MENTAL HEALTH IN THE PSALMS: 69
PSALM 69:1-36
#mentalhealth
INTRODUCTION 1 … POOR BISHOP HOOPER PSALM 69 (EVERY PSALM) youtube.com/watch?v=BRE6-mBWkc8 [3:50]
INTRODUCTION 2… Tremper Longman III, How to Read the Psalms. IVP Academic; Inter-Varsity Press, 1988, 76–85. [adapted]
We are in a series of sermons where we are focusing on the Psalms. The Psalms are songs in the Old Testament part of the Bible. Psalms are worship songs that the people of Israel would sing when they gathered together to worship and confess and support each other. Psalms teach us about God and ourselves.
Psalms are also very emotional. We can’t read the Psalms without an emotional response. As the psalmists cry out in joy or grief, they stir us as we identify similar emotions in ourselves. Many people call the Psalms mirrors of the soul. The Psalms are soul music. The Psalms speak to us in a wide variety of situations and a wide variety of emotions. SG Meyer, a psychologist, wrote in the Journal of Psychology and Theology (1974):
“The range of emotional expression often allows the reader to express [his or her] inner life. They assist [us] in verbalizing what [we] have been unable to communicate. In doing so, [we] often crystallize the nature and identity of [our] problem[s].”
The Psalms put us in touch with our deepest emotions. As readers of the Psalms, we feel seen and understood. The Psalms can also make us sensitive to the emotional struggles of others. These Holy Spirit-inspired songs show us that emotions and struggle is part of a relationship with God and not separate and can help us understand our emotions. The Psalms were born from life struggles and speak to people who struggle today. They also arose from people who had experienced liberation in God from struggle whether a permanent victory or victory that comes day by day.
TRANSITION
It is my hope to encourage you in these weeks as we dig through the Psalms to look at mental health and to see it as a normal regular important part of life and health and wholeness. I want you to see the spiritual and the mental together rather than something that is separate. See the blessing of therapy or medicine as a tool given by God to help. See that God provides healing or also grace to make it just through one day… for He does both. My prayer is that you know that God cares about your mental health. The soul mirror that we are going to look at today is Psalm 69. Let’s read God’s Word.
READ PSALM 69:1-36 (ESV)
Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. 2 I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me. 3 I am weary with my crying out; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God. 4 More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause; mighty are those who would destroy me, those who attack me with lies. What I did not steal must I now restore? 5 O God, You know my folly; the wrongs I have done are not hidden from You. 6 Let not those who hope in You be put to shame through me, O Lord GOD of hosts; let not those who seek You be brought to dishonor through me, O God of Israel. 7 For it is for Your sake that I have borne reproach, that dishonor has covered my face. 8 I have become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my mother's sons. 9 For zeal for Your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me. 10 When I wept and humbled my soul with fasting, it became my reproach. 11 When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them. 12 I am the talk of those who sit in the gate, and the drunkards make songs about me. 13 But as for me, my prayer is to You, O LORD. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of Your steadfast love answer me in Your saving faithfulness. 14 Deliver me from sinking in the mire; let me be delivered from my enemies and from the deep waters. 15 Let not the flood sweep over me, or the deep swallow me up, or the pit close its mouth over me. 16 Answer me, O LORD, for Your steadfast love is good; according to Your abundant mercy, turn to me. 17 Hide not Your face from Your servant, for I am in distress; make haste to answer me. 18 Draw near to my soul, redeem me; ransom me because of my enemies! 19 You know my reproach, and my shame and my dishonor; my foes are all known to You. 20 Reproaches have broken my heart, so that I am in despair. I looked for pity, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none. 21 They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink. 22 Let their own table before them become a snare; and when they are at peace, let it become a trap. 23 Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see, and make their loins tremble continually. 24 Pour out your indignation upon them, and let your burning anger overtake them. 25 May their camp be a desolation; let no one dwell in their tents. 26 For they persecute him whom you have struck down, and they recount the pain of those you have wounded. 27 Add to them punishment upon punishment; may they have no acquittal from You.
28 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living; let them not be enrolled among the righteous. 29 But I am afflicted and in pain; let Your salvation, O God, set me on high! 30 I will praise the Name of God with a song; I will magnify Him with thanksgiving. 31 This will please the LORD more than an ox or a bull with horns and hoofs. 32 When the humble see it they will be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive. 33 For the LORD hears the needy and does not despise His own people who are prisoners. 34 Let heaven and earth praise Him, the seas and everything that moves in them. 35 For God will save Zion and build up the cities of Judah, and people shall dwell there and possess it; 36 the offspring of His servants shall inherit it, and those who love His name shall dwell in it.
TRANSITION
Psalm 69 is a song and has a pattern to it because it is indeed a song written by King David. I thought what we would do today is just make our way through the psalm/song and see what God has for us along the way.
DESPAIR (verses 1-4)
The Psalm begins with words that set the tone for the whole song. “Save me O God!” I was a little shocked as I began to pray and study this psalm because of the last word in verse 1. In English, the last word of verse one is translated ‘neck’ which is not a bad translation, but it can also mean ‘breath.’ The verse is expressing that David feels like he is up to his ‘neck’ in water and his ‘breath’ is in danger because he is drowning. What shocked me is that this same word in the Old Testament, depending on how it is used, can mean ‘neck’ or ‘breath,’ but it can also mean ‘soul.’ In the New Testament, when the same type of word is used (46x) it always means ‘soul.’
I believe verse 1 of this psalm is meant to be a poetic play on words as we begin to read or sing it and we are meant to take notice that David is speaking about deep issues in this song. There is nothing surface-level here! David is letting us know right away that his life is overwhelming him and he is up to his neck in it. He is in so much despair that his soul is overwhelmed. That is quite a statement for verse 1. We know he is feeling overwhelmed because verse 2 talks about him sinking with no foothold, he’s in deep waters that sweep over him, and his eyes are growing dim. For anyone with a fear of water, this imagery is petrifying.
I give the first four verses of Psalm 69 a label, and that label is despair.
ILLUSTRATION… preaching.com/sermon-illustrations/despair/
Hunter Thompson was an American journalist in the 1960s-1990s and he is credited with blazing the trail of journalists embedding themselves in an organization and creating reports that are first person called gonzo journalism. Several of his books have been made into movies and you would recognize some of the titles of his articles. He was a successful writer and journalist.
According to Rolling Stone magazine, the last written words of “gonzo” journalist Hunter Thompson were in a note written to his wife in black marker, four days before his suicide. The note was titled “Football Season is Over” and said:
“No More Games. No More Bombs. No More Walking. No More Fun. No More Swimming. 67.
That is 17 years past 50. 17 more than I needed or wanted. Boring. No Fun for anybody. 67. You are getting Greedy. Act your old age. Relax. This won’t hurt.”
I share that short little story about a person you do not know because despair is a big deal. I share that short story about a person you do not know because a person you do know might be dealing with despair and life overwhelming them and it is a big deal.
BROKENNESS: SIN AND SHAME (verse 5-7)
The Psalm continues in verses 5-7 where David introduces us to a word that he will use 6 times in this psalm over and over and it clues us in more to his despair. He uses the word ‘reproach’ over and over in Psalm 69 and I do not think that is a word that we normally use. It feels like an old-fashioned word. I asked the word-smithing dinosaur… thesaurus… what other words are like reproach. It said: disgrace, abuse, blame, condemnation, disapproval, rebuke, shame, and stigma. None of those are fun words.
As David is thinking over his life, he is full of shame. He even worries in verse 6 that people who trust in God will turn away from God or be dishonored because he is a God-follower and he is a dirty rotten scoundrel full of reproach. It is not always the case with despair and mental illness, but sometimes our sin comes in and makes a home and sickens our soul. It is not always the case with despair and mental illness, but sometimes our sin comes in and makes a home and sickens our soul.
For David, in Psalm 69, he seems to be dealing with wrongs he has done that are not hidden from God (verse 5) and don’t seem to be hidden from others either (verse 6) and he feels disgraced and dishonored which is a related word to reproach. He feels ashamed.
CONTENT…cptsdfoundation.org/2019/04/11/the-neuroscience-of-shame [adapted]
Shame is a big deal. Shame is a big deal because it is fueled by subjective guilt which are inner feelings of remorse or self-condemnation because of sinful actions and our failures. Leaving these feelings of shame alone means they stay in our heart and mind as a seed and grow into several nasty emotions and consequences. Defensive thinking arises and blaming others can become a normal way of operating. Self-condemnation can be set on high alert and over time a highly developed voice of self-condemnation leads to anxiety, depression, and despair.
Believe it or not, shame can also impact us physically because shame warps part of our brain the longer we experience it and that is what triggers depression and anxiety. The late Dr. John Bradshaw (1933-2016), in his book, Healing the Shame that Binds You stated the following:
“Prolonged shame states in life can result in permanently dysregulated autonomic functioning and a heightened sense of vulnerability to others. Their lives are marked by chronic anxiety, exhaustion, depression and a losing struggle to achieve perfection.” When shame stays in our systems, it becomes toxic because a part of the brain called the insula is damaged and can cause many mental health issues because it generates the formation of low self-esteem, anxiety, irrational guilt, perfectionism, addiction, anorexia, bulimia, and other eating disorders.
Like I said, shame is a big deal. It is a big deal to David in this psalm and it is a big deal to you and me and it is a big deal to the people around us.
LONELINESS (verse 8-12)
In the midst of David’s soul being overwhelmed by despair and shame, he also feels isolated and alone. He says in verse 8 that he is ‘a stranger to my brothers’ and doubles down that he is ‘an alien to my mother’s sons.’ Those are isolating words. He says in verse 11 that he is a ‘byword’ which is a poetic way of saying he is mocked and forgotten. He continues and says in verse 12 he is gossiped about by leaders in his community and even drunks make up songs about him. It is a bad day when drunks make up limericks about you. David feels absolutely alone.
Loneliness is a big deal as is everything else we are talking about this morning.
ILLUSTRATION… sermons.pastorlife.com/members/sermon.asp?sermon_id=3814
On the 4th October 1970, the famed rock star Janis Joplin, at the age of 27 was found dead in her Los Angeles hotel room. Questions arose as to whether the cause of her tragic death was suicide or an accident. Later police reported that they located a small quantity of heroin in the rock singer’s room. There were also needle marks on her arm. Just before the incident, Janis had admitted to a friend: “When I am not on stage I just lie around and watch television and feel very lonely.” Marilyn Monroe who had the world at her feet, died from an overdose of sleeping pills and died in loneliness. The king of “Rock and Roll,” Elvis Presley just before he died wrote on a note these words: “I feel so alone sometimes. I’d love to be able to sleep. I’ll probably not rest. I have no need for all this, help me Lord.” “Alone, alone, all, all alone Alone on a wide wide sea ! And never a saint took pity on My soul in agony”
I share that short little story about people you do not know because loneliness is a big deal. I share that short story about a person you do not know because a person you do know might be dealing with loneliness and life overwhelming them and it is a big deal.
CORRECTIVE PRAYER: Verses 13-18
David takes a break in Psalm 69 after verse 12 from reflecting on his drowning soul and spends time in focused prayer correcting his patterns of thought and asking God to help him in the midst of his despair, brokenness, shame, and loneliness. What does David focus on? The question directly relates to us: When we are in despair, brokenness, shame, and loneliness, what should we focus on?
First, David focuses on the ‘steadfast love’ of God. This kind of love is also talked about in the New Testament as ‘unconditional never-wavering everlasting agape’ love. God is love (1 John 4:8) and defines it by His holy never-changing patient holy character. God is love. God acts in love. God is motivated by love. God is love and gives abundant mercy (verse 16). The love God has for David is God’s motivation for answering his prayers, delivering him from overwhelming feelings, and blessing him with goodness.
It is the same for us when we are drowning in our emotions and despair is overcoming us. God is love. God acts in love. God is motivated by love. God is love. The love God has for you and me is God’s motivation for answering our prayers, delivering us from overwhelming feelings, and blessing us with goodness.
* That might mean giving us strength to make it through the day
* That might mean sending us the perfect person to counsel us when we need it
* That might mean making a way for us to use medicine as a tool for mental health
* That might mean completely healing us once and for all from despair
Second, David focuses on the ‘saving faithfulness’ of God. I love the phrase here because David literally says God saves him firmly. There is no wishy washy or softness, but when God saves He firmly and completely saves. David uses words like ‘deliver’ and ‘delivered’ (verse 14) and the powerful words ‘redeem’ and ‘ransom’ (verse 18). We know David is still thinking about his soul as in verse 1 because the same word for verse 1 is here again in verse 18. David looks to God for ultimate salvation from his despair, brokenness, shame, and loneliness.
It is the same for us when we are dealing with despair, brokenness, shame, and loneliness and it is overwhelming us to the point that we feel like we are drowning in depression or anxiety or other mental illness. Our first source of joy, healing, peace, freedom from guilt, forgiveness, wholeness, and comfort needs to be God Almighty in the Name of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul reminds us of this several times in the New Testament:
READ EPHESIANS 2:14a (ESV)
“For He Himself is our peace”
READ 1 THESSALONIANS 5:23-24 (ESV)
“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it.”
READ 2 TIMOTHY 1:7 (ESV)
“For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”
THE REPEATED THEMES
We might think that David would end his song there, but he does not. David continues his psalm and repeats the themes that we have already talked about because that is how poems and songs work… repetition is beautiful and makes the point. He repeats thoughts about brokenness and sin and shame in verses 19-20 and tells us that his heart is utterly broken. He repeats patterns of loneliness in verses 21-28 and gets more specific that the people who surround him are not helpful, but rather hurtful. Verse 29 is another bout with despair where he uses the vivid words ‘afflicted’ and ‘pain.’
I mention the repeated themes after the corrective prayer because the psalm does not end or David is not suddenly happy all the day with rainbows and chocolate sprinkles. The despair remains. The despair remains, but he has the steadfastly loving God of the Universe right next to him in the water with Him as his Saving Lifeguard.
I want to mention a truth because the truth needs to be said. God can absolutely heal mental illness when we come to Him and pray and ask. He can. He can. He can. He can. This Psalm indicates to me that He does not always. He may. When I think and pray on this issue I think of another passage of Scripture which I believe speaks to David’s situation and the topic at hand. I can’t lie to you, this is my least favorite verse in the Bible. I absolutely hate it. It is also a verse with hope in every single word and so I love it. Paul writes to us in 2 Corinthians:
READ 2 CORINTHIANS 12:9-10 (ESV)
“ But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
The truth that David knows in Psalm 69 as he feels like he is drowning in despair is the same truth that the Apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 12 as he feels afflicted and oppressed. That shared Truth is that God can completely heal, but even if He does not He still is steadfast in His love and a firmly saving grace to us. He gives power in our weakness and struggles.
TRANSITION
This truth is why David ends Psalm 69 praising God.
PRAISE: Verses 30-36
I want to re-read the praise portion of Psalm 69 which comes at the heels of 29 verses of despair and sin and shame and guilt and brokenness and loneliness and depression and anxiety and feelings of worthlessness and helplessness.
RE-READ PSALM 69:30-36 (ESV)
30 I will praise the Name of God with a song; I will magnify Him with thanksgiving. 31 This will please the LORD more than an ox or a bull with horns and hoofs. 32 When the humble see it they will be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive. 33 For the LORD hears the needy and does not despise His own people who are prisoners. 34 Let heaven and earth praise Him, the seas and everything that moves in them. 35 For God will save Zion and build up the cities of Judah, and people shall dwell there and possess it; 36 the offspring of His servants shall inherit it, and those who love His name shall dwell in it.
In David’s conclusion of Psalm 69, I noticed in verse 32 that he says that those who seek the Lord will have revived hearts. I like that idea. That word ‘seek’ in the verse is telling us to seek with care and be very intent about our loyalty to God. Even in the midst of overwhelming emotions David never once wavered from his believing loyalty to God and continually looked to Him for a revived heart.
These verses tell me one thing about God. God pays attention when we are in need and hurting and He revives and saves those who belong to Him. That is what I get from these verses and that is the encouraging thought I would like to leave with you today.
I do not know your life situation or the pressures you are under or what illness may be impacting you physically or mentally or family issues that are stressful or work situations that are intolerable, but I do know… God pays attention when we are in need and hurting and He revives and saves those who belong to Him.
David knew that and believed it.
I know that and believe it.
May you know that and believe it.
PRAYER
