Psalm 88:13-18 “But to you, LORD, I have cried. In the morning, my prayer comes before you. LORD, why do you reject my soul? Why do you hide your face from me? I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up. While I suffer your terrors, I am distracted. Your fierce wrath has gone over me. Your terrors have cut me off. They came around me like water all day long. They completely engulfed me. You have put lover and friend far from me, and my friends into darkness.”

This section repeats some of the previous themes. The Psalmist earnestly cries out to God, but continues to feal abandoned and fearful.

This Psalm a lament, but it’s an even darker lament than we find anywhere else. I believe that it’s the only lament that doesn’t have a statement of hope or confidence in it. However, there is the reminder that when darkness comes, there is only one thing to do. Pray! “But to you, Lord, I have cried.” “I have cried day and night before you.” And why do we pray? Because all things are ultimately in God’s hands: He decrees or He allows. That means He is the one who can ultimately make things better.

For additional worship: Afflicted Saint, to Christ Draw Near (T4G Live IV)