Psalms 88:1-18
A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. To the Chief Musician.
Set to "Mahalath Leannoth." A Contemplation of Heman the Ezrahite.
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
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
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.
This song is an expression of one who is despondent, Heman the Ezrahite (1 Kings 4:31), a wise man from Solomon’s time. It is sung from a humbleness in affliction, and with hope in God’s deliverance. We can relate to these difficult times and should therefore follow the example to pray in times of despair and trouble for God to hear and answer with merciful grace. There is hope in this seemingly dark contemplation of Heman, as we have hope in our Lord and Christ, Jesus the righteous (1 John 2:1). Such hope does not disappoint (5:5, 8:24), so we pray always, night and day. As despair drove this psalmist to give up all strength and to count himself as if dead in the afflictions, he felt separated from God and under the constant waves of His wrath (presumably for his sin). We can feel this way sometimes as well when God does not deliver us from overwhelming suffering right away, but that is why we continue to pray. Stop for a selah reflection on that for a while. Then the psalm speaks of rejection from friends due to the plight caused by the suffering, by prayers of supplication continue despite the desire to give up. Even death seems to not offer answers to Heman as an end to the waiting for relief from the LORD. Consider that. The psalm continues to ask how we can see the lovingkindness of God after we die, how that could show His wonderful works if we are dead - is not all forgotten then? This view forgets the resurrection to everlasting life and the fact that what we do for God here does make a difference even if we suffer (1 Peter 2:20, 3:14, 17) for His sake and the gospel’s. The good news is the answer to this despondent song! We know that crying out to God does bring answers and relief in His providence and timing for good that may go unseen at the time (Romans 8:28). God does not really hide His face of care and help for us or cast us away (Deuteronomy 31:6, Hebrews 13:5). The psalmist was wise, but could not yet see the full picture of God’s hope in the grace of the Messiah who was yet to come (though much was written in obscure parables as Psalm 78:2 and Matthew 13:34-35 show us. Though the song ends in a fugue of despair and distraught thought, but we know that the darkness is vanquished by the light of truth, and we will be reunited with brothers and sisters in the Lord after death, no matter how things appear now. When we are despondent, we can certainly pray in such tangible hope (Hebrews 11:1). Christ Himself is our help over despondency!
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