Have you ever wondered why there are so many psalms of lament? Most scholars agree that there are more laments than any other type of psalm in the book of Psalms. And some of them, like Psalm 88, don’t even have a hopeful turn at the end. Seriously, read the last line of Psalm 88:
“You have taken from me friend and neighbor— darkness is my closest friend” (Psalm 88:18 NIV).
That’s rough.
So why have laments like this all throughout the Bible? Because the book of Psalms is written, in part, to present you with the enigma of the Christian life. We all go through chapters of our lives, sometimes long ones, that feel like Psalm 88—times of dark chaos and unanswered prayer. The fact that God included Psalm 88 shows you that you can be honest with him in all parts of life.
I’m incredibly grateful that Psalm 88 exists. It reminds me that the Christian life is a journey of God teaching us to trust him. I want that to be quick and easy, but it never is. Real faith is not developed in quiet, pleasant, reflective moments; it’s not learned merely by listening to good preaching, as important as that is. We can learn the content of faith that way, but we’ll never learn the reality of it that way. Real faith is developed in the crucible of trial. It’s developed in seasons of Psalm 88.
The book of Psalms ends in praise. The last five psalms have exactly zero requests or complaints. They are 100 percent praise. But here’s what we often miss: The praise of Psalms 146–150 is developed in the laments of Psalm 88.
All of us want to have great faith; few of us want to be in places where we have to really show it. And Psalm 88 is where we learn it. So what do you do if you’re in the midst of a Psalm 88? Two things: You pray and you preach.
First, you join with the psalmist and pray Psalm 88.
You might do that literally, using the exact words of Psalm 88. After all, in seasons of deep suffering, it can be tough to know what to say. You don’t have to. Borrow the words of the psalmist and tell God …
O LORD, God of my salvation,
I cry out day and night before you.
Let my prayer come before you;
incline your ear to my cry!
For my soul is full of troubles,
and my life draws near to Sheol.
I am counted among those who go down to the pit;
I am a man who has no strength,
like one set loose among the dead,
like the slain that lie in the grave,
like those whom you remember no more,
for they are cut off from your hand.
You have put me in the depths of the pit,
in the regions dark and deep.
Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
and you overwhelm me with all your waves. Selah
You have caused my companions to shun me;
you have made me a horror to them.
I am shut in so that I cannot escape;
my eye grows dim through sorrow.
Every day I call upon you, O LORD;
I spread out my hands to you.
Do you work wonders for the dead?
Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah
Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,
or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
Are your wonders known in the darkness,
or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
But I, O LORD, cry to you;
in the morning my prayer comes before you.
O LORD, why do you cast my soul away?
Why do you hide your face from me?
Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,
I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.
Your wrath has swept over me;
your dreadful assaults destroy me.
They surround me like a flood all day long;
they close in on me together.
You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me;
my companions have become darkness. (Psalm 88 ESV)
If it helps, you can take the next step and try praying (and writing) some of your own honest psalms, knowing you won’t scare God away with your anger, your tears, or your doubts. He welcomes them. Be bold and yell at God like the psalmist does. “I just want the pain to stop!” “This relationship is tearing me apart!” or, “I can’t bear the thought of my child dying! God, I don’t understand what you’re doing or where you are.” Tell him!
This can actually be an act of great faith, because in writing it, you’re saying, “God, somehow I think your love is deeper than all of this.”
After you pray, you preach Psalm 89 to yourself.
Again, feel free to borrow the literal words of the psalm. Here are some of the highlights:
“I will sing of the steadfast love of the LORD, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations” (v. 1).
“Let the heavens praise your wonders, O LORD, your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones! For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD? Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD, a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones, and awesome above all who are around him?” (vv. 5–7)
“You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them” (v. 9).
“For you are the glory of their strength; by your favor our horn is exalted. For our shield belongs to the LORD, our king to the Holy One of Israel” (vv. 17–18).
“How long, O LORD? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your wrath burn like fire?” (v. 46)
“LORD, where is your steadfast love of old, which by your faithfulness you swore to David? Remember, O LORD, how your servants are mocked, and how I bear in my heart the insults of all the many nations, with which your enemies mock, O LORD, with which they mock the footsteps of your anointed. Blessed be the LORD forever! Amen and Amen” (vv. 49–52).
There are three statements from Psalm 89 that I want you to learn to make:
- I choose not to fear; God is with me.
- I choose not to doubt; God is in control.
- I choose not to despair; God is good.
So honestly pray Psalm 88 to God, and then preach Psalm 89 to yourself. Learn to say, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Psalm 23:4, 6; Romans 8:38–39).
People sometimes ask, “Where’s the faith in Psalm 88?” It’s in the fact that the psalmist puts it in our Bibles, showing that even in our darkest hours, God is transforming the story of our lives into total praise. So if you’re living in a Psalm 88 season, pray Psalm 88 to God, and preach Psalm 89 to yourself.
