In his 2008 sermon on Psalm 42, John Piper talked about spiritual depression. Specifically, what should we do when the darkness of spiritual depression descends into our lives? Here are the third and fourth points of application John Piper draws from the text. He sings to the Lord at night pleading for his life.

This man is very strange. He's so unusual. Oh, to be more like him in my pain. Verse 8, "By day the Lord commands his steadfast love and at night," now watch this, "at night his song," God's song, "is with me a prayer to the God of my life." What does that mean?

It means that late at night, tears flowing down his face, he's singing a prayer to God for his life. You got my life? I got no other place to ask for help? I'm coming to you. And he sings it. Ever done that? We need to have a broad enough hymnology or musicology or whatever you call it these days so that you have a battery of songs that work on the greatest days of leaping and the worst days of collapse.

You got a song. They're all over the Psalms. Probably the one we would sing around here. If somebody walked into a crisis situation at Bethlehem, they'd probably start singing "It is well with my soul." It's got the right tone to it. It's got "when sorrows like billows overtake my soul." Here's a couple.

Isaac Watts wrote this. Now this is a Christian. This is post-Calvary. "How long wilt thou conceal thy face, my God, how long delay? When shall I feel those heavenly rays that chase my fears away? How long shall my poor laboring soul wrestle and toil in vain? Thy word can all my foes control and ease my raging pain." He wrote that to be sung, Isaac Watts did.

Or here's another one from the 1912 Psalter. I think it's working with Psalm 13. "How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord, thou God of grace? How long shall fears beset me while darkness hides thy face? How long shall griefs distress me and turn my day to night? How long shall foes oppress me and triumph in their might?

How, O Lord, my God, behold me and hear mine earnest cries, lest sleep of death enfold me, enlighten thou my eyes, lest now my foe insulting should boast of his success and enemies exulting rejoice in my distress." That's a good lament, but it does take a certain emotional wherewithal to sing when you're totally crushed.

It's not a jubilant song. Don't think that song equals happy. Jubilant happy. These songs are not jubilant. This man is not jubilant. He wants to be jubilant. That's the whole point of the psalm. "I would like to be jubilant again and I'm not." And he's got a song to sing while he's not, and he sings it to God.

Number four, he preaches to his own soul. This is one of the most important lessons in life. Verse 5, "Why are you downcast, O my soul?" So he's talking to his soul. "Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God." That's a crucial lesson to learn.

Let me read you a paragraph from Martin Lloyd-Jones' book, "It is so Powerful." When I read this paragraph years ago, I thought, "Got to do that. Got to do more of that." Here's what he wrote. "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 there they are, talking to you. They bring back the problems of yesterday. Somebody's talking. Who's talking? Your self is talking to you. Now this man's treatment in 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?" he asks. His soul had been depressing him, crushing him. So he stands up and says, "Self, listen for a moment. I will speak to you." Do you do that?

I find that given the way I'm wired, much of my self-talk is very defeatist. I tell myself all kinds of bad news. I just... and I can imagine my bad self saying, "You're supposed to be giving me good news. I've got the bad news." And I team up with my old self and say some more bad news.

He's got bad news, I got bad news, and no wonder we get discouraged. And so here we are on this side of the cross. Jesus has come. How would you preach to yourself now? You preach the gospel to yourself. It goes like this. Listen, self. This is Piper. Listen.

If God is for you, who can be against you, self? He who did not spare his own son but gave him up for you, self, will he not with him freely give us all things? Who should bring any charge against you, God's elect? Is it God who justifies self?

No, it's Jesus who died, yes, who was raised, who's at the right hand of God who intercedes for you, self? What can separate you, self, from the love of God? Amen. This clip taken from John Piper's 2008 sermon, "Spiritual Depression in the Psalms," specifically the sermon on Psalm 42.

This clip was sent in to us by Jonathan Pearson. Thank you, Jonathan, for the clip. You can send us your clips and your questions via email. See desiringgod.org/askpastorjohn to connect with us via email. Well, everything about God is about everything. Yeah, that's what I said. Everything about God is about everything.

It doesn't get much more comprehensive than that. John Piper joins us tomorrow to explain. I'm your host, Tony Reinke. We'll see you then. 1. What is the greatest gift? The greatest gift is to be able to ask God. Ask God. Ask