A Prayer for Help in Despondency
A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. To the Chief Musician. Set to “Mahalath Leannoth.” A Contemplation of Heman the Ezrahite.
“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. I am counted with those who go down to the pit; I am like a man who has no strength, adrift among the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom You remember no more, and who are cut off from Your hand. You have laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the depths. Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and You have afflicted me with all Your waves. Selah
You have put away my acquaintances far from me; You have made me an abomination to them; I am shut up, and I cannot get out; my eye wastes away because of affliction. Lord, I have called daily upon You; I have stretched out my hands to You. Will You work wonders for the dead? Shall the dead arise and praise You? Selah
Shall Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave? Or Your faithfulness in the place of destruction? Shall Your wonders be known in the dark? And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? But to You I have cried out, O Lord, and in the morning my prayer comes before You.
Lord, why do You cast off my soul? Why do You hide Your face from me? I have been afflicted and ready to die from my youth; I suffer Your terrors; I am distraught. Your fierce wrath has gone over me;
Your terrors have cut me off. They came around me all day long like water; they engulfed me altogether. Loved one and friend You have put far from me, and my acquaintances into darkness.”
“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. I am counted with those who go down to the pit; I am like a man who has no strength, adrift among the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom You remember no more, and who are cut off from Your hand.” The psalmist is beyond depressed and frustrated! Everything is going wrong, and the psalmist feels as if he’s already dead and completely cut off from God.
“You have laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the depths. Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and You have afflicted me with all Your waves. Selah You have put away my acquaintances far from me; You have made me an abomination to them; I am shut up, and I cannot get out; my eye wastes away because of affliction. Lord, I have called daily upon You; I have stretched out my hands to You. Will You work wonders for the dead? Shall the dead arise and praise You? Selah
The psalmist is certain that he has already suffered everything he possibly can. How can he possibly stand anything else?
“Shall Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave? Or Your faithfulness in the place of destruction? Shall Your wonders be known in the dark? And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? But to You I have cried out, O Lord, and in the morning my prayer comes before You.
Lord, why do You cast off my soul? Why do You hide Your face from me? I have been afflicted and ready to die from my youth; I suffer Your terrors; I am distraught. Your fierce wrath has gone over me;
Your terrors have cut me off. They came around me all day long like water; they engulfed me altogether. Loved one and friend You have put far from me, and my acquaintances into darkness.” The psalmist feels totally abandoned by everyone, including God.
APPLICATION: One of the wonderful things about the psalms is that there is a psalm for every occasion. There are psalms for celebration and psalms for those who are in despair. If ever there was someone in despair, it is the writer of Psalm 88. Why would God allow such a psalm to be included?
No matter what we might think, God has never abandoned His people and He is always there. Why should God allow His servants to suffer so much? When disasters happen, we always demand to know why God would allow such horrific events. We want to believe that God will deliver us from every kind of problem, so why would God refuse to do so? Psalm 88 expresses that question.
We are living in a fallen sinful world, one in which bad things do happen to good people, and one in which bad people make terrible decisions that endanger others. In addition, there have always been natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, and tornadoes.
But Psalm 88 is still a statement of faith; why? The psalmist has not given up on God, nor has he lost his faith. The psalmist trusts God; that’s why he is so angry at God for apparently abandoning him. The psalmist has expected God to move in and do something to change his circumstances and the hearts of his friends. If the psalmist were to lose his faith, he wouldn’t bother to reproach God.
This year has been a very difficult year for many of our patients. We have seen more terrible complications from typhoid perforations this year than ever before. Prices of drugs and consumables have soared while insurance payments have become more difficult. We have had personal struggles as well. There have been times when we might easily have agreed with Psalm 88. But we continue to trust God, just as the writer of Psalm 88 is doing.
Perhaps you feel that this psalm is really for you. Perhaps you have lost loved ones or pets. Perhaps your job has evaporated. Perhaps the last thing you want to do is to join in jolly Christmas celebrations, pasting a fake smile on your face when you really want to go off in a corner and howl in despair.
Jesus came as a baby into a world dominated by the Roman Empire with a local ruler who was power-drunk. Jesus’ parents were forced to deliver him in a stable instead of a nice clean room, and there were no village women to assist Mary, only Joseph, who was undoubtedly inept and terrified. That first Christmas could have been a disaster, but it wasn’t; instead, God orchestrated everything perfectly, including inviting a group of shepherds to come to the stable.
We don’t know what happened to the writer of Psalm 88, but we assume that eventually, things improved. God can deliver in your situation as well. Trust God, even when things appear bleak. God is the Master of second and third chances, and He can still deliver, no matter what happens.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, please strengthen and comfort every person who reads these words. Help them to trust You to deliver them, no matter the circumstances. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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