Psalm 88
English Standard Version (ESV)
A
Song. A Psalm of (A)the Sons of Korah. To
the choirmaster: according to (B)Mahalath Leannoth. A
Maskil[a] of(C)Heman the Ezrahite.
88 O Lord, (D)God of my salvation;
I (E)cry out day and night before you.
2 Let my prayer come before you;
(F)incline your ear to my cry!
I (E)cry out day and night before you.
2 Let my prayer come before you;
(F)incline your ear to my cry!
3 For
my soul is full of troubles,
and (G)my life draws near to (H)Sheol.
4 I am counted among those who (I)go down to the pit;
I am a man who has no strength,
5 like one set loose among the dead,
like the slain that lie in the grave,
like those whom (J)you remember no more,
for they are (K)cut off from your hand.
6 You have put me in (L)the depths of the pit,
in the (M)regions dark and (N)deep.
7 Your wrath (O)lies heavy upon me,
and you overwhelm me with (P)all your waves. Selah
and (G)my life draws near to (H)Sheol.
4 I am counted among those who (I)go down to the pit;
I am a man who has no strength,
5 like one set loose among the dead,
like the slain that lie in the grave,
like those whom (J)you remember no more,
for they are (K)cut off from your hand.
6 You have put me in (L)the depths of the pit,
in the (M)regions dark and (N)deep.
7 Your wrath (O)lies heavy upon me,
and you overwhelm me with (P)all your waves. Selah
8 You
have caused (Q)my companions to shun me;
you have made me (R)a horror[b] to them.
I am (S)shut in so that I cannot escape;
9 (T)my eye grows dim through sorrow.
Every day I call upon you, O Lord;
I (U)spread out my hands to you.
10 Do you work wonders for the dead?
(V)Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah
11 Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,
or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
12 Are your (W)wonders known in (X)the darkness,
or your righteousness in the land of (Y)forgetfulness?
you have made me (R)a horror[b] to them.
I am (S)shut in so that I cannot escape;
9 (T)my eye grows dim through sorrow.
Every day I call upon you, O Lord;
I (U)spread out my hands to you.
10 Do you work wonders for the dead?
(V)Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah
11 Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,
or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
12 Are your (W)wonders known in (X)the darkness,
or your righteousness in the land of (Y)forgetfulness?
13 But I, O Lord,
cry (Z)to you;
(AA)in the morning my prayer comes before you.
14 O Lord, why (AB)do you cast my soul away?
Why (AC)do you hide your face from me?
15 Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,
I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.[c]
16 Your wrath has swept over me;
your (AD)dreadful assaults destroy me.
17 They (AE)surround me like a flood (AF)all day long;
they (AG)close in on me together.
18 You have caused (AH)my beloved and my friend to shun me;
my companions have become darkness.[d]
(AA)in the morning my prayer comes before you.
14 O Lord, why (AB)do you cast my soul away?
Why (AC)do you hide your face from me?
15 Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,
I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.[c]
16 Your wrath has swept over me;
your (AD)dreadful assaults destroy me.
17 They (AE)surround me like a flood (AF)all day long;
they (AG)close in on me together.
18 You have caused (AH)my beloved and my friend to shun me;
my companions have become darkness.[d]
(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+88&version=ESV)
As
I read this Psalm I had to think that this Psalmist was depressed. He had no hope except the hope that the LORD
would hear his plea for help. He was
convinced that he had been shunned by God but yet there was a glimmer of hope
that the LORD would hear his cry otherwise he would not have written this
Psalm. Yesterday I was at a training for
Mental Health First Aid and in that training they showed a video, The Bridge,
of a man that attempted suicide off the Golden Gate Bridge but by the grace of
God he survived to tell his story. The
thing that impressed me the most is that this man just wanted someone to care
about him, to ask him how is was. Any
type of interaction with someone else to know that he was worthy to live was
what he was seeking. Rather than that
type of interaction he had a lady stop and to ask him to take her picture, which
he did. After he had taken the picture
she said thank you and went on her way and he went over the bridge. How many times do we pass people on the streets
who just want someone to care? Probably
more often than we would ever know.
Depression
makes you feel like there is no hope, there is no sense in trying anymore, no
one cares about you let alone loves you and certainly no one understands your
situation. Often times people think that
you are just having a pity party and you need to snap out of it others might
peg you a weak. It is none of the
above. In this world of medication we
have found that sometimes it is a chemical imbalance that makes you depressed
and a simple prescription will cure it.
Yet even with medication there may be something missing if your heart is
not right with the Lord. Other times it
may just be that you need a listening ear.
Sometimes when we talk out our thoughts we see that they are really not
thoughts from the Lord and we may see the inappropriateness of those
thoughts. There are professionals who
can guide you through this process; you don’t have to do it alone.
Getting
your heart right with God is of utmost importance. When you realize that He is the reason that
you live not the reason you are depressed.
When you become more aware that even if no one else in the world cares,
God does, you find hope. God cared
enough to send His Son as a sacrifice for us.
If that is all He ever did for us that would be more than enough yet we
seem to forget that so often.
Seek
professional help if you feel that you are depressed, hopeless, and helpless
there are people who care and want to help you.
But also, most importantly seek God with all your heart because He cares
for you.
Seeking
Him with all my heart,
Sheila
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