Psalm 88 is unlike any of the other psalms. Read it for yourself and see if you come away with the same impression I get.
O Lord God, my savior, I cry out to you during the day and at night.
Let my prayer come into your presence. Turn your ear to hear my cries.
My soul is filled with troubles, and my life comes closer to the grave.
I am numbered with those who go into the pit. I am like a man without any strength—
abandoned with the dead, like those who have been killed and lie in graves,
like those whom you no longer remember, who are cut off from your power.
You have put me in the bottom of the pit—in deep, dark places.
Your rage lies heavily on me. You make all your waves pound on me.
Selah
You have taken my friends far away from me. You made me disgusting to them.
I’m shut in, and I can’t get out.
My eyes grow weak because of my suffering. All day long I call out to you, O Lord.
I stretch out my hands to you in prayer.
Will you perform miracles for those who are dead?
Will the spirits of the dead rise and give thanks to you?
Selah
Will anyone tell about your mercy in Sheol or about your faithfulness in Abaddon?
Will anyone know about your miracles in that dark place
or about your righteousness in the place where forgotten people live?
I cry out to you for help, O Lord,
and in the morning my prayer will come into your presence.
Why do you reject my soul, O Lord? Why do you hide your face from me?
Ever since I was young, I have been suffering and near death.
I have endured your terrors, and now I am in despair.
Your burning anger has swept over me. Your terrors have destroyed me.
They swirl around me all day long like water. They surround me on all sides.
You have taken my loved ones and friends far away from me.
Darkness is my only friend!
WOW…what a depressing, hopeless psalm! The author is beaten down. He is defeated. There is no hope…”darkness is my only friend.”
As we read the Psalms, a good number start out in a similar way. The biggest difference is that a change occurs in the middle of the rest. There is always an “until” or a “but” that changes the focus back on God’s faithfulness, His goodness.
So, a logical question would be “WHY would this have been included?”
I think a possible explanation is that hopelessness is natural. Everyone experiences it at some point or another. Most of us experience hopelessness many times in life.
I recently heard a radio preacher say, “From Genesis 3 to Revelation 20, the Bible is a picture of the hopelessness of the human condition.” Hopelessness will not disappear until time goes away.
Want to see hopeless? Look at Job.
Job wasn’t a “righteous” man. According to God, Job was the MOST righteous man on the Earth in his day. That’s not like Jason saying, “Job was a good guy.” I cannot imagine higher praise than for God Himself to label Job “best man on the planet.”
Job was greatly blessed. He had a large family, good friends, and was very wealthy.
Well, Job had the “bad day” to top all “bad days.” In the course of ONE DAY, Job lost everything. Thieves stole all of his working animals; oxen, donkeys, and camels. His flocks of sheep were burned up in a fire. His servants were murdered by the animal thieves. AND his children were killed when a wind storm collapsed the house on them.
How does one respond to that? Job, the “most righteous man on the Earth” WORSHIPPED God. Are you kidding me? He WORSHIPPED???
“Job stood up, tore his robe in grief, and shaved his head.
Then he fell to the ground and worshipped. He said,
“Naked I came from my mother, and naked I will return.
The Lord has given, and the Lord has taken away!
May the name of the Lord be praised.”
Through all this Job did not sin or blame God for doing anything wrong.”
(Job 1:20-22)
A little time passes, and Job has another unbelievably bad day. (We know it wasn’t a long time because Job was still sitting in the ashes, grieving over his loss.) Job is suddenly struck with painful boils all over his body…from his feet to his head. It is so painful that Job takes broken pottery and scratches himself.
Job’s loving wife says “Are you still holding on to your principles? Curse God and die!” Basically she says, “You moron! God’s forgotten you! Reject Him. You’re better off dead!” Then Job responds as the most righteous man on the planet would. He says, “You’re talking like a godless fool. We accept the good that God gives us. Shouldn’t we also accept the bad?” Through all of these devastations, Job’s lips never uttered one sinful word.
Then Job’s 3 best friends show up; Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. These men knew Job better than anyone. I’m sure Job saw them coming and thought “Ah, my friends! They’ll help ease my pain.” But when these 3 friends were still a distance from Job, they saw him and couldn’t even recognize him. They were so vexed that they tore their OWN clothes, cried out and bitterly wept for Job. They sat on the ground with him for 7 days, not speaking a word, because of Job’s great pain.
Finally, Job speaks. It’s not pleasant. Job curses the day he was born. He says that day should never have happened…erase it. Then he asks why he wasn’t stillborn. He says “at least, I would be at rest, sleeping peacefully. Finally, Job has lost his will to live. He questions the purpose of life. He says “What I fear most overtakes me. What I dread happens to me. I have no peace! I have no quiet! I have no rest! And trouble keeps coming!”
Job has had enough!
Ah, but in steps Eliphaz. Wise, patient Eliphaz. Best friend, Eliphaz, who knows Job as well as anyone. Friends like Eliphaz are…well…special.
We all have well-meaning friends who can say terribly stupid things when silence was working just fine. At one point or another, we all HAVE BEEN those well-meaning friends. We feel as if we should say SOMETHING, ANYTHING to help...and we wind up shooting off our mouths and doing much more damage than good.
Enter dear friend Eliphaz and his big, irresponsible, know-it-all mouth.
He addresses Job and says, “You think about this: Name me an innocent person who ever died an untimely death. Find me a decent person who has been destroyed like you’ve been! People who plant misery and plow wickedness, well, they harvest it, buddy.” In other words, Eliphaz says “Job, only evil people suffer. You’ve been bad and God’s getting you for it.” For two whole chapters, Eliphaz tells Job he’s horrible and what he needs to do to fix it.
Wait a minute. God says Job is the BEST PERSON in the world. Eliphaz says Job is wicked. Guess what? Job KNEW that he hadn’t done anything to provoke God’s wrath. Job proclaims his innocence and begs that God stop the turmoil and just leave him alone.
Great friend Bildad comes to the rescue. He’ll put a stop to this nonsense! He tells Job to stop denying his guilt, stop accusing God, and even says Job’s children got what they deserved. He reiterates Eliphaz’ contention that God does not punish innocent people. He also indicates his belief that Job has some hidden sin in his life. Again, a friend assumes to know Job better than he knows himself.
Righteous Job warns of the futility of arguing with God. “How can I possibly answer God? How can I find the right words to even speak with Him? He made everything, I am nothing!” Job now HATES his life. He says to God “Isn’t my life short enough? Stop this and leave me alone. Let me smile a little before I die.”
Boon companion, Zophar has heard enough. He feels as if someone should respond to Job; to defend God’s position. So, he takes it upon himself. He tells Job that God can do what he pleases. He says it’s time for Job to just confess his sin and be forgiven. A third time, a “friend” accuses Job of hidden wickedness.
Job finally responds with “My friends have no wisdom. God has power and priceless wisdom.” He accuses his friends of misrepresenting God. Job then addresses God, professes his innocence, and begs for God to respond.
Eliphaz opens his trap again and accuses Job of speaking sinfully. He, again, accuses Job of living a wicked and sinful life. Dear Bildad decides to as “Who do you think you are, Job? Why are you so great?” Then he goes on to describe what wicked people should expect in life. Even Zophar once again accuses Job of sin.
At some point, I would have told my moronic friends to leave…that they weren’t helping.
But righteous Job was patient. He’s called his friends “unwise” and then says they haven’t eased any of his pain. Then Job appeals his case to heaven.
Job asks how long his friends will continue to depress and torment him. He says “you’ve insulted me ten times and aren’t even ashamed of falsely accusing me.” But Job, ultimately has confidence in God. “But I know that my redeemer lives.”
Job realizes that while he doesn’t understand WHY all this has happened, he knows the source of all hope.
But Job’s friends aren’t done. They continue to lecture him and tell him everything that is wrong with his life. It’s clear that Job’s friends don’t know him. They don’t know Job’s heart. They are making assumptions and casting aspersions.
Finally Job says, “Listen carefully to my words and let that be the comfort you offer me. Bear with me while I speak.” Loosely translated, Job says “Ok, you’ve said enough. My friends, if you want to give me comfort, SHUT UP and LISTEN. Your words have been a waste of breath. You have betrayed me.”
Job even begins to believe his friends and wonders what sin he could have committed, one that he’s unaware of, to have brought God’s wrath.
In the end, Job’s life is restored. He has 10 more children, and gets to see grand children and great-grand children. God blesses Job with wealth, including thousands of sheep, camels, oxen, and donkeys…twice as much as he’d previously owned.
The bulk of the written account of Job is a study in hopelessness. The most righteous man on the face of the earth suffers like no other man and becomes hopeless. How can ANY of us deny the periods of hopelessness in our own lives? How can we act like these times are anything other than natural? We ALL face times of hopelessness. We can easily take our focus off of the SOURCE of all hope.
There is but ONE cure for hopelessness: HOPE.
So, where does hope come from? Psalm 39 says “My only hope is You, God.” Psalm 71 says “You are my hope, O Lord Almighty.”
“My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness!” Without Him, I have NO hope in this life or beyond.
In the midst of this storm, where I am surrounded by hopeless people in hopeless situations, my focus MUST be on the only author of hope. If my focus is anywhere else, then I am susceptible to being overcome by the hopelessness that surrounds me.
Oh, God, let my eyes, my mind, and my heart be focused solely on You. How else can I bring hope to a lost and dying world? In and of myself, I can do nothing. My only hope is You. Keep me ever mindful of that. Protect my mind and heart from the effects of the hopelessness around me. Make me an instrument of Your hope, Your grace, Your peace, and Your love as I seek to serve You and minister to those who need You most.
