Psalms 88

Psalms 88:1-18

a Cry from the Waves Psalms 88:1-18 Most of the psalms which begin in sorrow end in exuberant joy and praise. This is an exception. There seems to be no break in the monotony of grief and despair. In Psalms 88:1-8 it would appear that the psalmist was oppressed by some loathsome disorder which made even his friends shrink from companionship. But it is a hopeful sign when, even in such circumstances, a man can still speak of God as “ the God of my salvation.” In Psalms 88:9-18 the psalmist combats his despair by reminding God and himself that his has been a praying soul. Surely the Almighty will not forget his outstretched hands, nor the prayers that have anticipated the morning! It is a true argument. That you can pray at all is a sure sign that the divine Spirit is within your heart. From unknown depths He is helping your infirmity, and this proves that God has not forgotten or forsaken you. If just now life’ s bark is overwhelmed with difficulty, God rules the waves. The storm-wind will presently subside at His rebuke. Lover and friend will again stand round about you, and your soul will come back into light. God’ s days are not like man’ s-from morning to evening, but from dark to dawn.

Incline thine ear! This and the following Psalm constitute a pair. They were probably written during the reign of Zedekiah, but before the Captivity. The nation stood on the brink of a precipice, but the city and temple had not as yet been destroyed. Mahalath Leannoth means “the distress of oppression.” It is a Psalm to give instruction to all sufferers as how to bear the griefs which lie heavily upon them. Stier says of this Psalm: “It is the most mournful of all the plaintive Psalms; yea, so wholly plaintive, without any ground of hope, that nothing like it is found in the whole Scriptures.” Hengstenberg says: “The fact is all the more striking, that the Psalm begins with the words, “O Lord God of my salvation,’ after which the darkness grows continually thicker to the close.” Surely in its deepest meaning, this Psalm is applicable only to the Prince of Sufferers.

Psalms 88:1. O Lord God of my Salvation! In the greatest griefs, it is much to be able to say “God of my salvation.” Say it, if you do not feel it. You will come to feel it.

Psalms 88:2; Psalms 88:13. Unto Thee have I cried In this dark hour the writer still feels that there is hope in God (Psalms 42:1-11; Psalms 43:1-5); and that prayer is the true resource of the overburdened spirit.

Psalms 88:3. Full of troubles O troubled soul, others have trod your path. See the “blazed” trees along the track. You may be sure that this is the way to the reward.

Psalms 88:6. In the lowest pit If we are willing to lie in the grave with Christ, we shall share His resurrection (Philippians 3:10).

Psalms 88:8. Mine acquaintance far from me (John 8:16; John 16:32).

Psalms 88:9. I have called daily upon Thee There are times when prayer seems unavailing. Yet must we keep on praying. So has it ever been (Matthew 15:25).

Psalms 88:14. Why hidest Thou thy face? God does not give his reasons. What He does, we know not now, though we shall know (John 13:7).

Psalms 88:18. Lover and friend … far from me All forsook the Man of Sorrows and fled. He knew what loneliness meant. But no ledge of rock along which He leads his own is too narrow for Him to go beside them (Isaiah 63:9).