Psalm 88 "Seeing Through Dim Eyes"

Photo by Kat J on Unsplash

Psalm for Today = 88:8-9

You have caused my companions to shun me;
    you have made me a horror to them.
I am shut in so that I cannot escape;
    my eye grows dim through sorrow.
Every day I call upon you, O Lord;

    I spread out my hands to you.

Comments:

One thing to remember in reading the Old Testament is the progressive revelation that was occurring. This means that as the Old Testament plays out, their understanding of God increased as more and more about him was prophetically revealed. Earlier in Israel’s history, they didn't have a clear understanding of life after death…as we can see in this psalm. Even as exhausted and overwhelmed as the author was…he poured his heart out honestly to the Lord! 

One other note is that the relational trauma he experienced sounds much like Job 19:13-14, where Job talked about how his family shunned him in his suffering faith. But I wonder if the psalmist is actually alluding to this passage in Job, which ends in these familiar words that hint at the resurrection:

“For I know that my Redeemer lives,
    and at the last he will stand upon the earth.
And after my skin has been thus destroyed,
    yet in my flesh I shall see God,
whom I shall see for myself,
    and my eyes shall behold, and not another. (Job 19:25-27)

There are times when our eyes grow dim with sorrow, when we don't understand our circumstances, and a deep inner exhaustion washes over our body and soul. This "hopeless" psalm can give us hope nonetheless. Here are a few ways...

1. In our deep distress, we can cry out to the Lord in profound honesty.
2. God makes space and provides vocabulary for our pain.
3. We are not alone in our moments of pain... others understand it.
4. The psalmist didn't see the whole picture. There was more to learn. As Christians, we have a much more complete understanding of eternal life and the goodness of the plan of God... but we don't understand everything all the time.
5. We can be thankful for Jesus' promises, such as “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb. 13:5)!

One last thought. The psalms were collected and arranged for a reason. While this psalm of lament doesn't have a happy ending or provide a quick solution to the author's pain or a complete answer to his questions, the very next psalm starts like this,

I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord, forever;

    with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.

2 

For I said, “Steadfast love will be built up forever;

    in the heavens you will establish your faithfulness.” (Psalm 89:1-2)

Sometimes it helps just to get it all out, and the Lord is the best listener of all!