Psalm 88

Sometimes, all that’s felt is bad. Negative. Heavy.

I keep coming back to the Psalms because they give us a good-enough perspective to what people back in the days of David bothered to write about… and, more importantly, we read how they feel, and what emotions they were experiencing – and it’s still pretty close to what we’re going through, so many centuries later.

Betrayal. Desperation. Frustration. Remorse. Awe. Amazement. Wonder. Relief. Comfort. This, and so much more – and, if you read enough you’ll notice that the tendency of the Psalmist – whether it be David, Asaph, the sons of Korah, etc. – is to always, always, bring it back to the Lord.

For example, David would write in a Psalm or two, about how he was surrounded by his enemies, or how he was betrayed by so-called allies – but he would always end up praising the Lord, for His goodness, His glory, and/or His grace in spite of all the raw experiences he was going through…

But, again… Sometimes, all that’s felt is bad. Negative. Heavy.

That’s what we would read here in Psalm 88.

Thank You, Lord, for the reading of Your Word.

A Prayer for Help in Despondency

A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. To the Chief Musician. Set to “Mahalath Leannoth.” A Contemplation of Heman the Ezrahite.

Sometimes, all that’s felt is despondency. Despite our awareness of the Lord’s presence and power, we could not help but speak exclusively from a stance of sadness, gloom and sorrow.

1 O LORD, God of my salvation, I have cried out day and night before You.

2 Let my prayer come before You; Incline Your ear to my cry.

3 For my soul is full of troubles, And my life draws near to the grave.

4 I am counted with those who go down to the pit; I am like a man who has no strength,

5 Adrift among the dead, Like the slain who lie in the grave, Whom You remember no more, And who are cut off from Your hand.

6 You have laid me in the lowest pit, In darkness, in the depths.

7 Your wrath lies heavy upon me, And You have afflicted me with all Your waves.

Selah

At times, it does feel like this, doesn’t it? Though we are quite secure regarding our right-standing with God, and though we know that He is our Father, it seems as if He is distant and/or not responsive – And, personally, it feels like how we used to feel before we accepted Christ as our Savior and Lord: Feeling weak, even unto death; Feeling so low, and so in the dark, just like we felt before we had a favorable idea of God’s favor and love through Christ.

I remember something I wrote before – “How could we, being saved by Christ, even come near things that would never happen to us?“; I remember writing this as a response to the creative approach of some songwriters, who thought it was a good idea to have people and congregations sing things such as, ‘I am lost without You‘, ‘where would I be without You‘, etc. – I would respond, even react by saying, why are we singing about our being separate from God, when, again, Christ guaranteed that this will never happen?

Today, I suppose it’s still a good practice to sober us – not to sing speculatively of things that will never happen in the future, but to pray and speak remembering our sorry state before Christ.

Speculating on something that will never happen compromises our security, but remembering who we were before Christ would reinforce our confidence in Him, here and now.

For He is always the God of our salvation, and by Christ we give thanks, because He keeps a close watch on us, and is with us, day and night. He hears our prayers, and even goes as far as to incline His ear to all we think is important, being so lovingly interested in His beloved children.

So, when our souls feel full of trouble, and when we feel so close to the grave, I believe that the Holy Spirit reminds us of our vulnerable state in this world (because of sin), which gives us all the more cause and reason to appreciate our being rooted in Him – our sorry state reinforces our true, righteous identity.

Therefore, though we may be in the lowest of levels, in the darkest of moments, in the deepest of seas, we take absolute comfort and confidence in the truth of the matter – at the cross, Christ took the heavy wrath and affliction, so even in the lowest and darkest of times, we know that the Creator of the Universe and all things seen and unseen is our Father, and He is with us.

8 You have put away my acquaintances far from me; You have made me an abomination to them; I am shut up, and I cannot get out;

9 My eye wastes away because of affliction. LORD, I have called daily upon You; I have stretched out my hands to You.

10 Will You work wonders for the dead? Shall the dead arise and praise You?

Selah

Let’s keep going, with what we’ve discussed in mind.

Before Christ, we may have been near who we call our allies by way of proximity… but the fact was that their hearts were far away, even ‘put away’ as in absolutely separated from us. Before Christ, our sorry state was as an abomination to those who would see us, and we would not be able to speak up, much less escape being ridiculed and mocked.

That last bit was a bit of a stretch, but, yes, again, the point is that we were in such a sorry state, before Christ…

11 Shall Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave? Or Your faithfulness in the place of destruction?

12 Shall Your wonders be known in the dark? And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

13 But to You I have cried out, O LORD, And in the morning my prayer comes before You.

14 LORD, why do You cast off my soul? Why do You hide Your face from me?

15 I have been afflicted and ready to die from my youth; I suffer Your terrors; I am distraught.

16 Your fierce wrath has gone over me; Your terrors have cut me off.

17 They came around me all day long like water; They engulfed me altogether.

18 Loved one and friend You have put far from me, And my acquaintances into darkness.

But to just jump to what we are now, and who we are because of Christ:

Yes, even in the grave, we shall not only declare, but sing of His lovingkindness that endures forever.

Even in the places of destruction, we would be praising and worshipping our good and great Father.

Sure as the light seems brighter in the dark, so we would see more of His wonders unfold in obscurity, and we would attest to our righteousness all the more when the rest of the land would forget Him.

Friends, brethren in Christ, let us give thanks to the Lord! For indeed, even if ALL that we’re brought to say is of our affliction, see, the Holy Spirit reminds us of God’s goodness and glory, of Christ being Faithful and True; The Truth shines ALL THE MORE, the deeper we gaze into the abyss!

It is in silence where we remember – He hears our cries.

It is is rejection where we remember – in Christ, we are never cast off, and God not only causes us to seek His face; in Christ, the Father lifts His countenance upon us!

It is in affliction and terror, in wrath and chaos where our eyes are opened to what remains…

Peter once told Jesus, ‘Even if these would leave You, I would never leave You’ – and, to this, Christ rebuked him, telling him he would deny Him three times before the rooster crowed.

But after the resurrection, He not only restores Peter, but He assures the disciples, and each and every one of us representing all the generations that followed – that He is with us, to the end of the age, and I venture to proclaim, forever.

The thing is, I was supposed to share about how I read this exact same Psalm to a group of church volunteers earlier, citing how certain circumstances have no clear resolution… and, as we read here, all that’s left for us to do is to lament in the situation, because, as I mentioned earlier, sometimes, everything is heavy and bad.

Here I was reminded that if we take enough time to double down on the negative, well.. let’s not be surprised if the Holy Spirit would continue to remind us of the superior grace and glory of our Father, in the darkness, the loneliness, and the suffering.

Friends, I don’t know what you’re going through right now, but allow the Holy Spirit to ‘rescue’ you by way of conviction – Christ is the Truth of the Matter; He is the Way in the chaos and confusion, He is the Life that stands above all the death and darkness.

God bless you.

301905/365000