For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each passage has a four-Part approach to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Passage: Psalm 88

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 neighbour –
    darkness is my closest friend.

A. Find Out:  

1. What form does this psalm take? v.1,2,9b,13,14
2. What does the psalmist feel? v.3-5,15
3. What does he see as the cause of this? v.6-8,16-18
4. What basis does he use for his plea for help? v.10-12

B. Think:

1. What appears to be the nature of the psalmist’s plight?
2. What does he see as the cause of that?
3. What is the basis of his appeal?

C. Comment:

This is a strange psalm in that we are told a lot, but a lot is left unsaid. It is first and foremost a plea for help from the Lord. In that sense it indicates a man who has some sort of relationship at least with the Lord. He sees the Lord as one who saves him on a daily basis (v.1). Now that is strange because elsewhere he feels the lord has rejected him (v.14).

The cause of the psalmist’s anguish seems to be his state of health. He feels near to death (v.3-50 and in fact has been like this ever since he was young (v.15). The nature of his illness is not stated but twice he speaks of his friends having been taken away (v.8,18) and says he has been made repulsive (v.8). It is possible, therefore, that he is a leper. The main thing that seems to come out of this psalm though, is his blaming the Lord for it. The Lord, he says, has done this (v.6-8, 16-18). Now whether or not that is true is unclear. He certainly sees affliction as God-sent.

The reality is that, living in a Fallen World, we suffer the things of the world, simply because we are part of it, and affliction, infirmity, being disabled, isn’t necessarily anything to do with our personal sin, but more the state of the world.

His appeal to the Lord suggests a man with a shallow knowledge of the Lord. He doesn’t appeal to the Lord’s love or faithfulness but on the basis of what good is it for him to go to death because dead men can’t hear the wonders of the Lord or praise Him.

D. Application:

1. In anguish we can lose perspective. Beware!  
2. In anguish make sure you never lose the sense of God’s love for you.