Psalm 88

Psalm 88 is the first psalm in which despair so overwhelms the writer, that he sees no reason to be hopeful, let alone rejoice, in his sufferings. Heman, the author, lists a catalogue of woes, among which are:

...my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave. I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength...Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps. Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves. (vv 3-4, 6-7)

Here is a man who does not hesitate to be real before God. He feels no compunction to praise God when his life is in a complete mess. If anything, he is certain he is about to die in his affliction. He even goes so far as to consider God the source of his troubles, as we read in vv 14-17:

LORD, why castest thou off my soul? Why hidest thou thy face from me? I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up: while I suffer thy terrors I am distracted. Thy fierce wrath goeth over me; thy terrors have cut me off.

Despite the mournful tone of the psalm, however, Heman's first words reveal his conviction that he still has no other place to turn for deliverance, except to God, and his prayers ascend to heaven night and day.

O Lord God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee (v 1)

He does not stop seeking God, or keep silent. We sense that he is like a child who repeatedly runs to a father who is able to deliver him, and is bewildered when help is not forthcoming.

Child of God, you are in good company, if you identify with Heman's dilemma. Our Lord Jesus experienced the same at His death, as revealed in His prayer on the cross:

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? ( Matthew 27:46)

Even the Son of God felt abandoned by His Father.

When battered by the storms of life, you may feel like this psalmist - as though God has turned His back on you; or that He is even responsible for your predicament. You've prayed, fasted and cried out to God from the depths of your heart, but His ears are deaf to your pleas. No amount of encouragement from others can give you a glimmer of hope and every thing within you longs to mourn the passing of your loving relationship with Him.

Friend, if you are in the middle of a never-ending night of despair, bring your complaints before God all the same. Like Heman, you need not camouflage them with sweet words. Open your heart and let Him see how much you hurt. Hebrews 4 tells us that Jesus Christ our High Priest, is familiar with our afflictions and trials, having faced them Himself. It may not seem like it, but He is interceding for you before God the Father:

It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. (Romans 8:34)

May I offer a prayer on your behalf?

May the Lord visit you in your affliction, lift up your head and heart, give you respite from your sorrows, and grant you His peace that surpasses all understanding. I pray you may have the power to understand the depth of God's love, and experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully and that you be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God almighty through our saviour Jesus Christ.

Amen

Psalm 88 Full Reading