Psalm 88: 1-5, 18b (NIV)
Lord, you are the God who saves me; day and night I cry out to you. May my prayer come before you; turn your ear to my cry. I am overwhelmed with troubles and my life draws near to death. I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am like one without strength. I am set apart with the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom you remember no more, who are cut off from your care…darkness is my closest friend.
Feeling encouraged now after reading today’s excerpt? Uplifted? Ready to take on the world? I didn’t think so. Psalm 88 is certainly the bleakest chapter in the Book of Psalms, but it might also be the bleakest chapter in the entire bible. “Heman the Ezrahite,” the apparent composer, was seriously depressed. Maybe he was chronically ill. Or maybe, like many, he battled almost constantly against some sort of relentless darkness. We really don’t know. But he said he had been this way since his youth (v. 15). He felt abandoned by God (v. 14), his beloved (v. 18), and companions (v. 8). He was desperate and his prayers seemed to be going unanswered (v. 13-14). He was so overwhelmed that he felt close to death (v. 3, 15). Darkness was his closest friend (v. 18). Have you ever been there? Maybe you are there right now. I’ve been down that road, too.
Oh well. Too bad. Get over it. Amen.
NO!
First of all, isn’t it amazing that God allowed this little chapter to make it into the bible? It’s not exactly a great Infomercial for Christianity. The writer of this psalm was one of God’s Children. He knew God and had walked with God, yet, he had known an extended period of suffering. I wonder if he had read the Book of Job. Most scholars believe that Job is the oldest book in the bible in terms of when it was written, so there is a chance that “Heman the Ezrahite” had been exposed to it. I hope so. Job is a tough read, but offers great insight—and hope—about seasons of suffering when you find yourself asking, “Where are you, God?” The Lord does not hide from the dark corners of life and how they impact us, but rather, He stays beside us as we endure them (Ps. 139:8). God included Psalm 88 because Psalm 88 happens to people, and even to God’s people.
Secondly, the main point is not how this psalm ends—in darkness (v. 18)—but rather, in how it begins: “Lord, you are the God who saves me.” The psalmist knew where to turn and Who to turn to. He didn’t understand why it was happening, or why God allowed it, but he still knew that God was sovereign over it all. Christian blogger Christina Paterson wrote, “We learn that just because God is silent does not mean He is absent, and it certainly does not mean He is not working behind the scenes on our behalf. Do not be deceived by the darkness in your life, it is never greater than where your help comes from.” The psalmist knew where his help came from (Ps. 121:1-2) and so he went to the throne. Sometimes we go to the phone before we go to the throne, don’t we?
Finally, the psalmist leads by example and encourages us to engage our most powerful weapon – prayer! The writer “calls out” to God. He “spreads out his hands” and “cries out for help.” Not only should we study God’s promises, we should pray them back to Him! Our answers may not come right away, or even in this lifetime, but rest assured, God will keep every last one of His promises to His Children…and one day, when we are finally united with Him in Heaven, all of the dark and depressing days, months, and years will be swallowed up by His Glory as our faith becomes our eyes. Heman, the writer of this psalm, went on to live a richly blessed life (1 Chr. 25-26) and while we might not see that kind of deliverance on this side of Heaven, we most certainly will on the other.
