Psalm 88: A prayer for when God ignores you

This morning, we will read through Psalm 88. I don't to say very much about it before jumping in. But I will say this: This is a psalm that you can pray, when God is ignoring your prayers. (1) A song. A psalm of/for the sons of Korah. Of/for the director. Upon Makhalat leanot. A maskil of Heman the Ezrahite. (2) O Yahweh, the God/Elohim of my salvation, by day I have cried out, by night before you. The psalmist begins here by addressing Yahweh. And he knows that Yahweh, is a particular kind of God. Yahweh is the "God of my salvation." That's who he is. That's his character. And if you know that your God, is the God of your salvation, where do you turn when you need to be rescued? Who you gonna call? You cry out to God. You do this by day. And you do this by night. And you cry out "before God." You aren't just wailing, and crying out, and despairing. You look up to God, you find yourself in his presence, and you cry out before him. Verse 3: (3) It comes before you-- my prayer; may you extend/stretch out your ear to my cry, The psalmist is confident that his prayer comes before God. He knows that he has cried out loud enough, long enough, that God should've been able to hear it. And so what he asks, in the second line, is that God would stretch out his ear to his cry. Many Christians, when they pray, immediately have this mental hour glass that they flip over (I should bring a prop). You cry out to God, and you flip it. And you sit, and you wait, and you watch the sand, or salt, or whatever it is, pour into the bottom. And once it hits the bottom, they decide that God has said "no" to their prayer. They prayed, they "know" that God heard, and they decide that his answer was clear. And so they decide that their hardship is something that God wants for them. It's their thorn in the flesh. It's for their own benefit. None of this is biblical. If this is you, understand that these are lies. The psalmists understand that God doesn't say "no" to people. When they cry out to Yahweh for help, and the "God of their salvation" doesn't answer, it's because God isn't listening. They know their prayer got close to God. They know it came "before him." But there is this gap that isn't being bridged. And so what they pray, is that God would hear their prayers. If God would just stretch out his ear, and listen, everything will be okay. But there is this wall, or something, between God and the psalmist. And what the rest of the psalm is designed to do, really, is break down this wall. If God is ignoring you, this is one of the things you can do, to break through. Let's reread verse 3, and then push through verse 6: (3) It comes before you-- my prayer; may you extend/stretch out your ear to my cry, (4) because it has been filled with troubles-- my life/soul, while my life to Sheol has drawn near. (5) I am counted with the ones going down to the pit; I am like a warrior without strength. (6) Among the dead, released/free. Like the slain lying down in a grave, who you no longer remember, while they from your hand, have been cut off. The psalmist here prays from a dark place. A place of terrible suffering, and imminent death. People look at him, and they know that this is it for him. Imagine that you're a medic in a war, and there's hundreds of wounded people. You look at some of them, and you know, technically, right now, they are only wounded. But you know when you wake up the next day, some of those wounded are almost certainly going to be dead. Those are the ones who are "counted among the dead." You do what you can for them, but you've written them off as hopeless. Now, what does verse 6 teach us about life after death? Throughout much of the OT, there is no clear expectation of a conscious, active, life after death. Here, the psalmist says that "you no longer remember" the slain. And God no longer provides for them. Every day, we have food, and drink, and clothing, and everything else because God's hand provides for us. But once we are dead, the psalmist says we are cut off from his hand. Life after death is something that's revealed to God's people, in the Bible, later. With this, we come to verse 7. Here, the psalmist moves from describing his life, to describing God's role in this. What has happened to him, hasn't happened by chance, or apart from God: (7) You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest places, in the depths. (8) Upon me, your anger presses, while all your waves have afflicted. Selah. (9) You have distanced the ones I know from me. You have made me a detestable thing to them, being imprisoned, and I can't escape. (10) My eye has dimmed from sorrow, I have called on you, Yahweh, every day. I have spread out to you my hands. Yahweh is angry with the psalmist. Why? We don't know the specifics. And we don't need to know. This is a psalm that's designed for you. Sometime in life, you may find God angry with you. Maybe it's sin. You know that you've been rebelling against him. You know that you decided, in your heart, that you would choose sin rather than God, and roll the dice on God's patience and love. And maybe God was patient for a time, slow to anger, rich in love, and abounding in mercy. But you pushed too far, too long. And God's anger is being poured out on you. It's pressing down on you like a 1,000 pound weight. Or like ocean breakers, collapsing down over you. Your life is a living hell, and there is no escape. And you found yourself, in that moment, realizing that your life looks like it does, because of God. You weep until your eyes hurt. And you call out to God, every single day. And every single night. You spread your hands out to God, pointing up, and there's nothing. Just the wall. Just the gap. And note, the psalmist isn't just describing all of this. In these verses, he's directly telling God, "You have done this." It's an acknowledgement, that God is responsible, and a reminder to God that he has been praying every single day, faithfully, for help. For salvation. Starting in verse 11, the psalmist reminds God how death works. The psalmist knows that he is on the slippery slope to Sheol. He counts himself among the dead, pretty much. And he knows what's waiting on the other side. The question is, does God? Has God thought about what the psalmist's death will mean for God, personally? Verse 11: (11) Do you for the dead work wonders, or do the Rephaim [spirits of the dead?] rise up and praise you? (12) Is it told, in the grave, your loyalty?, your faithfulness in the Abaddon? (13) Is it known in the darkness, your wonder/miracle, while your righteousness, in the land of forgetfulness?, (14) while I, to you, O Yahweh, I have cried for help, while in the morning, my prayer draws near to you. Yahweh is a God who is concerned about his name. He wants his name to be glorified, and honored. He wants to be praised. And normally, there are lots of reasons to praise God. God is good. God is loyal, and faithful, and the God of wonders, and a God who acts rightly-- righteously-- toward his people. But God does this for the living. Does God do wonders for the dead? Does God raise the dead? Do He do wonders for them? The psalmist assumes the answer is no. What he needs, is help now. And so he reminds God of how death works. "God, if you let me die, you are going to lose a faithful confessor of you. You will lose someone who loves to tell people about your loyalty, and faithfulness, and wonders, and righteousness." Verse 15: (15) Why, O Yahweh, do you reject me?, [why] do you hide your face from me? (16) Needy, I [am], and perishing, from/since my youth. I carry/bear your terrors; I am exhausted/in despair. (17) Over me, your burning anger has passed. Your terrors have destroyed me. (18) They have surrounded me like water every day; they encircle upon me together. (19) You have distanced from me the one loving [me] and neighbor. My close friends [are] darkness. God has been thorough in his anger. His anger and terrors have "passed over" him, "destroyed" him, "surrounded" him, and "encircled" him. Worst of all, God has distanced his close friends from him. Everyone shuns him. And now he's alone. The only close friends he has left, are darkness. And being alone, in times of darkness, is probably the worst possible thing that could happen to him. No matter how bad a day you have, if you come home to someone who loves you, or you can call someone who loves you, and cares about you, it's not quite so bad. It takes some of the sting off it, when you have people who genuinely care about you. The psalmist used to have people like that. But God has taken those people away as well. That would be brutal. And that's how it ends. Most psalms of protest are designed to leave you in a place of confidence, and expectation, while you wait for God to act. They end with this call to God to rise up, and act. But this one just ends on the note of darkness: Ignored by God, abandoned by friends. If you pray psalm 88, what do you expect God's response to be? You are calling out to the God of your salvation. The God of loyalty, and faithfulness, and righteousness. The God who, for whatever reason, has been ignoring your prayers. When you pray this prayer, you are forcing God to make a decision about how He wants your life to look. If life continues as it has, there can be only one end for you. Is that the end God wants? Is He really planning to finish you off? Does He really not want your praise, and faithful witness? Does He really not want to provide for you anymore? You pray this prayer, and what happens next, is that the ball is in God's court. It's his turn. God has to decide what's important to him. God has to decide what type of God He is. -------------------------------------------------- When we step back and look at Psalm 88 as a whole, I'm guessing we see how differently psalmists pray, than we do. When life falls apart all around us, how do we respond? What do we think the "correct" thing to do is? My guess is that we instinctively turn to verses in the NT. James says, "Consider it all joy whenever you face trials of many kinds" (James 1:2). Paul says, "Rejoice in hope, be patient in affliction." And what do we think that means? I think we read these verses, and assume that we are supposed to suffer in silence. We should accept that our life looks how God wants. We should accept that the Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. And it is what it is. We're not sure if we should even pray, that God would help us. But let's read Romans 12:12: "in hope rejoicing, in affliction enduring, in prayer, persisting. When life falls apart around you, don't assume that this is God's will for your life. Don't assume that patiently enduring it, means that you aren't supposed to pray. Don't assume that God will work all things out for your good, apart from your persistence in prayer. And if you pray, and pray, and pray, and nothing has seemed to happen, don't assume at some point that God said "no" to you. Don't set the hour glass upside down, and watch the sand flow down. Pray persistently. Day and night. Cry out to God, out loud. Raise your hands toward heaven. Remind him of who He is-- that God is the God of salvation, and loyalty, and faithfulness, and righteousness. Remind him that God delights to provide for his creation. And call on him, just to listen. There have been times in my life, when I'm confident God was ignoring my prayers. (1) When I've treated Heidi poorly: 1 Peter 3:7: Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered. When I treat Heidi poorly, my prayers are hindered. There is a wall, a gap, that goes up between me and God. (2) When I've been sinning toward God. James 5:16: The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. There have been times my kids have needed healing, and come to me for help. And I know I've compromised myself toward God in some way. I know, in that moment, I screwed up hard. I know my prayers aren't going to be as powerful and effective. I know that, in that moment, my prayers don't matter very much to God. In that moment, I'm not anything like Elijah, who God was happy to say "yes" to (James 5:17), or like Moses. (3) When I don't have faith. Until 2 years ago, I didn't really understand what it meant to pray with faith. I knew how to make it sound like I had faith. I knew about the different ways you can ask God for things, and different ways you can try to persuade God to act. But I was missing the most important thing-- faith. I didn't know, at the time, that God likes to say "yes." That he rewards those who believe that He exists, and seek him (Heb. 11:6). That God is seeking people who have faith. If Jesus had returned two years ago, would he have found faith in me (Luke 18:8)? Nope. The day may come-- or maybe it's now here-- when you know that God is ignoring your prayers. You can feel it. You know your prayers bounce off the ceiling. Or maybe your prayers almost reach God, but He didn't extend his ears a little to hear. There is this gap. This wall. When this happens-- or if it's happening right now-- don't accept this. Keep crying out to God. Keep asking him to listen. Keep reminding him of what kind of God he is. If you need to confess, and repent, do so. If you need to treat your wives better, do so. If you need faith, ask God to give you more. But don't accept that your life needs to suck. Don't passively accept this as what God wants for you. God will do more. Translation: (1) A song. A psalm of/for the sons of Korah. Of/for the director. Upon Makhalat leanot. A maskil of Heman the Ezrahite. (2) O Yahweh, the God/Elohim of my salvation, by day I have cried out, by night before you. (3) It comes before you-- my prayer; may you extend/stretch out your ear to my cry, (4) because it has been filled with troubles-- my life/soul, while my life to Sheol has drawn near. (5) I am counted with the ones going down to the pit; I am like a warrior without strength. (6) Among the dead, released/free. Like the slain lying down in a grave, who you no longer remember, while they from your hand, have been cut off. (7) You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest places, in the depths. (8) Upon me, your anger presses, while all your waves have afflicted. Selah. (9) You have distanced the ones I know from me. You have made me a detestable thing to them, being imprisoned, and I can't escape. (10) My eye has dimmed from sorrow, I have called on you, Yahweh, every day. I have spread out to you my hands. (11) Do you for the dead work wonders, or do the Rephaim [spirits of the dead?] rise up and praise you? (12) Is it told, in the grave, your loyalty?, your faithfulness in the Abaddon? (13) Is it known in the darkness, your wonder/miracle, while your righteousness, in the land of forgetfulness?, (14) while I, to you, O Yahweh, I have cried for help, while in the morning, my prayer draws near to you. (15) Why, O Yahweh, do you reject me?, [why] do you hide your face from me? (16) Needy, I [am], and perishing, from/since my youth. I carry/bear your terrors; I am exhausted/in despair. (17) Over me, your burning anger has passed. Your terrors have destroyed me. (18) They have surrounded me like water every day; they encircle upon me together. (19) You have distanced from me the one loving [me] and neighbor. My close friends [are] darkness. 8