Confessions of a Church: Depression and Unbelief

The Psalm writer wrote:  Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law. As we come before a Holy God and hear his word, may we have eyes open to the wonderful and fearful things from his law. May it move us to repent and seek forgiveness, fear disobedience, and live in light of the grace we have received.   This is the word of God.  It is eternally true and applicable for all of life.  

Ecclesiastes 4:1-8 Then I looked again at all the acts of oppression which were being done under the sun. And behold I saw the tears of the oppressed and that they had no one to comfort them; and on the side of their oppressors was power, but they had no one to comfort them. So I congratulated the dead who are already dead more than the living who are still living. But better off than both of them is the one who has never existed, who has never seen the evil activity that is done under the sun. I have seen that every labor and every skill which is done is the result of rivalry between a man and his neighbor. This too is vanity and striving after wind. The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh. One hand full of rest is better than two fists full of labor and striving after wind. Then I looked again at vanity under the sun. There was a certain man without a dependent, having neither a son nor a brother, yet there was no end to all his labor. Indeed, his eyes were not satisfied with riches and he never asked, “And for whom am I laboring and depriving myself of pleasure?” This too is vanity and it is a grievous task.

Ecclesiastes is one of those books of the Bible which proves that context, authorship, genre, audience, and having a robust, broad knowledge of Scripture is very important.

If one were to pluck verses 1-3 off the pages of their bible this morning, rewrite them in their own words, and plop them down in a Facebook post, that person would be asked by the social engineers online and concerned friends whether they are contemplating suicide or not.

Matthew Henry remarks in his commentary that this passage represents king Solomon looking upon the injustice which he sees in the world around him while sitting on the throne, and lamenting over the plight of the oppressed and the absence of a comforter. His conclusion is rather dark:

So I congratulated the dead who are already dead more than the living who are still living. But better off than both of them is the one who has never existed, who has never seen the evil activity that is done under the sun.

Job made similar remarks after his children were wiped off the earth and he was struck with boils from head to toe:

Then they sat down on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights with no one speaking a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great. Afterward Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.

— Job 2:13-3:1

“Let the day perish on which I was to be born,

And the night which said, ‘A boy is conceived.’

“May that day be darkness;

Let not God above care for it,

Nor light shine on it.

“Let darkness and black gloom claim it;

Let a cloud settle on it;

Let the blackness of the day terrify it.

“As for that night, let darkness seize it;

Let it not rejoice among the days of the year;

Let it not come into the number of the months.

“Behold, let that night be barren;

Let no joyful shout enter it.

— Job 3:3-7

“Why did I not die at birth,

Come forth from the womb and expire?

“Why did the knees receive me,

And why the breasts, that I should suck?

“For now I would have lain down and been quiet;

I would have slept then, I would have been at rest,

With kings and with counselors of the earth,

Who rebuilt ruins for themselves;

Or with princes who had gold,

Who were filling their houses with silver.

“Or like a miscarriage which is discarded, I would not be,

As infants that never saw light.

“There the wicked cease from raging,

And there the weary are at rest.

— Job 3:11-17

It can be very tempting for us to adopt this perspective when confronted with the realities of life in a fallen world. Maybe the darkness comes for you during the midnight hours. When you're lying in bed, your mind simply will not be silent and grant you a moment's peace. Physical suffering, loss of loved ones, disappointments over your station in life, the oppression of tyrants, all of the "what ifs" pummel you into the dark, to a place where you find yourself asking "where does my help come from?"

With Independence Day and talk of freedom and liberty on your mind, perhaps the reality playing out on the 24 hour news cycle elicits within you feelings of frustration as you watch the oppression of the weak. In a culture which has lost its moral compass, you see that in the place of power and authority, there is corruption and oppression. For a season, you step into the darkness and are blind to the spiritual realities that for all the raging of the oppressors, our God sits in the heavens and laughs.

I know for a fact that some of you, though you may not say the words out loud, loathe the day of your birth. Some of you live your lives in perpetual darkness, beat down, feeling beyond all hope. Even though week after week you come, hear God's Word preached, experience the fellowship of the saints, take the Lord's supper, and partake in all the means of grace, your life is lived in the dark. For some of you, it could be that something physiological is happening and you need to see a doctor. For others, it may be as simple as turning off fox news, setting aside the conspiracy theories and silly myths, and meditating instead on good things.

For others, your darkness could be a sign of something far greater than the worst trouble you can conceive.

This perpetual season of "oh woe is me", this season of wishing yourself to have never been born, could in fact be you lingering in unbelief. Our Heavenly Father has "rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:13-14), and you say you believe this and want to walk in light of this, yet you persist to walk in darkness. Why do you linger there? Do you believe that you have something to add to the finished work of Christ? Blasphemy!

Dear brothers and sisters walking in unbelief, you must repent of your unbelief. Unbelief isn't a condition where you are just so oppressed, so weary, so distraught, that you are physically and emotionally unable to come near to Christ, and if you could just muster up a little belief, He would then rescue you from the darkness. This thought makes God a liar, as if He needs you to do anything to save your soul from the pit.

Horatius Bonar speaking of unbelief says:

The great thing which I would press upon your conscience is the awful guilt that there is in unbelief. Continuance in unbelief is continuance in the very worst of sins; and continuance in it because (as you say) you cannot help it is the worst aggravation of your sin. The habitual drunkard says he "cannot help it"; the habitual swearer says he "cannot help it"; the habitual unbeliever says he "cannot help it". Do you admit the drunkards excuse? Or do you not tell him that it is the worst feature of his case, and that he ought to be utterly ashamed of himself for using such a plea?"

Brothers and sisters walking in perpetual darkness, you have a Saviour who loves you. Our God, Who dwells in unapproachable light, has made a way for you to come near and have peace, through the blood of His Son Jesus.

Repent of your unbelief this day. Transfer your trust from the vain, weak, worthless idol of self righteousness, and put your hopes and trust in Jesus, saying with Job:

“As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,

And at the last He will take His stand on the earth.

“Even after my skin is destroyed,

Yet from my flesh I shall see God;

Whom I myself shall behold,

And whom my eyes will see and not another.

My heart faints within me!

— Job 19:25-27

If you are able, at this time please kneel as we confess our sins to God, Who is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

O LORD,

Bend our hands and cut them off,

      for we have often struck thee with

  a wayward will,

  when these fingers should embrace thee by faith.

We are not yet weaned from all created glory,

  honour, wisdom, and esteem of others,

  for we have a secret motive to eye our names

    in all we do.

Let us not only speak the word sin, but see

    the thing itself.

Give us to view a discovered sinfulness,

  to know that though our sins are crucified

    they are never wholly mortified.

Hatred, malice, ill-will,

  vain-glory that hungers for and hunts after

  man’s approval and applause,

  all are crucified, forgiven,

  but they rise again in our sinful hearts.

O our crucified but never wholly mortified

  sinfulness!

O our life-long damage and daily shame!

O our indwelling and besetting sins!

O the tormenting slavery of a sinful heart!

Destroy, O God, the dark guest within

  whose hidden presence makes our lives a hell.

Yet thou hast not left us here without grace;

The cross still stands and meets our needs

  in the deepest straits of the soul.

We thank thee that our remembrance of it

  is like David’s sight of Goliath’s sword

    which preached forth thy deliverance.

The memory of our great sins, our many

  temptations, our falls,

  bring afresh into our minds the remembrance

    of thy great help, of thy support from heaven,

    of the great grace that saved such wretches

      as us.

There is no treasure so wonderful

  as that continuous experience of thy grace

    toward us which alone can subdue

      the risings of sin within:

Give us more of it.

In Jesus's Name we pray, amen.

Prayer adapted from the Valley of Vision prayer titled "The dark guest".

Listen now to the comforting assurance of the grace of God, promised in the gospel to his church: 

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.

To all those who thus repent and seek Jesus Christ for their salvation, your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Lift up your hearts!