Theme

In dark times, we know the worst was borne by Christ, so that all who believe in Him would be raised with Him, out of all darkness, into everlasting light.

Text

A SONG. A PSALM OF THE SONS OF KORAH. TO THE CHOIRMASTER: ACCORDING TO MAHALATH LEANNOTH. A MASKIL OF HEMAN THE EZRAHITE.

1 O LORD, God of my salvation,
I cry out day and night before you.
2 Let my prayer come before you;
incline your ear to my cry!
3 For my soul is full of troubles,
and my life draws near to Sheol.
4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit;
I am a man who has no strength,
5 like one set loose among the dead,
like the slain that lie in the grave,
like those whom you remember no more,
for they are cut off from your hand.
6 You have put me in the depths of the pit,
in the regions dark and deep.
7 Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
and you overwhelm me with all your waves. Selah
8 You have caused my companions to shun me;
you have made me a horror to them.
I am shut in so that I cannot escape;
9 my eye grows dim through sorrow.
Every day I call upon you, O LORD;
I spread out my hands to you.
10 Do you work wonders for the dead?
Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah
11 Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,
or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
12 Are your wonders known in the darkness,
or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
13 But I, O LORD, cry to you;
in the morning my prayer comes before you.
14 O LORD, why do you cast my soul away?
Why do you hide your face from me?
15 Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,
I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.
16 Your wrath has swept over me;
your dreadful assaults destroy me.
17 They surround me like a flood all day long;
they close in on me together.
18 You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me;
my companions have become darkness.

Introduction | “What Can Miserable Christians Sing?”

The Lonely Dark

The Lethal Dark

The Appointed Dark

The Prayer-Filled Dark

After Darkness, Light

Conclusion | The Land with No Lamps

Discussion Questions

1. How does Heman describe his situation in vv. 1–5? What specific images and metaphors does he use in vv. 4–6 and 17–18?
2. What unanswered questions does Heman ask in verses 10–12? Does he ever stop praying? Why might this be the case?
3. “In Psalm 88 we walk with a man who prays in hell itself.” How do the images/metaphors in this psalm help us better understand what Hell is like? See esp. vv. 4–6, 15–18; cf. Matt. 8:12; 22:13; 25:30; Jude 13.
4. How does Psalm 88 help you understand the depths of Christ’s agony in Gethsemane and on the cross? cf. Mark 15:33–34.
5. How does the gospel assure us that believers will never truly be abandoned to the darkness of Hell? (Isa. 53:5–6; Jn. 8:12; 2 Cor. 4:6–10; 2 Thess. 1:5–10)
6. Why do you think God gave us such a dark psalm in the Bible?
7. What practical steps can we learn from Psalm 88 to persevere in faith when it feels like God is absent?