Sunday Devotional: Psalm 88:1-2 (2-3)

¹ O Lord, God of my salvation, I have cried out by day, [and] in the night in Your presence. ² Let my prayer go before You; incline Your ear to my cry.

Psalm 88 has been characterized as the saddest psalm in the Bible. It’s a psalm of lament, but unlike other psalms written in times of trial or suffering, there is no “happy ending.” There’s no turn around at the end, where the psalmist rejoices in the grace and mercy of God. Indeed, in verses 6-8, the psalmist says it is God who has put him in the pit, poured wrath upon him, and turned people against him.

It may seem strange that such a negative psalm is in the Bible. Where is the comfort here? How do these words of distress and hopelessness draw us close to the Lord, and help us gain strength in times of trial? We may be able to identify with the psalmist, but there doesn’t seem to be anything here that would help us see beyond our circumstances. The God who has the psalmist in the palm of His hand is the One who has apparently destroyed his life.

The interesting thing is that, while the psalmist speaks no explicit words of hope, his hope is implied in the first couple of verses. Despite what’s going on around him, the psalmist calls the Lord the “God of my salvation.” He hasn’t gone looking for other gods to serve, believing his God to have failed him. He knows there is no other source of divine power to go to. And, indeed, salvation can only come from this one true God. The psalmist not only turns to God, but he continues to cry out to God, and to pray to God. The Hebrew words for “cry” refer to wailing and screaming out for help. The fact he pleads before God to hear him, and persists in crying out, shows his conviction that if there is any comfort in his circumstances, it can only come from the Lord.

I think the lesson for us is clear: it doesn’t matter what’s happening in our lives, or whatever difficult circumstances the Lord has given to us, He is the only one we can turn to. There are no other sources of true comfort. There’s no-one else that will sustain us. And often, the purpose of these trials is to make us more dependent upon Him. I think that’s the lesson the psalmist is learning here. May we face times of trial with the same faith in the God who saves.

Have a great week!