Jesus throughout the Scriptures: Psalms 5 (2)
Pray Psalm 88.1-3.
O LORD, God of my salvation,
I have cried 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 the grave.
Sing Psalm 88.1-3.
(Picardy: Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence)
LORD of my salvation, hear me, as I cry by night and day!
Hear my plea, O LORD, bend near me; O, receive me when I pray!
For my soul is weak and weary, and my life draws near the grave.
Read Psalm 88.1-18; meditate on verses 14-18.
Preparation
1. How would you describe the psalmist’s condition in this psalm?
2. What was he seeking from the Lord?
Meditation
If you have never felt the way our psalmist is feeling—the way Jesus felt as He agonized in the garden and hanged on the cross—you will. And this psalm, sorrowful as it seems, can be a shelter and shield.
Jesus was the “Man of Sorrows”, and Psalm 88 allows us to experience His suffering. We don’t know what Heman was going through at this time, but we can plainly see how this psalm points forward to Jesus. We know He was troubled because His life was drawing near to the grave (v. 3). He knew that His Father had brought Him to this point of wrath and judgment (vv. 5-7). His friends would all abandon Him (vv. 8, 18), and His prayers were falling on deaf ears (vv. 9, 13). He felt separated from His Father and cast off from His love (v. 14). The darkness of the grave awaited Him (vv. 11, 18).
Jesus felt all these affections and yet He did not sin. Typically, when we’re down or discouraged, we want to find someone to blame, or at least we want someone to rub our misery onto, to make them feel as miserable as we do.
Whenever situations lead us to such depths of depression or discouragement, we need not despair, and we must not sin. We must rest in the Father, like Jesus did: “Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours…” He rules all the circumstances of our lives; give Him thanks and praise. But as you do, roll all your misery and sorrow on to Him (1 Pet. 5.6, 7). He will bear it with you and for you.
Psalm 88, unlike nearly every other psalm, does not end on a positive note. It wants us to feel the depths of Jesus’ agony and to appreciate the magnitude of His sacrifice. So that we will know, love, and serve Him with greater joy and consistency every day.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162.
This psalm, indeed, bespeaks Jesus.
But the human frailties of poor Heman the Ezrahite are so pointedly obvious in this dirge, it makes our hearts sad for him. And sad for ourselves, for we too have felt these same sorts of sorrows at one level or another.
The psalmist seems to have dealt with sadness, and much persecution, in his growing-up years. Maybe even from his parents, those who were entrusted with his early care. “I have been afflicted and ready to die from my youth…” (Ps. 88.15). This man was aggrieved, it seems, at every point in his life. The sadness was palpable and pervasive.
He did not feel judged for his sadness, as clearly, Heman knew that his only hope and comfort would be found in God. He knew his plaintive prayer was heard: “But to You I have cried out, O LORD, and in the morning my prayer comes before You” (Ps. 88.13).
Jesus felt all these same sorrows. As the prophet Isaiah wrote of Him:
“He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Is. 53.3).
Jesus also found Himself, like Heman, “Adrift among the dead” (Ps. 88.5), although the difference here is stark. Heman perpetually floundered in this dark place and may never have emerged on the bright side of life. Some folks never do.
But Jesus, albeit dead, was not overcome by it.
As the “men in shining clothing” said to the women who had come to the tomb,
“Why do you seek the living among the dead?
He is not here, but is risen!” (Lk. 24.1-6).
Adrift, and then He wasn’t.
There is never a pain, sadness, sorrow, or confusion that comes our way, that our Living Savior did not also experience. “Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted…For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 2.17, 18; 4.15).
If we should want to rise above the morass that was Heman’s lot, we who are filled with the Holy Spirit and have His Word as a guide, do have a glimmer of hope for the way ahead. An antidote, as it were:
“Princes persecute me without a cause, but my heart stands in awe of Your Word.
I rejoice at Your Word as one who finds great treasure.
I hate and abhor lying, but I love Your law.
Seven times a day I praise You, because of Your righteous judgments.
Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble.
LORD, I hope for Your salvation, and I do Your commandments.
My soul keeps Your testimonies, and I love them exceedingly.
I keep Your precepts and Your testimonies, for all my ways are before You” (Ps. 119.161-168).
“Man of Sorrows,” what a Name for the Son of God Who came
Ruined sinners to reclaim! Hallelujah! What a Savior!
When He comes, our glorious King, all His ransomed home to bring,
Then anew this song we’ll sing: Hallelujah! What a Savior!
(Philip P. Bliss, 1875)
Reflection
1. Why is it important for us to understand the depth of Jesus’ suffering?
2. How do the sufferings Jesus endured help us in our times of sorrow or despair?
3. How would you use the suffering of Jesus to encourage a suffering friend?
[T]he pleas here used were peculiarly suited to Christ. And we are not to think that the holy Jesus suffered for us only at Gethsemane and on Calvary. His whole life was labor and sorrow; he was afflicted as never man was, from his youth up. He was prepared for that death of which he tasted through life. No man could share in the sufferings by which other men were to be redeemed. All forsook him, and fled. Oftentimes, blessed Jesus, do we forsake thee; but do not forsake us, O take not thy Holy Spirit from us. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Psalm 88.1-18
Pray Psalm 88.6-16.
Whatever troubles are weighing on you, give them all to Jesus. The Father gives us these times both to prove our faith and to improve it. Call on Him so sustain you and help you to grow through your trials.
Sing Psalm 88.6-16.
(Picardy: Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence)
In the lowest pit You have set me, in a deep and darkening place.
All Your holy wrath has beset me, overwhelming me in waves.
All my former friends forget me; on me now they look with hate.
All day long I cry in vain, LORD, as my eye is wasting away.
Can a dead man sing Your praise, LORD? Can I testify from the grave?
Will I tell Your love again, LORD? Will I sing Your pow’r and grace?
Morning comes and, LORD, I am crying: Why do You my soul reject?
From my youth have I been dying; pain and terrors sore afflict.
Fear and anger, sorely trying, overwhelm, destroy, reject.
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
