PSALM 88: CRYING OUT TO GOD

 

PSALM 88

This is the saddest psalm in the book. It sounds like it comes from Job with the psalmist’s isolation from friends and feeling like he is dying. It is one of the psalms of the Sons of Korah and is the last one.

The instruction is to sing it according to a “maskil”, maybe the melody, written by Heman the Ezrahite. This may be the Heman mentioned in 1 Chronicles 6:33, the first singer listed in the group King David appointed to sing in worship in front of the tabernacle.

Crying Out To God

88:1-2

Here we see the psalmist in dire circumstances. he is concerned enough that his prayer is called a cry. He was praying in a loud voice out of his pain and anxiety. 

He prayed to the God of his salvation, acknowledging that only God could save him from his circumstances, including the threat of death.

The psalmist also prayed day and night. He prayed without ceasing, as Paul said to do in 1 Thessalonians 5:17. As in many of the laments, he asked God to hear and answer his prayer. God hears the prayers of his people, but does not always answer as soon as we want, so we feel like he does not hear. 

1 Peter 3:12 says “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayers”. 1 John 5:15 says “And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.”

When It Feels Like You Are Dying

88:3-9

The psalmist has so much trouble he feels he is in Sheol. (3) That word has different meanings, but here seems to mean the place of the dead, isolated from God. His friends also seem him that way: he is counted among those who go down to the pit. (4)

The psalmist also feels that he is under God’s wrath, which lies heavy upon him. (7) He is overwhelmed by it. We do not know what the psalmist has done that has led to this conclusion. But, his even his friends shun him and he is an abomination or horror to them. Here one thinks of the example of Job who had lost everything and suffered physically and well as emotionally to the degree that his wife told him to curse God and die.

The psalmist claimed that God did all of this to him. He said “you have put me in the depths of the pit”, you overwhelm me”, “your wrath lies heavy upon me”, “you have caused my companions to shun me”; and “you have me me a horror to them”. This is an acknowledgement of God’s sovereignty over his life and why he asks God for relief. 

But the psalmist did not completely give up on God. He continues to pray every day, asking God for relief. (9)

Do The Dead Praise You?

88:10-12

The psalmist did not want to die while under God’s wrath. He said those separated from God in death do not see his wonders, do not praise him or declare his steadfast love. There is a sense here of not only sadness at being unable to praise God, but also an appeal to God based on God’s desire to be honored and praised. (Romans 1:21) “Abaddon”, like Sheol, is a place of the dead, but also a place of punishment. 

The Unanswered Prayer

88:13-18

The psalmist closes his prayer repeating the statements from the earlier part of the psalm. He feels cast away from God and close to death. He feels he is under the wrath of God and punished for it. God has even caused those close to him to shun him.

He asks why God has done these things to him. (14) He does not record an answer. God does not always tell us why. We have no claim on him for answers, as the book Job shows us.

Unlike many of the psalms of lament, this one does not have a happy ending. It is bleak. So, what can we takeaway from this psalm? 

First, although the psalmist saw himself as under God’s wrath, believers do not face God’s wrath. Rather, Romans 1:18 says that God’s wrath is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth of Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:9 says “For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who dies for us so that whether w are awake or asleep we might live with him.” 

Second, God does discipline his “sons” for our good, that we may share his holiness. (Hebrews 12:5-11) Being under his discipline can be painful. If we are being disciplined for sin, the remedy is to confess and repent. 1 John 1:9 says “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”. 

When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said “Repent,” he intended that the entire life of believers should be repentance. (Martin Luther)

Third, there is suffering that is part of following Christ. Paul told Timothy to share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God”. (1 Timothy 1:8) Those who suffer for Christ in this life will be rewarded in the next life. They can also have joy in suffering, as the apostles showed after their first arrest. (Acts 5:41) Paul and Silas showed this in prison. (Acts 16:25; Philippians 4:4)

If you are suffering, do not give up on God! Keep praying. Keep rejoicing.