Psalm 88 – God Our Only Help And Hope
(by Robert Quay)
The poet (not known) who penned this psalm was a man, made patient and prudent through pain. He may be considered as the second Job undergoing rejection, despair, and death. The very last word of the psalm is “darkness”. Sufferings sours some souls; it sweetens others.
It is a psalm expressing the worst of pain, suffering and abandonment. His spirit is gentle as he cries “O Lord God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before you’. Yet he does acknowledged God as his salvation. With a despondent, despairing, and desperate cry, it showed his weakness, wretchedness, and wrongfulness. In such challenging circumstances he expresses his pain and desire for help.
We may not have experience such depth of pain and suffering but to a certain measure we all have. How often we have cried to God and yet find no answer, and call “darkness as my friend”. God is there as He was with Job. The revelation of God’s purposes and goals will be revealed in His time. We are blessed that we have the experiences of the saints of old, and with Scriptures to comfort us.
There are hundreds, if not, thousands of Promises that are given to us. The best is yet to come when the LORD shall appear in His glory to bring us to His home, He had prepared for us. Keep holding on to God! We may not understand the hand of God, but we surely know His heart and He always gives His best to us as stated in Romans 8:28-29.
Let’s Read Psalm 88
A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah. For the director of music. According to mahalath leannoth A maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.
1 Lord, you are the God who saves me;
day and night I cry out to you.
2 May my prayer come before you;
turn your ear to my cry.
3 I am overwhelmed with troubles
and my life draws near to death.
4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit;
I am like one without strength.
5 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.
6 You have put me in the lowest pit,
in the darkest depths.
7 Your wrath lies heavily on me;
you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.
8 You have taken from me my closest friends
and have made me repulsive to them.
I am confined and cannot escape;
9 my eyes are dim with grief.
I call to you, Lord, every day;
I spread out my hands to you.
10 Do you show your wonders to the dead?
Do their spirits rise up and praise you?
11 Is your love declared in the grave,
your faithfulness in Destruction?
12 Are your wonders known in the place of darkness,
or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?
13 But I cry to you for help, Lord;
in the morning my prayer comes before you.
14 Why, Lord, do you reject me
and hide your face from me?
15 From my youth I have suffered and been close to death;
I have borne your terrors and am in despair.
16 Your wrath has swept over me;
your terrors have destroyed me.
17 All day long they surround me like a flood;
they have completely engulfed me.
18 You have taken from me friend and neighbor—
darkness is my closest friend.
Let’s Pray
Heavenly Father, we praise you though there are things we do not understand, we know you have your best interests in us. We thank you that in all of life’s circumstances you are always there, keeping your eye on us as you do for the sparrows. Thank you. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
This devotional was kindly contributed by Dr. Chow Li Sze and her channel Heavenly Devotion. You may find the channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/HeavenlyDevotion/videos
About the Heavenly Devotion channel
The Heavenly Devotion channel is dedicated to encouraging you to listen to Bible Scriptures and pray with the Scriptures. They are inspired by the call of service as expressed and exemplified by Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 9:12-15.
“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrew 4:12 NKJV)
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