Some of us tend to struggle with the “Winter Blues” this time of year. The cold weather and lack of sunshine can get to us. I’d like to point out a recipe for gladness from Psalm 33.
First of all, a caveat. I agree there are real physiological factors that can contribute to depression—what the Puritans termed “melancholy.” Bringing up the phenomenon of “Winter Blues” is a tacit admission of this. Vitamin D deficiency is a real thing. While some would disagree with me, I believe that chemical imbalances are real. Clinical depression is real. At the same time, I hold that God does not leave us unable to experience gladness in the face of these things. Some may struggle more than others, but there is hope and help in Christ.
With that understood, consider Psalm 33:21:
For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.
Gladness of heart comes from trusting in His holy name--His character and person. Many of us, when we find ourselves in seasons of melancholy, give ourselves over to malaise and lethargy like resigned, spiritual prisoners of war. It is dangerous emotionally and spiritually to walk in the want of rehearsing His excellencies and benefits. Psalm 33 is a wonderful walk through reasons to trust the Lord and therefore be glad of heart.
Our heart is glad… This gladness is reflected in the very beginning of the psalm:
Shout for joy in the LORD, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright. (33:1) There is clear gladness leading to praise. Why? The psalmist trusts in the holy name of the Lord. The psalm is a catalog of reasons to trust in Him, and therefore, reasons to for gladness of heart. The very first reason is right there in the first verse. The Lord makes His people righteous! We who were guilty-ridden and headed for perdition have been made clean, and we wear His righteousness. That calls for a shout for joy in the Lord. Praise is fitting in the mouths of such people!
For the word of the LORD is upright… (33:4a). Because His Word is upright, it can be trusted and He can be trusted.
…and all his work is done in faithfulness. (33:4b) All His work is done in faithfulness. Not some. Not even the vast majority, but every last work of God is motivated by faithfulness—His impulse to keep His promises and to show Himself true to His people. What a reason to trust and be glad!
He loves righteousness and justice… (33:5a) Evil cannot ultimately win. His love of righteousness and justice in itself may not ensure its eventuality but later verses do. What a comfort to know that unrighteousness and injustice will not prevail.
…the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD. (33:5b) This is not to confine His love or measure it. His love is infinite. Rather, the point is that there is nowhere we can go on earth and find the absence of His love. It envelops us all around. Trust and be glad.
6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
7 He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!
9 For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.
10 The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
11 The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations. (33:6-11)
He has extraordinary creative and providential power over all things, including the affairs of men. If His love of righteous and justice is the steering wheel, this providential power is the engine. It makes His steadfast love more than mere sentimentality or grand, but impotent intention. What His love desires for us will become reality because “the plans of heart [stand] to all generations.” Trust and be glad.
This leads naturally to…
Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage! (33:12) Blessed —happy—are they! All His love and power are extended in their favor. It may seem too good to be true, but it’s not!
13 The LORD looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man;
14 from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth,
15 he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds.
16 The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
17 The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue.
18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love,
19 that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine. (33:13-19)
God, the only source of salvation and hope, is enthroned. The God who loves righteousness and justice, who is not blind to sin, rules over all and is inclined to save. He sees everything we’ve done and has moved to atone for it all. Trust and be glad.
…He is our help and our shield. (33:20b) We need not look to fickle persons, self-centered leaders, or rulers with mixed motives. Not to money, power, health, or self for safety or security. As He has said elsewhere, “The LORD is my shepherd. I shall not want.” Trust and be glad.
To meditate on His person fosters trust. To trust in Him fosters gladness of heart.
So let us not surrender to melancholy. Let us rehearse the character and work of our great God. Let us trust and be glad!
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