November 28 – Have Mercy

        Psalm 88:3 – "For my soul is full of trouble, and my life draws near the grave."

        I have always thought that this is the darkest psalm in the sacred writings. There is not even the slightest glimmer of hope. The psalm can be summed up in the words: "God, have Mercy!" The writer is clearly afflicted with some type of mortal physical ailment, perhaps chronic, that is pulling him ever closer to death. We don't know how old this person is, but it sounds like he has dealt with this problem since his youth (verse 15). One thing is clear; he attributes his sickness to the wrath of God (verse 7). Yet he appeals to God to rescue him from this sickness.

        Have you ever felt this way, either from having a lengthy sickness, or from other negative circumstances in life, or perhaps from a spiritually dry time (see Psalm 42)? As I read this psalm for the umpteenth time, I still cannot find any hope within the psalm itself. It is simply a dark prayer to God, conveying the writer's actual feelings of despair.

At the very least, the writer knows that there is a God to whom he can appeal (vv 1, 2). After that, there is no whisper of hope, only a desperate cry. Looking back from the New Testament revelations, there are a couple of questions that arise from his further statements. In verse 5, the writer states that God no longer remembers the dead, or cares for them. However, in Luke 16, Jesus tells that dead persons are either in torment in the flames, or in peace in Abraham's bosom, the latter clearly conveying the thought that the righteous dead are cared for, and not forgotten.

        While Exodus 4:11 intimates that God makes one seeing or blind, lame or ambulatory, Acts 10:38 plainly states that Jesus went about healing people who were under the power of the devil. Matthew 8:16, 17 also points to Jesus fulfilling OT writings about healing the sick. So, we know that while God allows sickness, it is most likely attributed to the devil. Did the writer of this psalm realize that?

        Verse 16 states, "Your wrath has swept over me; your terrors have ruined me." No reason, however, is given for God to be displaying his wrath in the writer's life. Did he commit some egregious sin? Is he continuously practicing sin against God? The latter certainly prompted God to punish the nation of Israel. Perhaps this was written as a reminder to call on God, no matter how bleak the situation looks. Remember the persistent widow in Luke 18.

        Psalms 42 and 43 are companions to this Psalm with the same themes. However, Psalms 42 and 43 offer hope by reminding the writer to praise God, his joy and delight (Psalm 43:4).