On first reading,
Psalm 88 reads very dark and dismal because of the writer's many expressions of
doubts about his life in this world. Yet, upon further reflection and study, it
may be read as a Psalm of great faith BECAUSE of his doubts. It is precisely
because of great faith that doubts sometimes arise. I realize that in a given moment
faith can be weak and produce doubts; however, even then a weak faith produces
good results as it matures. (Matthew 14:21-ff)Psalm 88 is the mature faith crying out to God (vv. 1-2) in the midst of the ugly reality of darkness, despair, and danger of this world. In this world where loneliness can strike fear even in the heart of the most powerful, where depression can wrench the soul of the wealthiest, where betrayal can crush the life of even the most cheerful, it is God who remains the ONE constant in the heart of faith. Who else IS there? And who else is THERE when loneliness, depression, and betrayal (either individually or in succession or in combination) begin to overtake us. The Psalmist in Psalm 88 never considers the pain and suffering of this world to be an indictment against God Himself, much less against His love or His power. If the Psalmist's doubts and struggles are real, then they only make sense if he believes in God. Thus, the Psalm is a conscious expression of one's need for God in a world of darkness and despair that has gone awry because it rejected God.
The ugliness of our world is experienced by both saint and sinner. Trusting in God is not a preventative against suffering from the ugliness in and of this world. To the contrary, God is only the guarantor of the unseen realities of the world to come because of what we can see as we fall prostrate before the cross, denying ourselves and emptying every vestige of our heart that we might be filled with Him. The Psalmist cries to the "Lord, God of my Salvation" (88:1) by which he means the Lord, God of my deliverance/my rescue. It is the apostle Paul who, in the midst of his being bound in chains for preaching the gospel, references "my salvation" through "the Spirit of Jesus Christ" which means by life or by death Christ would be glorified and he would enjoy his greatest deliverance! (Philippians 1:19-ff)
The concept of eternal redemption/life is never fully understood or developed in the OT. Job only raises the question, "If a man dies, will he live again?" (14:14). Even the Psalmist in Psalm 88 raises such questions in light of the seeming finality of death:
Do
the departed rise up to praise you? Selah
Is your steadfast
love declared in the grave,
or
your faithfulness in Abaddon?
Are your wonders
known in the darkness,
or
your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?" (vv. 10-12)
These are questions growing out of a simple but profound faith in a God who is worthy to be worshiped and obeyed!
One of the more moving scenes in Job comes in chapter 19 near the end of his debate with Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar (who have proved themselves to be more his antagonists than his friends). One of things we learn from reading Job is that he raises hard questions about God and, in fact, he accuses God of things which were not true but for which he later repents (42:1-6). Clearly, chapter 19 is one of Job's darkest and loneliest moments wherein he pleads for mercy from his friends whom he loved and who were near at hand. Contrast that with God who, in Job's mind, seems to have hidden Himself without concern. It is a mournful, plaintive cry to his friends not to give up on him as his flesh has been reduced to skin and bones by the sores and open wounds which he suffered. What else does he have to give? (Job 19:13-22) Yet, out of the depth of this horrible hour, the trial of his physical torment, the psychological torture of his loneliness, his isolation and the betrayal by his friends and family, all of which was as intense as it was inexplicable, comes one of the greatest statements of Job's faith found in the book when he declared:
“Oh that my words
were written!These are questions growing out of a simple but profound faith in a God who is worthy to be worshiped and obeyed!
One of the more moving scenes in Job comes in chapter 19 near the end of his debate with Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar (who have proved themselves to be more his antagonists than his friends). One of things we learn from reading Job is that he raises hard questions about God and, in fact, he accuses God of things which were not true but for which he later repents (42:1-6). Clearly, chapter 19 is one of Job's darkest and loneliest moments wherein he pleads for mercy from his friends whom he loved and who were near at hand. Contrast that with God who, in Job's mind, seems to have hidden Himself without concern. It is a mournful, plaintive cry to his friends not to give up on him as his flesh has been reduced to skin and bones by the sores and open wounds which he suffered. What else does he have to give? (Job 19:13-22) Yet, out of the depth of this horrible hour, the trial of his physical torment, the psychological torture of his loneliness, his isolation and the betrayal by his friends and family, all of which was as intense as it was inexplicable, comes one of the greatest statements of Job's faith found in the book when he declared:
Oh
that they were inscribed in a book!
Oh that with an
iron pen and lead
they
were engraved in the rock forever!
For I know that my
Redeemer lives,
and
at the last he will stand upon the earth.
And after my skin
has been thus destroyed,
yet
in my flesh I shall see God,
whom I shall see
for myself,
and
my eyes shall behold, and not another.
My
heart faints within me!..." (19:23-29)
Job believed, as we would say, "in his heart of hearts" what his friends refused to believe: that even if he dies, somehow God will stand upon the earth and vindicate him in his sufferings whether anyone else ever believes in him (Job) or not! The man without faith in God does not contemplate rationally the real questions of life that have to do with origin, meaning, and death. He ultimately must relegate them to random chance and meaninglessness because all he can believe in is this material world. The godly man of faith allows for doubts and unanswered questions in this life because he worships and submits to the only God worthy of such devotion and faith, that One who revealed Himself in the Scriptures assuring our hearts that the answers to all of our ultimate and unanswered questions include Him.
Job believed, as we would say, "in his heart of hearts" what his friends refused to believe: that even if he dies, somehow God will stand upon the earth and vindicate him in his sufferings whether anyone else ever believes in him (Job) or not! The man without faith in God does not contemplate rationally the real questions of life that have to do with origin, meaning, and death. He ultimately must relegate them to random chance and meaninglessness because all he can believe in is this material world. The godly man of faith allows for doubts and unanswered questions in this life because he worships and submits to the only God worthy of such devotion and faith, that One who revealed Himself in the Scriptures assuring our hearts that the answers to all of our ultimate and unanswered questions include Him.
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