Ps 88 Faith Without Hope as the Darkness Deepens

"Lord, you are the God who saves me; day and night I cry out to you" ["by day I have screamed, by night, in front of you" {Motyer}] "...darkness is my closest [best] friend" (Ps 88:1, 18).

• Can you live a life without comfort (1-9a)? Die without hope (9b-12)? Have questions without answers (13-18)?
• How do you live when there is no light at the end of the tunnel?
• How do you go on when you feel abandoned?
• How do you live by faith when the future seems dark and bleak?

1. Who is God to the psalmist (Ps 88:1-2)?
2. What is going on with his life (Ps 88:3-5)?
3. Who did he blame for his predicament (Ps 88:6-9)?
4. How was he treated by his friends (Ps 88:8, 18)? 
5. How did he respond to his difficult situation (Ps 88:9, 13)?
6. Was he asking God sarcastic rhetorical questions (Ps 88:10-12)? From what might he need to be saved?
7. Why did he question the Lord (Ps 88:13-14)?
8. How does he describe his life described (Ps 88:15-17)? Was he exagerrating?
9. What does Psalm 88:18 suggest about God? 

No sadder prayer in the psalms. This is an individual lament psalm where the psalmist knows nothing but sorrow. But even in the darkness of his grief he turns to God for deliverance (Ps 88:1).

Psalm 88 is a poignant, unrelenting and intense psalm of lament, expressing deep distress, despair and a profound sense of abandonment. He pours out his soul in a raw and honest prayer. He describes his overwhelming suffering, both outward and inward, his physical and emotional afflictions, and a feeling of profound darkness and of being forsaken by both God and human companions. Throughout the psalm, he pours out his anguish, questioning God's apparent absence and the purpose of his afflictions. The tone remains bleak, and the psalm concludes with a sense of isolation, loneliness, despair and darkness, making it one of the most somber and desolate psalms in the Book of Psalms. Unlike many other psalms of lament, Psalm 88 lacks a clear resolution or expression of hope, highlighting the raw and unremitting nature of the psalmist's suffering.

Outline: [Heman is mentioned 16 times: 1 Ki 4:31, 14 times in 1 and 2 Chron and in the title of Psalm 88. He is a wise, talented, respected and accomplished man.] 

• "In this psalm, Heman makes a map of his life's history. He puts down all the dark places through which he has travelled. He mentions his sins, his sorrows, his hopes (if he has any), his fears, his woes, and so on. Now that is real prayer, laying your case before the Lord." Spurgeon.
• "From beginning to end there is no trace of bitterness, no desire for revenge on enemies, no angry reflections on the goodness of God. Rather, the references to God reveal a remarkable sense of his grace and goodness." G. Campbell Morgan.

1. Sleepless prayer (Ps 88:1-2).
2. Prayer in darkness (Ps 88:3-9).
3. Unanswered prayer (Ps 88:10-18).

How to Deal with Dark Times (Psalm 88 by Tim Keller)

1. Darkness can last a long time for believing Christians. Outer (Ps 88:3-5, 8) and inner (Ps 88:15-18) darkness.
2. There's no better place to learn about the grace of God than in dark times. Sarcastic (Ps 88:10-12).
3. There's no better place to be a person of greatness than in dark times. Job 1:9.
4. Darkness can be relativised.

How Psalm 88 points to Jesus:

1. Jesus was forsaken by his friends (Ps 88:8; Lk 23:49).

2. Jesus felt God's anger/wrath/terror on the cross (Ps 88:7, 16).

3. Jesus is the answer to the question (Ps 88:10).

4. Jesus experienced the deepest darkness (Ps 88:18).

1. Keller. 2015.  The darkest depths (1-9). Satan defeated (10-18).
2. Kidner. 1975. Psalm 88: The Darkness Deepens.
1. Sleepless entreaty (Ps 88:1-2).
2. Encroaching shadows (Ps 88:3-9).
3. Unanswered cry (Ps 88:10-18).
3. Motyer. 2016. Psalm 88: Darkness without Light; Trust without Hope.
• A1. ["I"] Persistent prayer when life ends without hope (Ps 88:1-5).
• B1. ["You"] Friendless, under wrath (Ps 88:6-9).
• A2. ["I"] Persistent prayer facing death without hope (Ps 88:10-12).
• B2. ["You"] Friendless, under wrath (Ps 88:13-18).
4. Longman III & Garland. Psalms. 2008. Psalm 88. A Prayer in the Darkness of Despair.
• A. Prayer for Help (Ps 88:1-2).
• B. The Experience of Dying in Life (Ps 88:3-5).
• A'. Prayer for Help (Ps 88:9-12).
• C. It is the Lord's Doing (Ps 88:6-9a).
• C'. It is the Lord's Doing (Ps 88:13-14).
• B'. The Experience of Dying (Ps 88:15-18).
5. Titles: A Cry of Pain and Sorrow. A Sermon for Sufferers.
6. Affliction, Adversity, Anxiety and Anguish is Good for Me.

1. Sleepless prayer (88:1-2, 9, 13).
2. Encroaching darkness (88:3-9).
1. Life ending without hope (88:3-5).
2. Under God's wrath (88:6-9, 16).
3. Facing the future without hope (88:10-12).
4. Darkness is my only friend (88:13-18).