One of the glories of God's Word is that it speaks of human experience just as vividly now as when first written. For a detailed account of the vicissitudes of old age look no further than Ecclesiastes 12:1-7, which describe fading eyesight, poor dentition, tremor and fear of falling. Or perhaps Proverbs 23 :29-35 for the experience of the bloodshot, bruised, swaying and hallucinating alcoholic. Depression is commonly diagnosed in general practice and up to half of us may suffer depression at some time in our lives. Might there be something in God's Word to describe depression? I believe psalms 42 and 43 give us a good insight.

All of us will come across depression at some time, whether in ourselves or others. These psalms suggest that it is a common part of the human experience and give us a clear view of how it feels to be depressed. The psalmist describes his mood as 'downcast' and 'disturbed' three times. He says, 'tears have been my food,' suggesting a chronicity to his condition, and perhaps loss of appetite. His depression has physical sensation, 'My bones have suffered mortal agony' with perhaps an indication of morbidly expecting his own death. Depressed people often have feelings of grief and mourning either as a cause or effect of depression, 'Why must I go about mourning' occurring in both psalms 42 and 43. He has feelings of chaos, represented by the deeps in the waterfall, and of being overwhelmed: 'all your waves and breakers have swept over me.' Many depressed people do seem to struggle with organising their thoughts and feel out of control. Planning in depressed people may become difficult: 'When can I go and meet with God?' Paranoia-like feelings may occur in depression and are described in 43:1.

Since there is such a detailed description of depression in God's Word, we can reassure depressed Christians that God understands the depressive condition. Some depressed people report feeling guilty that they do not feel happier, considering all of God's gifts to them. These psalms give us 'permission' to be depressed.

The cause for the psalmist's depression is not clear. The cause may be spiritual; a felt separation from God. One of the striking features of these two psalms is this feeling. From the beautiful and wellknown opening verses of Psalm 42 describing thirsting for God, he asks rhetorically, 'where can I go and meet with God?' and poignantly, 'why have you forgotten me?' This separation is felt rather than real as Romans 8:39 reassures us that 'neither height nor depth nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.' His sense of separation from God may be either a cause or a consequence of his depression. Certainly no Christian can be content or complete without fellowship with God.

Perhaps it is his circumstances that are causing his depression. He is separated from his fellows and may be lonely living in Jordan away from his Jerusalem home. Perhaps he has withdrawn from his friends as a result of his depression. Persecution undermines the toughest man (Ps 42: 3), and the depressed Christian maybe more susceptible to mocking, 'Where is your God?' Physical symptoms can be a cause or at least a precipitation for depression. It might, however, be argued that the psalmist rejects any of these as the cause of his depression as he repeatedly asks why he is depressed. The Christian depressive and his attendants may find it difficult to separate cause and effect; spiritual, physical or emotional. Since the answer eloquently stated in these psalms is to turn to God, this may not matter very much anyway.

Some of the distortion and slowing of mental processing which may occur in depression can prevent the depressed Christian from praying to God for himself. The practical effects of this means that his Christian friends may need to do the praying for him. The very fact of the depressed person's inability to pray can add to his feelings of guilt. Since he may already have low self-esteem and low self-confidence or even paranoia, he will not find it easy to express this inability to Christian brothers and sisters. These two psalms then give us one way to pray for, and counsel, the depressed Christian. We can point out that the depressed person should try to put their hope in God, for he sends forth his light and truth, which will guide our depressed brother. We can reassure our brother that he will praise God again and that God will be his delight (43:3-4), even if he doesn't feel it possible at that moment. The psalmist makes a deliberate decision to put his hope in God (42 :5, 11, 43:5). He is entirely confident that God will respond - that God will send forth his light, guide him, and that he will be with God on his Holy Mountain, where there is no chance of depression.

I am very grateful to my friends, brothers and colleagues, Dr Leon LeDune and Dr Joss Bray for their helpful criticism and comments.