Psalm 88

“O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee: Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry; For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave. I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength: Free among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, whom thou rememberest no more: and they are cut off from thy hand. Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps. Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves. Selah. Thou hast put away mine acquaintance far from me; thou hast made me an abomination unto them: I am shut up , and I cannot come forth . Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction: LORD, I have called daily upon thee, I have stretched out my hands unto thee. Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise thee? Selah. Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? or thy faithfulness in destruction? Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? But unto thee have I cried, O LORD; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent thee. LORD, why castest thou off my soul? why hidest thou thy face from me? I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up: while I suffer thy terrors I am distracted. Thy fierce wrath goeth over me; thy terrors have cut me off. They came round about me daily like water; they compassed me about together. Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance into darkness” (Psalm 88).

Before someone attributes this Psalm to some down-on-his-luck pouter, I would like to say a couple of things about the man who wrote this. His name was Heman the Ezrahite, and he just happened to be one of the wisest and most righteous men of his generation. He was a Levite, and a prophetic leader of music and worship during the days of David and Solomon (I Chrn. 25:1). In fact, his name in the Hebrew language, ‘Heyman,’ means 'faithful.’ When the scripture states that Solomon was the wisest man on earth, it includes the names of four other men who were highly noted for wisdom. Heman was one of those four men (I Kin. 4:31). In fact some of the greatest men of God in the history of the world experienced things just like Heman expressed in this Psalm. Jeremiah and Job both cursed the day that they were born, and both Job and Elijah prayed for death (Jer. 20:14; Job 6:8,9; Job 10:18,19; I Kin. 19:4). All of these men were stalwarts of faith in God, but they were still men who felt the rigors of often having to stand alone in their faith. They all knew that they were mighty in faith and wisdom, and they knew that they loved God with all their hearts. They also knew what they felt, and they were every one honest to the bone. Two scriptures stand out to me when thinking on these things: “The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him” (Nah. 1:7). And this one: “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his” (II Tim. 2:19). Now you might like to read the 88th Psalm again, slowly and thoughtfully. It may be that you will need to remember these things for future reference. God bless.