Psalm 88

Psalm 88

For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah. A song to be sung to the tune “The Suffering of Affliction.” A psalm* of Heman the Ezrahite.

1 O Lord, God of my salvation,

I cry out to you by day.

I come to you at night.

2 Now hear my prayer;

listen to my cry.

3 For my life is full of troubles,

and death* draws near.

4 I am as good as dead,

like a strong man with no strength left.

5 They have left me among the dead,

and I lie like a corpse in a grave.

I am forgotten,

cut off from your care.

6 You have thrown me into the lowest pit,

into the darkest depths.

7 Your anger weighs me down;

with wave after wave you have engulfed me.

Interlude

8 You have driven my friends away

by making me repulsive to them.

I am in a trap with no way of escape.

9 My eyes are blinded by my tears.

Each day I beg for your help, O Lord;

I lift my hands to you for mercy.

10 Are your wonderful deeds of any use to the dead?

Do the dead rise up and praise you?

Interlude

11 Can those in the grave declare your unfailing love?

Can they proclaim your faithfulness in the place of destruction?*

12 Can the darkness speak of your wonderful deeds?

Can anyone in the land of forgetfulness talk about your righteousness?

13 O Lord, I cry out to you.

I will keep on pleading day by day.

14 O Lord, why do you reject me?

Why do you turn your face from me?

15 I have been sick and close to death since my youth.

I stand helpless and desperate before your terrors.

16 Your fierce anger has overwhelmed me.

Your terrors have paralyzed me.

17 They swirl around me like floodwaters all day long.

They have engulfed me completely.

Darkness is my closest friend.

This morning I had an exam, it has probably been my easiest exam yet.  I am looking at not so hot grades this semester, in most classes simply fighting for a B.  Therefore when I read this Psalm I empathized with David, but I also see him listening to the lies of Enemy.  He continues to about how the Lord has forgotten him, fails to hear his voice, and does not respond when he cries out.  David is at a dark place in his life, and he is forgetting the many times in his life when the Lord did show up.  He is forgetting when he defeated Goliath, was anointed king, the placed in the position by the grace of God.  He is forgetting his words from another Psalm,

                    "I have seen you in your sanctuary

and gazed upon your power and glory."

He is forgetting that the Lord never forgets or gives up on his chosen ones.  David also knows the scriptures that say, "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."  This truth will be my meditation of the day, as I study for the better part of the next 12 hours, I know that no matter what occurs on any of my finals, my time at tech, any challenge hardship I face, He will never leave or forsake me!

All is in the Power of the Most High

Paul Shackelford