Psalm 88: When All Earthly Hope is Gone

 The Dark Night of the Soul

This psalm is an individual lament of Heman the Ezrahite. Heman was a brother of Asaph (1 Chr 6) and was a Levitical worship singer as well as a prophetic seer and a counselor to King David (1 Kgs 4:31; 2 Chr 35:15). Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun were responsible for the music around the tabernacle and later in the temple. Every other individual lament psalm in the book of psalms ends with confidence in God’s response, and then a hymn, praise to God, or a blessing. But not Psalm 88. This is the prayer of a man where death is the only remedy for his suffering according to the will of God. That is why this Psalm would have been a fitting prayer for Jesus the Messiah in the garden of Gethsemane (the crushing, olive press) before the cross (Luke 22:44). God’s will could only be fulfilled in His death (Luke 22:42). Thus, for our appointed time of death (Heb 9:27) and the Messiah’s there is no hope of escaping death and for some, suffering as well. One of the title phrases is translated by some “concerning afflicting or humbling sickness.” This book of Psalms (Book 3) teaches us by contrasting praise with lament, the two opposites on the emotional spectrum. You can only understand the richness of joy when it is compared with the depth of grief. Those who can never feel grief, cannot feel great joy either. Hebrew parallelism is used throughout this sad song.

  I. A prayer for help during times of despair (vs. 1–2)

      A. Faith leads a man to pray in his darkest hours

      B. Yahveh is the God of his deliverance

      C. Poetic parallelism, saying the same thing twice with the second occurrence being a little                 more intense is used throughout this psalm

      D. His request: Please listen to my prayer for deliverance

 II. Experiencing the pains of death while still alive (vs. 3–5)

      A. My soul is so afflicted with pain that I despair even of life

      B. This is the state of Jesus in the garden with the weight of what was about to occur, the                    sinless one would take our sin upon himself, His humanity would be separated from the love and blessing of God the Father for the first time, He would bear the Father’s wrath against sin

      C. The physical ailments that one in David’s time would have that are listed in the Psalm are                 similar to leprosy, but the author Heman, the prophetic seer did not have this disease 

      D. The emotions expressed here are appropriate for any believer fighting their last earthly                    battle with a disease

      E. The covenantal promise of life in the land and corporate covenantal worship stops at death                We can no longer bodily praise the Lord at our familiar place of corporate worship

      F. God will not intervene to stop our death when it is our time to go home (Heb 9:27)

      G. If God the Father would have stopped the death of Jesus, we could not be saved from the                     wrath to come and the everlasting fires of hell 

      H. This writer feels abandoned like an unknown soldier thrown into a mass unmarked grave 

       I. The word pictures of sinking in deep water and thrown into dungeons are lonely images

III. God is actively involved in this pain occurring (vs. 6–9a)

     A. The sufferer states that it is Yahveh who is doing this to him

     B. This statement makes this psalm clearly messianic, and the Father was directly involved in              punishing His Son for His people's sin

This is the gate of the LORD; The righteous will enter through it. I shall give thanks to You, for You have answered me, And You have become my salvation. The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief corner stone. This is the LORD'S doing; It is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day which the LORD has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it. (Psa 118:20-24 NASB) (Matt 21:23–46; Mark 12:1–12)

      C. God the Father punished his own Son to the point of death in the place of every believer

      D. God does allow sickness to take His people home to heaven very often, but He is not            actively involved in this sickness unless He is chastising them for continuing to surrender                    to a sinful practice after being given many opportunities to repent

 If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for this. (1 John 5:16 NASB)

IV. A prayer for help as death approaches (vs. 9b–12)

      A. The psalmist asks questions of God that also express his petition to God

      B. The author is not denying life after death, he is viewing what we see on earth after a death         and the loss of the activity of the human body and of the participation in the covenantal     communities' worship and life

      C. From the perspective of most family members and from life on earth, death is not 

          desirable because of all the separations it brings

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. (Phil 1:21–24 ESV)

       D. Sadly, people are eventually forgotten on the earth

 V. God is actively involved in this pain occurring (vs. 13–14)

      A. For the third time (vs. 1, 9, 13) the psalmist states he is crying out to God for deliverance

      B. Again he acknowledges God’s involvement in this suffering in some way

      C. God in His sovereignty is indirectly behind things and allows things like the difficulty of                 this believer. These statements seem to refer to the Messiah

VI. Experiencing the pains of death while still alive (vs. 15–18)

      A. The pain occurring from youth that results in such a severe rejection by men have led                     some to think this is a description of leprosy or skin cancer        

      B. The Messiah, Jesus, knew of His approaching death, and was about His Father’s business              from His youth (Luke 2:49)

      C. The Messiah bore the wrath of the Father in our place all alone on the cross. He spent part              of the night chained in Caiaphas’s dungeon in the pit

      D. A true believer can be chastised by the Father (corrective punishment) but cannot bear the             wrath of God against sin. Jesus already bore the wrath we deserve in our place, once for all time

     E. Jesus was alone in His suffering for us and finished his work. The believer will never be                     alone or separated from Christ or His love (See Rom 8:32–39)

 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you own, for He has said, "I will never ever leave you nor ever forsake you." So, we can confidently say, "The LORD is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?" (Heb 13:5–6)

Lessons to live by:

• In the middle of tribulation, faith holds on to the God who saves 

• We can pray when we feel all alone with great honesty. But since Jesus took our shame and abandonment in our place (My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me? [Psa 22:1]) we will never be alone, but it may feel like we are during dark and difficult days

• Not even death can separate us from the love and presence of Christ                                  

• God allows suffering for a higher purpose. There are mysteries in life connected with suffering and death that we will not be able to understand until we get to heaven

Psalm 59: God is My Rescuer

This psalm is viewed by some as an individual lament, others a community lament, and still others as a royal lament. It was written by David as a song of mourning and prayer, asking God to deliver him from his enemies, but it broadens out to the nations. The first event that is tied to this prayer is 1 Sam 19:11–18. But it is applicable to many situations, much broader than an evil king abusing his power. There are several themes in this psalm that make it difficult to see the structure intended by the author. It seems each Bible student divides the psalm differently.

  I. A prayer for deliverance/salvation (vs. 1–3)

     A. God alone is the One who can deliver, protect, save

     B. David cannot turn to the government; it is a wicked ruler who is stalking him

     C. The righteous will have enemies that will seek their destruction and use ruthless tactics

     D. The wicked deny the sacredness of human life, they are people of bloodshed

     E. The wicked set traps for the righteous and loves to divide people

     F. The wicked love sinful behavior and breaking God’s laws and bringing calamity on others

    G. The wicked use the element of surprise to their advantage

 II. A cry for justice (vs. 4–5)

     A. The wicked attack the righteous without cause

     B. The government was pursing David when he was innocent

     C. The government is not following justice, but the will of corrupt men

     D. God, the sovereign king, must reign in the wicked leaders: God is the Divine Warrior

     E. It is God who punishes the nations of the world for violating His moral law

     F. Yahweh is the God of armies and the God of Israel, His covenant people

    G. Antagonistic people will attack the innocent they perceive as a threat to their power or 

         position, do not join yourselves with them

    H. The Great King in a covenant was responsible to bring his army to defend his loyal 

         governors and subjects (Rev 19:11–21)

III. A description of the wicked (vs. 6–7)

     A. The wicked are like a pack of wild dogs that come into an area looking for food

     B. They are cowards, but they try to intimidate others with their noise

     B. They promote disorder, division, and chaos, and are extremely arrogant

     C. Their talk is mocking, scoffing, accusing, and lying

     D. They deny God’s sovereignty and God’s justice

          1. They are sure they will get away with their sin

          2. They think no one knows about their backroom deals or midnight meetings

IV. A description of God, our hope (vs. 8–10a)

      A. God sees, hears, and records all things. He laughs at those covering up sin

      B. God knows that lawbreaking is self-destructive and the secrets will be revealed

      C. God will make sure His will triumphs in justice and deliverance (Exod 1:8)

      D. Yahweh is stronger than the enemies of the believer

      E. Yahweh is a stronghold and defender of His people

      F. God showers His hesed (covenant love) on his anointed ruler and on His people 

 V. A cry for justice (vs. 10b–13)

      A. God will bring deliverance and justice in His time

      B. The wicked rulers will be held accountable for their thoughts, plans, deeds, and words

      C. These men are deceptive, cruel, and corrupt. What they have sown, they will reap

      D. God will make an example out of the wicked rulers from time to time

      E. These men are liars, slanderers, arrogant, and proud

      F. Wrath from God will come upon them, even though they were part of His wrath on others

     G. God punishment of the wicked shows His rule and authority over Israel, the church, and 

          the world 

     H. God’s wrath on the wicked is another proof of His existence and sovereignty

VI. Trust in God’s response (vs. 14–17)

      A. While the wicked are barking and growling, the righteous are praising God in song

      B. We sing of God’s power, sovereignty, and might, therefore we can trust Him to act

      C. We sing with joy of God’s grace and covenant love

      D. Each new day we can sing of God’s power and might to judge evil

      E. Faith and confidence replace the mourning of the acts of wicked leaders

      F. God has protected David and His people for generations through the times of persecution

      G. God is the only reliable stronghold and refuge in tough times

      H. God is our strength, so let's join David and praise Him for His awesome power

       I. We will experience the hatred of the enemies of the truth, but at the same time, the 

           covenant love of our God

Lessons to live by:

• Salvation/deliverance ultimately comes from God and not from men or nations

• Wicked governmental leaders will pursue and seek to destroy God’s people

• We can cry to God for justice like the Jews under Egyptian bondage

• Wicked talk reveals a wicked heart

• God alone is our true defense and shield

• God loves you and will bring about justice in His time

• God is all powerful, and fully sovereign, He sees and knows all

• God is holy and will bring to justice those who do wicked deeds

• God’s wrath is now being revealed from heaven against the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men

• We should praise God for who He is during the trials and storms

• God is faithful and God has covenant love for His people