"depression (Part 3): How To Deal With Depression According To Psalm 143" Series

An artist once tried to paint a portrait of Charles Spurgeon. After much frustration, he said, "I can't paint you. Your face is different every day. You are never the same." Spurgeon was the most popular preacher in the Victorian era called "The Prince of Preachers." He owned more than thirty books on mental health. He read about depression, wrote about depression, and suffered from depression. His letters contain numerous references to his sinking spirits. He often called himself a "prisoner" and wept without knowing why. "I pity a dog who has to suffer what I have." Some biographers have claimed Spurgeon had bipolar disorder, fluctuating between highs and lows, ups and downs, productivity and inability. Others believed his "fainting fits" were also caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. His wife believed the weather affected his mental stability. "Dull and dreary days depressed him," she wrote.

In the last two Sundays, we have learned about depression: types of depression and how hundreds of million people around the world, including godly men (like Spurgeon, John Bunyan, and Martin Luther), politicians (like Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill), great musicians (George Frideric Handel and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart), and psychologists (like William James and Sigmund Freud) had been affected by it. We also have learned the factors that cause it and how to deal with it. Today we will learn from King David how he dealt with the depression he wrote of in Psalm 143. In studying this Psalm, I will focus on the spiritual approach/treatment in dealing with situational depression (you need to see a doctor for medical depression). Let's read it.

David began this Psalm with a prayer. In verse 1, he prayed, "Lord, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy; in your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief." David came to God in his difficult time. Later in verse 3, he told what happened to him. The first lesson we learn from this chapter is, when you are in trouble, come to God, bring your problems to Him, and ask His help. People who struggle with depression tend to withdraw/isolate themselves from others, even from God. That is not good! Don't bear your burden alone. God tells us: "call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me." (Psalm 50:15). Jesus invites us, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matt 11:28).

In verse 2, he said, "Do not bring your servant into judgment, for no one living is righteous before you." David acknowledged that he was a sinner and asked God not to bring him into judgment. We need to confess our sin before we ask God something because sin can hinder our prayers. Isaiah 59:2 reminds us, "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear." As I mentioned before, sin can be a factor in depression. Siang-Yang Tan, a pastor who was also the professor of psychology at Fuller Seminary, says, "There are cases where depression appears to be a consequence of sin in a person's life, although this does not mean that depression is always due to personal sin. Possible sin-related causes of depression include negative attitudes or feelings like bitterness and hatred, guilt and lack of repentance over sinful behavior or attitude, turning away from God and His Word, fear of the future and lack of trust in God as sufficient Provider, and unbelief in general." (Caring For People God's Way, p. 148)

In verse 3, he says, "The enemy pursues me, he crushes me to the ground; he makes me dwell in the darkness like those long dead." David described his circumstances in his prayer. He knew what happened to him and shared it with God. Some people wonder why we need to tell God our problems. Doesn't God know our situation? God indeed knows everything about us, but sometimes we cannot see our situation clearly, especially when we are depressed. According to Ken Campbell (in "Those Ugly Emotions"), the first step to deal with depression is knowing what makes you feel depressed.

Identify the causes. Describe your experience of depression in vivid detail. People are different, so depression comes in many shapes and sizes. Depression often is not just something we have; it is something we do. Examine your heart with this question: If your depression could speak, what would it say? What does it say about you? To others? To God? Depression is an active experience and can result from many sources other than the physiological: guilt due to unconfessed sin, false guilt, misplaced shame, ungodly fears, suppressed bitterness or hatred, hopeless grieving, and unbiblical expectations. In other words, we need to find out what makes us feel depressed. In David's case, he said he was depressed because his enemy, probably Saul, hunted him and tried to kill him.