Let Psalms 88-89 encourage you. Remember, when our peace is in jeopardy and pain threatens our joy, the way forward is through prayer and praise. It is Christ, our good Shepherd, who gives us joy and peace in the midst of our pain.     

Have there been times in your life when you wanted to sing of the love of the Lord, but you felt paralyzed by pain, or choked by chaos? This has certainly been the case for me. Thankfully, when my peace is in jeopardy and pain threatens my joy, the psalms point me again to Christ. This is especially the case with Psalms 88 and 89, which teach us that the way through pain is prayer and praise. Ultimately, it is Christ who gives us joy and peace in the midst of our suffering.

Psalm 88

Troubled Soul

The psalmist begins by crying out to the God of his salvation in the midst of suffering (Ps. 88:1-12). His “soul is full of troubles” (v. 3) and he “has no strength” (v. 4). He cries to the Lord, “You have put me in the depths of the pit” (v. 6) and “Your wrath lies heavy upon me” (v. 7). Like the psalmist, but in a far greater way, Jesus’s soul was full of troubles; His Father and His closest companions shunned him. God’s wrath was laid heavy upon Him “so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Rom. 3:26). Let us, then, in the midst of our suffering cry out day and night to the God of our salvation.

Tireless Supplication

In the midst of his sincere questions arising from his severe suffering, the psalmist perseveres in prayer (Ps. 88:13-18). Suffering has been his companion since his youth and the duration, along with the severity, has resulted in darkness being his only friend. In fact, the psalm ends on a note of darkness, “You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me; my companions have become darkness” (v. 18). But this darkness serves to reveal the need for light. And when Christ came as the light of the world He fulfilled this need. Seen through the lens of the cross, then, Psalm 88 gives us hope without minimizing the pain and darkness that is the experience of every believer.

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