Psalm 88
Bible Passage: Psalm 88
What a psalm to start off my writing for the new year!
My impression of psalms has always been that they are filled with hopes and praise and though sorrows and sufferings are expressed, the psalmists always turned their eyes back to God and there was always a resolution towards God at the end.
Not so with Psalm 88.
It is probably one of the darkest psalms in the Bible, ending with
“Loved one and friend You have put far from me,
And my acquaintances into darkness.” (Ps 88:18)
What utter hopelessness! What total despair! What can such a gloomy psalm teach us?
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There was a period in my faith when I had an episode of depression. In retrospect, many of the descriptions in Psalm 88 match what I went through. I felt like a living dead, not sure what I am living for day to day. A heavy load was pressing down on me and I also gradually felt that my friends are deserting me. During that period, I spoke to God a lot, asking Him a lot of questions, even pleading for Him to take me Home. I had no strength, no smiles, only gloom and tears. I also wondered if God was listening and whether He would deliver me out of this.
I know I couldn’t take my life but that only made the situation a worse place to be in. I was literally trapped, no where to go.
There was one time late into the night, I was still awake and as usual, I didn’t know what to do. It was a horrible place to be in because I couldn’t die, I didn’t know what I was living for, and it seems like I could only cry but crying also doesn’t solve the problem. I decided to talk to God, but I have no words, so I prayed in the Spirit and allowed the Spirit to guide me and intercede for me. That was one prayer I couldn’t forget because in that prayer, in the quietness of the night, when I felt most alone, I heard the Holy Spirit praying for me. It was the most comforting and assuring moment to know that we still have a God who is always there and He understands and He is praying for us.
Gradually, I walked out of that darkness, by the grace of God.
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Perhaps God is giving me a chance to reflect upon His grace as I start this new year with a fresh beginning. And I am also hoping that through reflection upon this psalm, we can all learn to be more empathetic towards those who might be facing despair and hopelessness.
Though this psalm ends with a somewhat gloomy note, this only suggests the reality of the matter: that sometimes there are no ready answer, no immediate hopes. This chapter is a chapter of waiting and we must learn to wait on the Lord.
However, this period of waiting is not one that excludes God, instead, this psalm teaches us to come before God day and night and tell Him all our problems. We can definitely be honest before Him and tell Him how we are struggling and how we need Him to help us. Despite his despair, the psalmist clung on to God, the God of his salvation, and never let Him go. This is definitely something we must learn from him – never let go of God!
Going to God in our moments of despair and doubts (rather than running away from Him) is an act of faith. May God’s presence comfort and strengthen us as we start the new year of new hopes and new beginnings. 🙂
3 Comments
BurningBush
To me, the book of Psalms is a compilation of reflections, many of them are emotional by nature. Not an easy read because it is tough for me to relate to many, especially what King David has gone through during the worst period of his days. Some of them are written in a way that express hurts and losses, sadness and despair, yet end so well with words of faith and encouragement.
However, Psalms 88 is one that does not end with joy or hopefulness. It is not a surprise since the book of Psalms reflects how the author is able to relate to God in such a personal manner. This teaches me that it is completely alright to tell God what hurts you most and what bothers you most, because He the source of comfort, not just the source of solution. Sometimes, revealing to God our worst emotional baggage does not mean that we expect God to solve our problems. But by doing so, we are releasing our emotional hurts to Someone we deem worthy of our trust and faith, and in that way, we’d feel much better!
Not every problem has a solution, and not every psalm ends sweetly. The only problem is whether God is in the equation of all solutions. The first step in the equation is to tell Him your struggles, because they are very personal and He is the only One worthy enough to listen to them.
This reminds me of a song I heard a long time ago, about 10 years back, by Sun Ho. This song was part of her debut album way before she “sold herself” to Hollywood, and I thought the song lyrics are quite meaningful. Here is the link to the song: http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/pePs3WrwWvg/
Enjoy! 🙂
WT
The start of the psalm tells me it is a psalm of the sons of Korah. They were nearly wiped out during the Korah rebellion in Numbers, and the remnants were “counted with those who go down to the pit”. Though they were likened to the dead, they did not behave like one who is spiritually dead. They sought God “daily”.
I think this is something we need to learn, to seek God even if we are punished by God (when we committed sin). However hard God may seemed to drive them away from His presence, they still hope for the Lord to have mercy on them.
I went to search and realised that in Hebrew, the last word of the Psalm is “darkness”. This psalm is a constant reminder for me because it really pricks my heart reading through the pain of the psalmists when the presence of God were not with them. How dreadful it will be for us if we forsake the ways of God.
YSL
Thank you for the sharing, nobody is alone in their trouble and God hears them all:)