Psalms 85:1-13
God Never Gives Up On Us
Psalms 86:1-17
David Prays For Protection From Enemies
Psalms 87:1-7
Jerusalem – City of God
Psalms 88:1-18
The Depths of Despair
Psalms 89:1-18
God’s Promises Are Secure
Psalms 89:19-37
God’s Enabling Power
Psalms 89:38-52
The Apparent Suspension of The Covenant
The Depths of Despair
Psalms 88:1–18
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Despair of ever being saved, “except thou be born again,” or of seeing God “without holiness,” or of having a part in Christ except thou “love Him above father, mother, or thy own life.” This kind of despair is one of the first steps to heaven. … More
This Psalm is acknowledged by many as one of the saddest of all the psalms and some have declared it as “a cry of hopeless despair.” It is a prayer for when you can’t seem to find the way. The key to under-standing it is to picture the writer as a leper who is suffering from a loathsome, disfiguring, and dreadful disease which has afflicted him from childhood. It could be described as life in the pits. It is the poetic groan of a man in extreme agony. There is scarcely a glimmer of hope anywhere; it is filled with dejection, despair and death. The psalmist lamented the terrible and fierce affliction that had brought him to the point of death. Yet he prayed steadfastly to the Lord day and night, basing his appeal on the fact that he would be useless to the Lord in the grave. The situation of the psalmist can be divided into four parts:
When it seemed that God had not done anything to rescue the psalmist from his terrible situation his faith rested in God’s coming salvation. This came as he prayed each morning to the Lord.
Application
Psalms 88:1-18 (English Standard Version)
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