A SONG. A PSALM OF THE SONS OF KORAH. TO THE CHOIRMASTER: ACCORDING
TO MAHALATH LEANNOTH. A MASKIL OF HEMAN THE EZRAHITE.
O LORD, God of my salvation;
I cry out day and night before you.
Let my prayer come before you;
incline your ear to my cry!
For my soul is full of troubles,
and my life draws near to Sheol.
I am counted among those who go down to the pit;
I am a man who has no strength,
like one set loose among the dead,
like the slain that lie in the grave,
like those whom you remember no more,
for they are cut off from your hand.
You have put me in the depths of the pit,
in the regions dark and deep.
Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
and you overwhelm me with all your waves. Selah
You have caused my companions to shun me;
you have made me a horror to them.
I am shut in so that I cannot escape;
my eye grows dim through sorrow.
Every day I call upon you, O LORD;
I spread out my hands to you.
Do you work wonders for the dead?
Do the departed rise up to praise you?
Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,
or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
Are your wonders known in the darkness,
or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
But I, O LORD, cry to you;
in the morning my prayer comes before you.
O LORD, why do you cast my soul away?
Why do you hide your face from me?
Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,
I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.
Your wrath has swept over me;
your dreadful assaults destroy me.
They surround me like a flood all day long;
they close in on me together.
You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me;
my companions have become darkness.
Gracious God and Heavenly Father,
We are sometimes in a very dark place in our lives. Overwhelmed by our circumstances, by our health, by worry over selfish and unbelieving loved ones, by the darkness we see in the world. Psalm 88 is known as the darkest psalm in the bible because there is no light or explicit promise of hope at the end. LORD, we need to know it is all right to have these feelings from time to time. Even our Lord Jesus sweated drops of blood with the sheer weight of his burden when he was in the garden, and when he was hanging on the cross he cried out to you, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”.
The only positive aspect we can see in this psalm is that the writer knows enough to cry out to you in his distress and that he addresses you as the God of his salvation. He knows in his heart that you are able to save. You are indeed our only hope and comfort in life and in death. Jesus suffered for our sakes and bore our sin so that we might enjoy everlasting life. He endured suffering for us and then he was exalted to sit at your right hand and rule over all the earth. Our suffering will end too because of what Christ has done. LORD, when we are in pain, let us cry out to you, for you alone can give us relief from our burdens, and a peace that surpasses all understanding, and then let us praise you with joyful, thankful hearts.
In Jesus’ name. AMEN