music, so you can remember them, and you can learn things that way. My wife learned a song growing up, so she could remember all the capitals of all the states in the United States of America. But that’s the kind of thing that helps you remember; it’s instructive, because it’s put to music. Psalm 42 is intended for us to learn something important; it’s an instructive psalm.

It’s also subtitled “of the sons of Korah.” If you have an older King James version of the Bible, it says, “for the sons of Korah,” so Bible scholars don’t know if it was written by the sons of Korah or by someone else for them. Most Bible scholars believe that it was written by the sons of Korah. And there are 11 other psalms in the book of Psalms that have that same byline, “of the sons of Korah.”

Who exactly are the sons of Korah? Korah was a bad guy mentioned in the Old Testament. He had lead a rebellion against Moses and Aaron and their leadership, in Numbers 16. Korah recruited two other men, Dathan and Abiram, and they then recruited 250 other men, all of whom rebelled against Moses and Aaron’s leadership. God told Moses to gather together Korah, Dathan, Abiram and their families and the other 250 for a meeting. When they were all gathered together, God told Moses to step away from them. When God tells you to step away, something bad is about to happen. When Moses had stepped away, the earth opened up and the whole gathered assembly was consumed, then God closed the earth over them. That was radical!

Apparently Korah had either sons who were too young to be part of that judgment moment, or he had sons who escaped that moment, because they knew what was going to go down. Generations later, “the sons of Korah” are the descendants of Korah.

Korah was a man who God killed, because of his rebellion against Moses and Aaron, which was really rebellion against God. Yet here we are, generations later, that the Bible tells us the descendants of Korah are now serving as orchestra leaders and choral directors in the Levitical worship in the temple of God, the tabernacle in the time of David under the authority of King David. What a redemptive story! This guy that God judged—generations later, his descendants would serve as worship leaders in the house of the Lord.

I don’t know what kind of family you have come from, whatever your heritage is, but you can begin a new heritage in the Lord. Some of you came from bad families. And none of us had any choice about what family we were born into. Some of you came from wonderful families, and some of you came from very difficult families. The good news is that in Christ, you can start a whole new heritage, for yourself and for your descendants after you.

And that’s what really matters. It doesn’t matter what family you were born into; what matters is to be born into the family of God. Then God can take you and use you in a whole new way, and the generations following you.

That’s who the sons of Korah are in the Bible. They were orchestra leaders and choral directors in the house of God, and had written Psalm 42.

This is what the psalm says: “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, while they continually say to me, ‘Where is your God?’ When I remember these things, I pour out my soul within me. For I used to go with the multitude; I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast.”

“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. O my God, my soul is cast down within me; therefore I will remember You from the land of the Jordan, and from the heights of Hermon, from the Hill Mizar. Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls; all Your waves and billows have gone over me. The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me—a prayer to the God of my life.”

“I will say to God my Rock, ‘Why have You forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?’ As with a breaking of my bones, my enemies reproach me, while they say to me all day long, ‘Where is your God?’ Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God.”

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to look at Psalm 42 and realize that this has to do with discouragement, in as much as it reflects the writer’s feelings of being “cast down” or “downcast.” And the words “cast down” appear only 11 times in the whole Bible, and three of them are in this psalm. It is repeated in verses 5, 6 and 11. The words “cast down” or “downcast” is a single word in the Hebrew, which is “shachach.” It means “to sink” or “to depress.” It is a term that is applied mostly to sheep.

Where I live outside Washington, D C, there are some sheep farmers, but most of us are not acquainted with sheep and shepherding. But you see it throughout the Bible, because Israel had an agrarian culture. You see sheep and shepherds in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. And people are referred to as “sheep” in the Bible, which is not a flattering thing. Sheep are not the smartest animal in the animal kingdom. They are dumb and clueless.

Psalm 23:2 says, “He leads me beside the still waters.” Sheep will not drink from running water. It has to be water in a bucket or in a pond. It can’t be moving, because they realize that if they fall in wearing 100 sweaters, they’re going to drown. So they’re scared and they’re not smart.

So the Bible speaks of shepherds and sheep a lot. And one of the problems that sheep get into is because of the disproportion of their body, especially before they are sheared. They are extra wide and long and have little, short spindly legs. So if they lie down and happen to roll over on their back, they can’t get their little, spindly legs to get them back upright. They can actually die in that position. And a sheep in that position on its back is called a “cast sheep.” And when sheep are cast down, they are in a helpless position.

There is a book by Phillip Keller called A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23. I’m going to quote from that book to show you how serious a sheep being cast down is. He writes,

“A heavy, fat or long-fleeced sheep will lie down comfortably in some little hollow or depression in the ground. It may roll on its side slightly to stretch out or to relax, and suddenly the center of gravity in its body shifts so that it turns on its back far enough that the feet no longer touch the ground. It may feel a sense of panic and start to paw frantically. And frequently this only makes things worse; it rolls over even further. Now it is quite impossible for it to regain its feet. As it lies there struggling, gases begin to build up in the rumen—sheep have four chambers in their stomach—and as the gases expand, they tend to cut off blood circulation to extremities of the body, especially the legs, and if the weather is very hot and sunny, a cast sheep can die in a few hours.”

So this is a very fearful thing for a sheep to become cast down. And this is the language and the words that the writer of Psalm 42 is using. To be “cast down” or to be “downcast” is a picture of a helpless sheep on its back unable to do anything to rectify the situation. It is a picture of hopelessness and helplessness.

Now you get the idea behind these words in Psalm 42. And in reality, this psalm can describe us. It can describe seasons that people can go through, which ends up causing one to feel very hopeless and helpless, like you were on your back struggling to get your footing. And Christians are not exempt from this.

There was a guy who came up to me years ago after church service and said, “Pastor Gary, I’m not ready to receive Christ. I’ve been coming to church, I’m trying to get a sense of what following Jesus is all about, and I can’t do it.”

“Why can’t you do it? Why can’t you accept Him as your Lord and Savior?”

“Because I look at everybody in the church, I’m lookin’ around, and everybody seems to have their life together. I know I don’t, therefore I can’t be like these people.”

I said, “Let me tell you something. Look around at all these people again. These people don’t have it all together. They just know Someone who is holding it all together.”
We go through seasons. Every single one of us sometimes goes through difficulties and trials and seasons that make it very difficult to navigate life. We all go through seasons of discouragement.

I’m not talking about those who suffer from genuine, clinical depression. Some people have a chemical imbalance and need help and sometimes even need medication. I’m talking about all of us who, from time to time, will go through difficulties and seasons of discouragement.

It can be a short season or a long season. Discouragement can come upon any of us at any time. Just because you’re a Christian, don’t think that all of a sudden, your life is carefree until you get to heaven. “It’s smooth sailing.” No. What I found out is that when I became a Christian, everything in my world became crazy. When you say “Yes” to Jesus, there’s the attack of the enemy, the conflict with the world, the battle with your own flesh. All that can sometimes wear on a person. It can make you weary and discouraged.

The psalmist doesn’t tell us, in Psalm 42, what precipitated this season of discouragement, but he describes it. In verse 3, he says, “My tears have been my food day and night, while they continually say to me, ‘Where is your God?’” He says that he can’t stop crying. And at the end of verse 7, he says, “All Your waves and billows have gone over me.” He’s saying that he feels like he’s drowning. In the first part of verse 9, he says, “I will say to God my Rock, ‘Why have You forgotten me?’”

Have you ever been in one of those seasons?

He feels forgotten by God. It isn’t true, but it’s how he feels. Our feelings are genuine, but they’re not reliable. When you’re in a season of discouragement, you can feel like that; you can feel that God has tuned you out, He’s not answering your prayers. “Where are You, Lord?!” We don’t dismiss our feelings; they’re legitimate. But feelings are not reliable, and God has not forsaken him or us.

And through all this, the psalmist tells us, in verse 3, that his enemies, people who are naysayers, are coming around him in his season of discouragement and saying, “Where is your God?” “If you’re a Christian, you shouldn’t be so down and so discouraged.” And he repeats it again in verse 10: “As with a breaking of my bones, my enemies reproach me, while they say to me all day long, ‘Where is your God?’”

In your discouragement, people will look at you and think, That’s not becoming of a Christian. Where is God? I though God would take care of you. This is the way the world can be. They’re not very compassionate, not sympathetic.

The psalmist is saying that this is his world right now. His tears have been his food, he’s crying all day long, he feels like he’s drowning, he’s overwhelmed with all this, he feels forgotten by God, and on top of all that, his enemies are piling it on him. So discouragement has set in like a heavy, wet blanket.

But there is hope for the downcast. There are five points here of what he does to bring himself through this season of discouragement. If there are any who are on cloud nine, having a good day, I’m not taking away anything from you; stay there. But someone once said, “You’re either in a storm, coming out of a storm or heading into a storm.” At some point, you may need to remember Psalm 42, because all of us go through seasons of discouragement.

There are several things that helped the psalmist work through his season of discouragement. Number one, he does not surrender to the emotions of discouragement. He fights back. He determines not to let his discouragement rule his heart and head. There is a fighting spirit in this psalm. He acknowledges his condition, verse 5; he says, “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me?” But then the rest of the verse says, “Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance.”

He says that his feelings and emotions are real and he feels downcast, but he says he will yet hope in the Lord and he will praise Him. “Maybe it’s hard in the midst of it, but I’m going to praise Him! I’m going to fight through this!” He does not give in to his emotions. He harnesses his emotions in a healthy way.

We must do the same. We must realize that our emotions want to lead, but we must not let emotions lead. They are God given, but we must harness our emotions. We must lead with faith and trust God, and our emotions will follow. If we are just emotional creatures, we will just be given over to every whim, and we will be making terrible decisions on an emotional basis.

So the psalmist is saying here that through thick and thin, he will still praise God. He says, “I may not be in a good place right now, but I will yet praise Him. So I put my hope in God.”

That is our exhortation here from this psalm: don’t surrender to the emotions of discouragement. Keep fighting through it. James said in James 1:12, “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved…” or “stood the test” “…he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” Paul wrote a similar thing in Galatians 6:9: “Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” So persevere. Fight through it.

Number two, he remembers “the God things.” He remembers God’s people, God’s house and God Himself. Verse 4 says, “When I remember these things…” He’s calling some things to mind to help him in his season of discouragement. This is important. “…I pour out my soul within me. For I used to go with the multitude; I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast.”

He’s remembering when he used to go to church. He’s probably checked out for a little bit, because he’s in this season of discouragement. But what helps him is remembering when he used to go to church. “I was with a fellowship of believers, and we used to worship together. O, that lifted my soul! I need to get back to that, to that fellowship of believers, where I can be in the house of the Lord with the people of the Lord and worshipping the Lord.” So he realizes what will help him in his discouragement; that it is when he returns to the house of the Lord to worship the Lord with the people of the Lord.
Something transformational happens to the human soul when we gather together in God’s house with God’s people. Something happens in the heart and soul of a person when they are in fellowship with one another in worshipping the Lord together.

I like technology; we broadcast all of our services live and we archive everything. It goes around the world. On any given Sunday, we have from 30 to 44 foreign countries that are watching. I get emails from the Philippines, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia. Because of technology, people are now able to tune in.

But technology is not a substitute for worship with the people of God. And I realize that today technology is somewhat necessary, especially for the elderly or the sick who can’t get out of the house. They can still tune in. We can bring church to them. I think that’s a wonderful thing. But I’ve also realized and said this to people who tune in to us and consider us their home church, even though they live in various states across the country—that they should find a church if they can. The truth is that there are fewer and fewer churches in America that are teaching God’s Word.

I like what Pastor John is doing here; it’s a solid place where the Word is being taught. But this is rare, and it’s becoming increasingly rarer. Churches are not teaching the Bible like they used to. They’re involved in social issues, hanging out the rainbow flag and not teaching the truth of God’s Word. Therefore, people are having a hard time finding a good, solid church. So online church is almost a necessity for people, because they don’t live close to a church that is still teaching the Bible. So I understand that is the makeup of the church these days.

But where there is a good, Bible-teaching church like Revival and where you can be in fellowship, please go to it, because it is so important to help us through seasons of discouragement. Yet when you are in a season of discouragement, the last place you want to be is with a bunch of people. “I just want to be home, and I don’t want to be with people who ask, ‘Why do you look so sad?’” They’re probably good intentioned, but how do you feel when people come up to you and ask, “Why do you look so tired? You look run down. You look depressed”?

I just get so frustrated. People can be so mean sometimes. So the last place you want to be is with a bunch of people when you’re sad. But it’s the best place to be. And it’s okay to just say to somebody when they ask you one of those questions, “I’m going through something right now. Just remember to pray for me.” You don’t have to tell them details unless you want to. The Bible says, “…not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together…but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25). The “Day” here is the return of Christ.

There is this natural encouragement that happens in our souls when we meet with God’s people and worship in God’s house and study God’s Word. No doubt that’s why David wrote in Psalm 122:1, “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go into the house of the Lord.’”

I can’t tell you how many people have come up to me over the years after a service and said, “Pastor Gary, I didn’t even want to come to church today. But I’m so glad I did, because the Lord met me here.” And the Lord is doing that to some of you right now, because you mustered up what you had to come. And the Lord has met you here today. That ministers to you.

And the writer of this psalm doesn’t just remember God’s people and God’s house; he remembers God Himself. In verse 6, he says, “O my God, my soul is cast down within me; therefore I will remember You from the land of the Jordan, and from the heights of Hermon, from the Hill Mizar.”

Hermon is the highest peak in Israel, and the Hill Mizar is a small, little hill that is only mentioned in all the Bible in this one verse. So what the psalmist is basically saying is that whether he is on the highest of highs or the lowest of lows, God is going to meet him there and everywhere in between.

And, number three, another thing that helps him with his discouragement is talking to himself. His faith reasons with his fears out loud. Every time we read in the psalm, “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,” he’s saying this out loud. He’s verbalizing what he’s feeling. He’s not writing to the Lord at this moment, even though it is a song to the Lord, and he’s not writing this to others. He’s saying this about himself. “Why am I feeling like this?” And he’s trying to get through it by talking out loud.

And a little self-talk is not a bad thing. Just don’t answer yourself. My wife says to me, “You talk to yourself a lot.”

I say, “I do?!”

“Yes, you do.”

And ever since she said that, I’ve become more aware of it. It’s true. I don’t know why I do it; I just verbalize out loud. I can be doing something banal like making a sandwich, and I say out loud, “This is great; it looks wonderful. This is awesome.” I’m just talking out loud. That’s no problem. The problem would be if I answer myself. “This sandwich looks awesome. Do you want a bite?”

“Yeah, I’d love a bite.” Call the paddy wagon, because that one—whoa! But I don’t do that part.; I don’t talk back. I just say, “This looks like a great sandwich” and leave it at that.

We must learn to preach the truth to ourselves sometimes. Martin Lloyd Jones wrote a book in 1965 titled, Spiritual Depression. In his book, he tackled Psalm 42, and he wrote this about verse 5, “Why are you cast down, O my soul?”:

“Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? Take those thoughts that come to you the moment you wake up in the morning—you have not originated them, but they are talking to you. They bring back problems of yesterday, et cetera.”
“Somebody is talking. Who is talking to you? Self is talking to you. This man’s treatment [the writer of Psalm 42] was this: Instead of allowing this self to talk to him, he starts talking to himself, ‘Why are you cast down, O my soul?’ His soul had been depressing him, crushing him, so he stands up and says, “Self, listen for a moment—I will speak to you!”

Remind yourself, out loud, what you know to be true. Why do you think that Paul would write in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”? He’s reminding himself of the truth of God’s Word.

I’m not talking about just self-talk, like confess something so your ear can hear it. I’m talking about the fact that you proclaim the truth of God’s Word, and you stand on what God says instead of listening often to the whispering of lies in your own head. It’s okay to talk out loud and remind yourself of the truth of God’s Word to help you through a season of discouragement. 2 Corinthians 10:5 says, “…casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” So sometimes you need to remind yourself out loud about God and His love and His strength for today.

Number four, he talks to God and not just to himself, verse 7. “Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls; all Your waves and billows have gone over me.” This is poetic language. He’s writing about a real thing to describe his real feelings. If you go to the north of Israel over the Golan Heights by Tel Dan, you’ll see the headwaters of the Jordan River. There are rushing waters that come off of Mount Hermon. It is very noisy. When I do Bible study there, we have to move away from the falls, because it’s so loud. The psalmist is probably referring to this. So he’s saying that his overwhelming feeling is that he’s drowning and it’s noisy.

What he means by “deep calls unto deep” is that he is in despair, but God is deeper still. And in my deep despair, deep calls out to deep. And God can hear me over the sound of the rushing waves and the billows that I feel overwhelming my life.

And in verse 9, the psalmist says, “I will say to God my Rock, ‘Why have You forgotten me?’” Even though he feels God has forgotten him, he still refers to God as his “Rock.” He’s got this contradictory thing going on which you know happens in your own heart. He says, “I know God is my Rock, but I feel forgotten. But he keeps coming back to the fact that God is his Rock, his source and his strength.

And lastly, number five, he thirsts for more of the Lord. It is actually found in verses 1-2. I went out of order, because I wanted to end with this one. He says, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?”

Notice what he asks, and notice what he doesn’t ask. He doesn’t ask God to take away his problem, even though he has discouragement. He doesn’t ask God to deal with his enemies, even though his enemies are piling on and saying, “Where is your God?” What he asks is for more of the Lord. He thirsts for more of God, just like the deer that pants for the water. His soul pants for more of God.

This is what we need. When you are in the midst of despair and discouragement, pant for more of the Lord, and He will refresh you like a fresh stream in the middle of a desert. God will refresh your weary soul, if you cry out to Him for more of Him.