Despair (07817) (shachach/sahah) means literally to be brought low and figuratively to be humbled, to have one's arrogance brought down (Is 2:9, 11" class="scriptRef">11, 17, 5:15), to be in despair (Ps 42:5, 6, 11, 43:5) In some contexts it means to bow down in the sense of doing obeisance before someone (Isa 60:14 Pr 14:19). It can mean to bow in sense of to walk in a stooped posture, for example describing one who is dejected as in a period of mourning (Ps 35:14 Ps 38:6 or to crouch - Job 38:40). Physically (literally) bringing a wall down (Isa 25:12, crumbling a mountain Hab 3:6). The Septuagint (Lxx) translates despair (shachach/sahah) with the Greek adjective perilupos (peri = about + lupe = sorrow, cf study on lupeo) (4036) which describes one's emotional state as very sad, exceedingly sorrowful, deeply distressed/grieved, or characterized by affliction beyond measure. Perilupos is used only 10 times in all of Scripture, and two of the Lxx uses suggest that in some contexts perilupos can also describe the emotion of anger... Genesis 4:6 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry (Hebrew = burn or be kindled with anger; Lxx = perilupos = very sorrowful)? And why has your countenance fallen? Psalm 42:5 Why are you in despair (Hebrew = shachach/sahah; Lxx = perilupos = very sorrowful), O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him For the help of His presence. Psalm 42:11 Why are you in despair (Hebrew = shachach/sahah; Lxx = perilupos = very sorrowful), O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God. Psalm 43:5 Why are you in despair (Hebrew = shachach/sahah; Lxx = perilupos = very sorrowful), O my soul? And why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God. Daniel 2:12 Because of this the king became indignant and very furious (Hebrew = become angry; Lxx = perilupos) and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. Matthew 26:38 (Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane) Then He said to them, "My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me." Mark 6:26 And although the king was very sorry, yet because of his oaths and because of his dinner guests, he was unwilling to refuse her. Mark 14:34 And He said to them, "My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death; remain here and keep watch." Luke 18:23 (Context: Rich young ruler asking Jesus how to obtain eternal life - read Lk 18:18-22) But when he had heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. Luke 18:24 And Jesus looked at him and said (KJV adds that Jesus "was very sorrowful" translating perilupos which is not in the manuscripts used to translate NAS and ESV), "How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God! Here are are the 21 uses of the Hebrew word shachach/sahah in the OT where it is rendered as - been humbled(1), bow down(1), bowed down(3), bowing(1), bows down(1), bring down(1), brought low(1), collapsed(1), crouch(2), despair(4), humbled(3), prostrate(1), sing softly(1).... Job 9:13 "God will not turn back His anger; Beneath Him crouch the helpers of Rahab. Job 38:40 When they crouch in their dens And lie in wait in their lair? Psalm 10:10-note He crouches, he bows down, And the unfortunate fall by his mighty ones. Psalm 35:14-note I went about as though it were my friend or brother; I bowed down mourning, as one who sorrows for a mother. Psalm 38:6-note I am bent over and greatly bowed down; I go mourning all day long. Psalm 42:5-note Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him For the help of His presence. Psalm 42:6-note O my God, my soul is in despair within me; Therefore I remember You from the land of the Jordan And the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar. Psalm 42:11-note Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God. Psalm 43:5-note Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God. Psalm 107:39-note When they are diminished and bowed down Through oppression, misery and sorrow, Proverbs 14:19 The evil will bow down before the good, and the wicked at the gates of the righteous. Ecclesiastes 12:4 and the doors on the street are shut as the sound of the grinding mill is low, and one will arise at the sound of the bird, and all the daughters of song will sing softly (apparently describing "low" in terms of decibel level). Isaiah 2:9 So the common man has been humbled And the man of importance has been abased, But do not forgive them. Isaiah 2:11 The proud look of man will be abased and the loftiness of man will be humbled, And the LORD alone will be exalted in that day. Isaiah 2:17 The pride of man will be humbled and the loftiness of men will be abased; And the LORD alone will be exalted in that day, Isaiah 5:15 So the common man will be humbled and the man of importance abased, The eyes of the proud also will be abased. Isaiah 25:12 The unassailable fortifications of your walls (Moab) He will bring down, Lay low and cast to the ground, even to the dust. Isaiah 26:5 "For (term of explanation - see preceding passage to see what God is explaining) He has brought low those who dwell on high, the unassailable city; He lays it low, He lays it low to the ground, He casts it to the dust. Isaiah 29:4 Then you will be brought low; From the earth you will speak, And from the dust where you are prostrate Your words will come. Your voice will also be like that of a spirit from the ground, And your speech will whisper from the dust. Isaiah 60:14 "The sons of those who afflicted you will come bowing to you, And all those who despised you will bow themselves at the soles of your feet; And they will call you the city of the LORD, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel. Habakkuk 3:6 He stood and surveyed the earth; He looked and startled the nations. Yes, the perpetual mountains were shattered, The ancient hills collapsed. His ways are everlasting. The renowned preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon who was known to wrestle with the dark cloud of depression had an interesting thought on Psalm 42:5... You see, the psalmist here talks to himself. Every man is two men; we are duplicates, if not triplicates, and it is well sometimes to hold a dialogue with one’s own self. “Why art thou east down, O my soul?” I always notice that, as long as I can argue with myself about my depressions, I can get out of them; but when both the men within me go down at once, it is a downfall indeed. When there is one foot on the solid rock, the other comes up to it pretty soon. As one well remarks, Christian men have a deal of indoor work to do. They have not only to question others, but they have to question themselves. “Why art thou cast down, O my soul?” Be very jealous, dear friends, of doubts, and fears, and despondency. Some of us are sometimes the subjects of these emotions, and this is pitiable; but when we try to pamper them, this is inexcusable. Endeavour to live above this disquietude; you cannot praise God, you cannot serve your fellow-men, you cannot do anything well, when your soul is in a disquieted state. Hope in God is the best cure for this despondency. “Hope thou in God.” When thou hast no hope in thyself, nor in thy graces, nor in thine experience, “hope thou in God.” He is loving faithful, powerful, and true, so “hope thou in God.” “For I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.” “My countenance is wrinkled, and covered with sores through my sickness; but he is the help of my countenance, and I shall yet praise him.” As old Master Trapp says, “David (Ed: Whether the sons of Korah actually wrote this psalm or it was written for them is not readily resolved) tries to talk David out of the dumps; and he does well.” Here were two Davids-David that was down and David that was up, and David draws David up. So you, too, if you are a little low to-night, should let your better, godlier self talk to yourself. If you cannot do anything else, yet hope. The New Zealanders call hope “ the swimming thought,” because when everything else is drowned up comes hope at the top of the wave. You cannot drown hope. Snatch from the altars of the future fire-brands with which to kindle the altar of to-day. “ I shall yet praise Him.” I am not always going to be low. I have hung the harp upon the willows, but I have not broken its strings. I shall take it down again. “ I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance.” If He does but look upon us,-if He does but have pity upon us,-let us be content with that, and abide His time. Kidner comments that Ps 42:5 is an important dialogue between the two aspects of the believer, who is at once a man of convictions and a creature of change. He is called to live in eternity, his mind stayed on God; but also in time, where mind and body are under pressures that cannot and should not leave him impassive. (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries) Spurgeon on Psalm 42:5... Often when depressed, I challenge my soul with these questions, “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me?” (Ps. 42:5). Did Jesus ever feel like this? The thought that Christ is affected by my particular trial is inexpressibly delightful, and my depression vanishes. When the Holy Spirit bring this home to the soul, we bless the Savior’s name because He did not merely carry our sins in His own body on the tree (1Pe 2:24); He also bore our griefs and carried our sorrows (Is 53:4). Jesus was not merely a substitute, which is the greatest of all consolations, but He is also affected by my trial. Jesus suffers with you and in you; you are a member of His body, and He supports you. Look into His face by faith and be assured that He is not hard or without pity. Look into His face when you are distressed by the wrongs of others and believe that He knows it, notices it, and has sympathy. Jesus feels what we feel. He sympathizes with us. Are we bearing our crosses for His sake? If we are, then we will gladly welcome the trials, provided that He is honored. This gives great strength. Beloved, if you have forgotten your Lord (and it would not be unusual if you have), think of Him again. You will find the dear Savior is a well of living water that is close to you. Why are You Disquieted? (disquieted” more literally is "tumultuated" [to make a tumult or great commotion] a word frequently applied to the roaring and tumult and tossing of the sea. (See Isaiah 17:12; Jer. 5:22; 6:23) Sorrow can be greatly alleviated if we give serious thought to the Word. Evidently, this is what Job did when he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). Here the patriarch recalls at least four subjects for serious consideration, and he draws great comfort from them. Use Job as your example. Do not merely sit still and say, “I shall be comforted.” Look for themes on which to meditate profitably. Get an anchor-hold on some great and clearly ascertained truth, a truth in which you can have no possible doubt. Then you may begin to be comforted. Do you remember how David talked to himself as if he were another person? “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance” (Ps. 42:5). You see, there are two Davids talking and cheering one another. We should always be good company with ourselves. We should always be able to interrogate ourselves, and in deep sorrow we should be able to comfort ourselves. When you have learned this lesson, you will have learned the art of comforting others. (Spurgeon, C., & Clarke, R. H.. Beside still waters : Words of comfort for the soul. 1999) Spurgeon in the Treasury of David comments ... Why art thou cast down, O my soul? As though he were two men, the psalmist talks to himself. His faith reasons with his fears, his hope argues with his sorrows. These present troubles, are they to last forever? The rejoicings of my foes, are they more than empty talk? My absence from the solemn feasts, is that a perpetual exile? Why this deep depression? To search out the causes of our sorrow is often the best surgery for grief. Self-ignorance is not bliss; in this case it is misery. The mist of ignorance magnifies the causes of our alarm; a clearer view will make monsters dwindle into trifles. Why art thou disquieted within me? Why is my quiet gone? If I cannot keep a public Sabbath, yet wherefore do I deny my soul her indoor Sabbath? Why am I agitated like a troubled sea, and why do my thoughts make a noise like a tumultuous multitude? The causes are not enough to justify such utter yielding to despondency. Up, my heart! Your castings down will turn to liftings up, and your disquietudes to calm. Hope thou in God. If every evil is let loose from Pandora’s box, yet is there hope at the bottom. God is unchangeable, and therefore his grace is the ground for unshaken hope. If everything be dark, yet the day will come, and meanwhile hope carries stars in her eyes; her lamps are not dependent upon oil from without, her light is fed by secret visitations of God, which sustain the spirit. For I shall yet praise him. A loss of the present sense of God’s love is not a loss of that love itself; hope knows her title to be good when she cannot read it clear. For I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance. Salvations come from the propitious face of God, and he will yet lift up his countenance upon us. Note well that the main hope and chief desire of David rest in the smile of God. This verse, like the singing of Paul and Silas, looses chains and shakes prison walls. He who can use such heroic language in his gloomy hours will surely conquer.