❖ Video
❖ Audio
And Yet, Jesus is There
Psalm 88
Andy Nagahara
A <maskil> of Heman the Ezrahite.
1 O LORD, the God who saves me, day and night I cry out before you.
2 May my prayer come before you; turn your ear to my cry.
3 For my soul is full of trouble and my life draws near the grave.
4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am like a man without strength.
5 I am set apart with the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom you remember no more, who are cut off from your care.
6 You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths.
7 Your wrath lies heavily upon me; you have overwhelmed me with all your waves. <Selah>
8 You have taken from me my closest friends and have made me repulsive to them. I am confined and cannot escape;
9 my eyes are dim with grief. I call to you, O LORD, every day; I spread out my hands to you.
10 Do you show your wonders to the dead? Do those who are dead rise up and praise you? <Selah>
11 Is your love declared in the grave, your faithfulness in Destruction ?
12 Are your wonders known in the place of darkness, or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?
13 But I cry to you for help, O LORD; in the morning my prayer comes before you.
14 Why, O LORD, do you reject me and hide your face from me?
15 From my youth I have been afflicted and close to death; I have suffered your terrors and am in despair.
16 Your wrath has swept over me; your terrors have destroyed me.
17 All day long they surround me like a flood; they have completely engulfed me.
18 You have taken my companions and loved ones from me; the darkness is my closest friend.
A. A despair that separates us from others and from which there is no escape
B. The hope of Jesus’ presence even in our despair
Summary
When we are in despair, unable to feel God’s presence and feeling more dead than alive, we must remember Jesus Christ, who was crucified and buried in a dark tomb. Jesus is the only one who can truly walk alongside those who have been cut off from society by death, discrimination, sickness and poverty. Those who walk with Jesus can also walk with those who are in despair.
For Discussion
- What is the hope found in this psalm?
- Why can you bring hope to someone else?