INTRODUCTION: Read Psalm 88, 1 Chronicles 6:33, 16:41&42, 25:1&6
For both Christians and Jews today the Psalms are a book of prayers. Many of the Psalmists teach a lot about prayer, including their reaction at times to trials and tribulations; and their reactions to what they sometimes feel about "being unjustly wronged", by God Himself.
This prayer by Heman the Ezrahite is seen as the darkest of all Psalms, for here is a man whose life is ebbing away, and he doesn't know how to face death. He is in the grip of darkest distress, including grief, guilt, lonliness and depression.
Philip Yancey believes that when we have these feelings inside us, we often blame God. Why? Because, "rather than suppress my reaction to horror and the outrage at evil, taking justice into my own hands, I deliver these feelings, stripped bare, to God."
"In writing as they do, the Psalmists express their outrage to God, not the enemy." Dorothy Sayers.
This is what Heman, the Psalmist may be doing here. Not only a man of great wisdom, he was also one of three grand musicians; and as a man of great faith he persistantly cried out to the Lord in prayer.
"You will find me when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:13 (NIV)
PART 1: A SICK MAN'S SUFFERINGS - Read Psalm 88:1-8; 2 Corinthians 12:7-10; Jeremiah 29:11-13, 38; Job 23.
Heman, the writer of this Psalm, was "overwhelmed with troubles". He was grieving because he was close to death, losing not only his physical strength, but his mental and spiritual strength were also declining. He felt God was letting him down, and he felt alone and depressed; "shut in", with "no way of escape". Does this sound familiar?
Yet, Heman had begun this Psalm with a ray of hope. He based his faith on God's salvation and the fact that he could come to the Lord in prayer whenever he felt down and out, and that the Lord would always be there listening. This may have been something he had learnt from David.
"I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God. Bend down and listen as I pray."
Psalm 17:6 (NLT)
Heman's prayer was personal and he prayed earnestly day and night. He prayed from the heart and persevered through all the obstacles that faced him.
A. PHYSICAL HEALTH
"I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me, but the Lord said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (NIV)
Like Paul, Heman had an illness that we really don't know a lot about. It was probably a "lifelong infirmity", "a chronic disease", and we do know that it was heading in the "direction of death."
"Grief hemmed him in like a deer in a hunt, surrounded by dogs." Charles Spurgeon
In the Old Testament, unlike Paul, and Christians today, who have the hope after the death and resurrection of Christ; the Jews in Heman's day did not have a lot to look forward to it seemed when it came to the afterlife. No Israelite, except Enoch and Elijah, ever went to Heaven.
"Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away." Genesis 5:24 (NIV)
"When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to Heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way to Gilgal......As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses appeared and seperated the two men, and Elijah went up to Heaven in a whirlwind."
2 Kings 2:1&11 (NIV)
Some psalmists believed that there was an alternative to Sheol (God's undesirable judgement), where they would be in fellowship with God; but the ressurection and eternal life were not mentioned until later in Daniel's time and other prophecies.
"You will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay."
Psalm 16:10
"But God will redeem me from the realm of death; He will surely take me to Himself." Psalm 49:15
"Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake; some to everlasting life, others to shame and contempt." Daniel 12:2
It is sad, that Heman didn't have this hope, but like Paul, he could "find strength in his weakness" through prayer and a relationship with His Father God.
B. MENTAL HEALTH
Another sympton of Heman's illness was his depression. This came about by guilt and lonliness, something many of us will have experienced. Heman felt the "wrath of God like the waves of the sea, which rage and dash with fury on the shore." His disease could have been something that kept him "legally seperated" from friends, or "his good name could have been injured" and his friends had turned their backs on him.
Either way, like Jeremiah who had been "cast away" in the cistern, Heman felt like he was in a pit of lonliness and depression, "into the lowest pit, into the darkest depths". He felt utterly forsaken!
"I am forgotten, cut off from your care. You have thrown me into the lowest pit, into the darkest depths. Your anger weighs me down; with wave after wave you have engulfed me. You have driven my friends away by making me repulsive to them. I am in a trap with no way of escape."
Psalm 88:6-8 (NLT)
C. SPIRITUAL HEALTH
At times Heman felt like even God had forsaken him. Jeremiah and Job struggled with at times. But, as great men of faith, they knew where to go when "the ashes of disapointment and failure", grief and lonliness hit them.
"But if I go to the East, He is not there; if I go to the West I do not find Him. When I go to the North, I do not see Him; when He turns to the South, I catch no glimpse of Him. But He knows the way that I take; when He tested me, I will come forth as gold." Job 23:8-10
"Perhaps you too think that God only works when blessings come. No! It is when blessings are delayed that He works on our faith and character. His blessing is the reward that comes after we learn obedience through experience. I wouldn't take anything in exchange for what I've learnt during hard times." Bob Gass
Heman continued to pray - for, "nothing can make a true believer cease praying". He eagerly pleaded for mercy. He prayed as an afflicted child of God; his eyes wept, his voice cried, his hands outstretched and his heart broke.
"My eyes are blinded by my tears. Each day I beg for your help, O Lord; I lift my hands to You for mercy." Psalm 88:9
PART 2: A PRAYER FOR MERCY AND DELIVERANCE - Read Psalm 88:10-18
Hamen, the Psalmist, like many in his lifetime, were uncertain about many things, including the afterlife, but one thing he was certain abour was that GOD ANSWERED PRAYERS! He knew that if he prayed daily, God would be there to meet his needs. Like David, he prayed in the morning, and He set his focus on the Lord, even though he was suffering trials and tribulations. Determined to keep in touch with His Father God, he cried out to Him.
"In the morning Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly." Psalm 5:3 (NIV)
"But I will sing of Your strength, in the morning I will sing of Your love; for You are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble." Psalm 59:16 (NIV)
"But I cry to You for help, Lord, in the morning my prayers comes before You." Psalm 88:13 (NIV)
"Nothing can make a true believer cease praying; it is part of their nature, and pray they must. A genuine believer holds on till he wins his suit." Charles Spurgeon'
Heman pleaded for mercy. Troubles and guilt came upon him every day and he felt like he was drowning in the Lord's wrath - in spiritual distress. He was afflicted and alone, but the Psalm ends here, with no answer. But still, "I want to cry out to the Lord."
"Even in affliction, he believed in God - it was a crisis of faith, not unbelief." David Guzik
"The secret of it was determination, his desire to keep in touch with God, crying to Him and going out to meet Him at the break of each new day." Morgan
CONCLUSION
When Paul Simon began his song "Sound of Silence", with the words, "Hello Darkness, my Old Friend", he was like the psalmist Heman, and many of us today. The difference was, Heman was crying out to God, a God that he knew would save him from his depression, even when close to death.
"I am familiar only with sadness. I am a child crying out in darkness, but will my Heavenly Father leave his child there?" Charles Spurgeon
We can thank our Heavenly Father, that as His children, even in the midst of darkness, trials and tribulation - in the midst of distress - he will not leave us - HE WILL ALWAYS BE THERE, because we trust in Him.
"I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for Hew is right beside me." Psalm 16:8 (NLT
"For I know the plans I have for you" says the Lord, "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days, when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me." Jeremiah 29:11-13 (NLT)
The Holy Bible, "New International Version", 2011, Biblica
Holy Bible, "New Living Translation", 2015, Tyndale Publishers
Simon, Paul, "Sound of Silence", 1966, Paul Simon Music'
Alexander, Pat & David, (2009) "The Lion Handbook to the Bible", Lion.
Gass, Bob, (1996), "Best of the Word Today", Bridge-Logos
Guzik, David, (2020) "Psalm 88 - A Desperate Prayer from Deep Affliction: Enduring Word Bible Commentary", ewm@enduringword.com
Spurgeon, Charles. H, (1885) (2021) "The Treasury of David - Commentary on Psalms", Christianity.com
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