First Blog: Psalm 88
Psalm 88, perhaps is the most depressing of psalms. For instance, the last verse: “God has taken away friends and lovers, such that the only remaining confident is darkness.” With a friend like that, who needs enemies? So it can be understood why many commentators propose that the psalmist is on death’s door, hoping that God would hear and extend his life.
But whether death or deep despair, what strikes me is that the psalmist, in spite of his dire circumstance, continued his dialogue with God. A one way conversation would be a better way of expressing the words of the psalm, as there is no indication, as in all of the other lament psalms, that God has responded, let alone heard these insistent and tenacious cries. But then, could this not be an adherence to Paul’s admonition to “pray without ceasing”?
So I ask, when does one give up? Or better, when does one give up on God?
What does this psalm teach us? Here’s an initial thought: should the fact that God doesn’t answer deter the supplicant from his constant prayer? Does God give psalm 88 to encourage those in terminal situations to maintain dialogue in spite of and throughout the circumstance? When there is no hope, is there no God? Could not his silence, his non-responsiveness become his word of provision? Does this help explain Jesus’ words–of course his quoting a psalm–”my god, my god, why have you abandoned me” to mean that even in abandonment, God is there, God is near, God hears, and perhaps cries in silence?
January 23, 2012 at 11:30 pm
Each question has been listed and answered separately
(Should the fact that God doesn’t answer deter the supplicant from his constant prayer?)
I do not want to appear to be trite, but the first thing that came to mind in regards to this question is a sermon I heard when I was a teenager – “When God says ‘no’”. This then leads to truly trifling answer we give people about possible answers to prayer – yes, no, wait. In the end, the entreatment of the Divine must be continued.
( Does God give psalm 88 to encourage those in terminal situations to maintain dialogue in spite of and throughout the circumstance?)
I would agree that a possible application could be for encouragement to keep dialogue with God – Romans 12:12 is a great verse for this: “rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer” (NASB).
( When there is no hope, is there no God?)
Whether or not there is hope on our part does not mean God has ceased to exist. The feeling of hope is deceitful, as feelings are wont to be. The possession of ‘the hope’ is the key.
(Could not his silence, his non-responsiveness become his word of provision? Does this help explain Jesus’ words–of course his quoting a psalm–”my god, my god, why have you abandoned me” to mean that even in abandonment, God is there, God is near, God hears, and perhaps cries in silence?)
I am not sure I would use the word “provision” in this instance. I can see it as more one of variety of modes of communication. Maybe the silence is meant to prove or build confidence, faith, and/or trust in God. Finally, his crying in silence would be baffling to me. Why would he cry if were his will to not intervene? This presents a weak or confused God to me.
January 23, 2012 at 11:40 pm
this is a hard chapter to understand and apply, but all i can think of is my grandmother on her death bed praying every day just to talk to God and grow closer to Him even though she was already knocking on heaven’s door. She never once complained, and she never prayed selfishly, I wish I could ask her how she prayed and conversed, but I was to hardened by the fact that I was about to lose my grandmother. but after reading this psalm, and knowing the full and God honoring life my grandmother lead, i know for a fact i want to strive for that same conversational level with my God throughout my whole life, even to the end, hopefully no mater what the circumstances.
January 24, 2012 at 12:00 pm
I think that this psalm relates to all Christians. We’ve all had times where we feel like God is silent and just won’t answer our prayers. Throughout my experience with this in life, I’ve noticed that it wasn’t God who was silent, it was my perspective that was altered. I can’t say this is true for all people, but it is a possibility. Sometimes when we pray we expect God to answer our prayers the way we want them answered, but God has other plans. If we keep focusing on the answer that we’re expecting, there’s a chance that we may miss out on how God already answered it. I’ve also learned in life that sometimes unanswered prayers are better unanswered, because God sees the whole picture when we’re only looking at one specific part of the picture.
January 24, 2012 at 5:52 pm
Mandy,
Your summation of our propensity to focus on our answer to prayer versus God’s is good. Perspective is a force to be reckoned with in our life. As you know, conformation to the image of Christ is the process we go through our entire life. One of the facets of the image of Christ is prayer. We can look at all prayers he modeled for us; even the prayer of abandonment on the cross as hope – hard as that may seem.
January 24, 2012 at 1:18 pm
This is indeed a very depressing Psalm. I think we can all say that at least once in our lives “our soul was full of trouble” and our closest friends have left us.
I am very encouraged, however, by the fact that the Psalmist, even in this terrible hour, still calls his LORD, “the God who saves him.” Whether this was meant to appeal to God or to simply serve as a reminder to the Psalmist of who God is, I cannot say. I just know that if it was the latter, then I am very much like the Psalmist. I constantly need to remind myself of who God is- especially in difficult circumstances.
At first I was very sad that God did not answer the Psalmist back. Why would God leave him alone? However, I went on to read what Dr. Snyder said about this possibly showing us that God is there even when we cannot hear him or feel him. That is very encouraging to me because there are a lot of times in life when I feel like giving up because God isn’t answering. I wonder if God is hearing me. I wonder if God is there. And then I remember that God is the God who saves me, and He is always there.
January 26, 2012 at 5:08 pm
Kayla,
You talked about how the psalmist says all of his closest friends and loves ones are gone, and how while you know God is there, you cannot help but wonder why He doesn’t answer.
Well, it got me to thinking! It is interesting that while all this is going on in the psalm; and the psalmist keeps asking God if He is listening and where He is, he never once says that God is not there.
The psalmist openly declares that everyone else has left him and that God isn’t answering, but he must know deep inside that God is still there because he never so much as hints to the contrary. Not to mention, in all of this the psalmist is still talking! So while he questions God, he clearly knows he is there! I guess that means we can question him too while still knowing that He is there…and you’re right that is very encouraging!
January 24, 2012 at 10:20 pm
I do believe that this Psalm shows the need to pray without ceasing, even when we do not hear God’s answer and when He seems far away. “Without ceasing” does not really leave room for giving up. If we want an answer to our prayers, why would we stop praying? If we stopped, then why would we still expect an answer? There is never a point where one should give up on praying, or God. God is always there, whether we have hope or not. Hope is a feeling based on our human emotions and circumstances. We are fickle. God is constant. He is the same yesterday, and today, and forever. Why would our lack of hope change who He is? Nothing we say, do, or feel can change who God is. Even in the depths of despair, God is strong, powerful, caring, and He is still a God who listens.
January 26, 2012 at 4:56 pm
There are many times that we feel like God isn’t listening or can’t hear us, but I think these times are the times that we need to keep talking more than ever. I know that there have been many times when I feel as if my prayers cannot even get past the ceiling. It’s during these times that I pray even more…and I think that that is what God wants. Sometimes, God is silent so that we will seek Him more. If every time we cried “God, help me!” He immediately came and made everything better we would never grow or learn to have faith in tough circumstances.
I believe that there are times when God is silent, but that doesn’t mean He isn’t there…I think if He did give answers right away we would be too distressed to listen to what He has to say. So instead, God waits…he stretches us; He allows us to wrestle with Him, and then at the best time and in the best way He speaks. The important thing is that like the psalmist we never stop talking.
January 26, 2012 at 11:29 pm
This Psalm is one of the most unique because there is no statement of confidence in God or praise to him. It is additionally unique because the poet seems to indicate that God is to blame for his distress (vv 3-12), but at the same time calls upon the name of the one who caused the crisis to rescue so that he can continue to serve God. In spite of the Psalmist’s lack of praise to God and blaming God for hos infliction, he still views God as the source of help in life.
It makes me wonder why God is causing so much pain in the life of the Psalmist’s life? Is it the result of the individuals sin or corporate sin, which incurred divine judgement? I agree that we can lean on God even in the darkest times in life when it seems he has turned his head and is not listening. If the Psalmist can call upon the name of the Lord for salvation, and at the same time believe God caused it, we can too.
January 27, 2012 at 12:25 pm
While it seems that maybe the psalmist here has not given up on God, it may be actually that the psalmist had not talked with God for a while and this may be his words when returning to God. Often we are the ones that are silent and it gets to a point that we blow up on God because He has not approached us first or has in ways that we just do not understand. It’s obvious that there is a little anger and frustration with God here as often those who have turned from the faith have when things get rough. Those who once had faith in God yet turn away from God often go through trials such as this that bring them back to God and it is often a rage expressed through question because of the lack of understanding.
January 27, 2012 at 2:07 pm
This psalm was definitely very depressing but i have found that there are times when God seems to be silent from me. But that does not mean he is not there. Which is why the psalmist was still praying. If someone really believe that God was not there, they would have no reason to be praying. And i think that is where faith comes in. Sometimes when God seems to be silent from us, I have found it is best to approach Him just the same. Because He is always there and loves to hear our prayers. On a side note, this reminds me of the story of Job and how God was silent from Him and his afflictions were great.
January 27, 2012 at 2:37 pm
The thing is that this Psalm hits hard. Maybe it’s because we as Christians try to wow God with fancy words and an always praising nature. That’s not real life. This psalm is real life. Sometimes life sucks and we have to be real with God and tell Him that we think He’s failing us. I mean, wouldn’t we think that God was failing us if we only had confidence in darkness?
The important thing is, that no matter what is occurring in our lives, we need to communicate with God. I remember that I was having a conversation with you, Dr. Snyder, about how my life was rough, and that me and God weren’t on speaking terms, because things were rough. And you told me to read the Psalms, because no matter how difficult life may be, if we cut ourselves off from communication from God, we cut ourselves off from everything. Paul doesn’t say to “praise without ceasing”, he says “PRAY without ceasing”. When we talk to God, we need to tell Him how we really feel. If we don’t, we’re straight up lying to God, and what’s the point in that when He knows our heart?
So to answer the question at hand, one should never give up on God. We need to, for our own sanity, to remain in communication with God. When we feel abandoned, God is still there. He never leaves us, even when we feel like He has. Though Psalm 88 is anything BUT encouraging, it encourages us to be able to stay in honest communication with God.
January 27, 2012 at 2:51 pm
The Psalm and the blog made me think of 2 Timothy 2:13: even when we are faithless, God is faithful for He cannot deny Himself. Throughout the Psalms, there’s no place you can go to escape God’s presence, even in sheol or at the edge of the horizon. God’s there and we cannot escape His presence. This truth is true and doesn’t change, but it doesn’t always feel like that. That’s the tension between what we know and experience, and maybe that’s the goal of the “silence” in prayer. Expand our faith and show us a greater part of God. In John 11, they wanted Jesus near but He delayed on purpose and Lazarus died. They said, “if only you were here…” but He said, “I did this so you could see more of the glory of God.” I realize that’s a bunch of words when you’re in the middle of that, and I’ve been in the middle of that, but on the other side, turns out He is faithful and I get to see more of that.
January 29, 2012 at 11:13 am
I agree that God is faithful and present and though we may not feel his presence He is. Well said!
January 29, 2012 at 11:09 am
The psalmist is in such despair that he cannot see beyond his human comprehension. Just because people are in such depths of despair and agony does not mean that God is not present or listening. Yes, the psalmist experienced what is read as, “darkest depths”, but the psalmist shows that there is still strength left in that this is a prayer to God. The psalmist talks to God with a honest heart and pleads for relief.
February 5, 2012 at 9:35 pm
I like that fact that the psalmist is still dependent on God in this tough situation.
February 5, 2012 at 9:32 pm
What this makes me think of is that during times of great trouble and emotional termoil the only responce is to be still, quiet, and yet present in the situation. It’s like Jobs friends who go to see him but simply sitt around him becuase there is nothing that words can do. The pain and the misery are there. It’s like when we go to a funeral for a loved on. Often the best thing we can do is to be there, and perhaps sit down in the room being available. Maybe offer a hug and cry one-with-another.
February 6, 2012 at 8:57 am
i think that the lament psalms are teaching us that we should pray without ceasing no matter what is going on in our lives and no matter if God answers us immediately or not. just because he doesn’t respond right away doesnt mean he isnt going to, or that he’s not there and not listening to us. He wants to hear our sorrows and troubles as well as our happy praises and prayers. he wants to know all of our thoughts good and bad. he wants us to depend on him to get us through anything that is going on in our lives.