Faith Without Hope as the Darkness Deepens (Psalm 88)

"...darkness is my closest [best] friend" (Ps 88:18).

No sadder prayer in the psalms. Psalm 88 is a poignant, unrelenting and intense psalm of lament, expressing deep distress, despair and a profound sense of abandonment. He pours out his soul in a raw and honest prayer. He describes his overwhelming suffering, both outward and inward, his physical and emotional afflictions, and a feeling of profound darkness and of being forsaken by both God and human companions. Throughout the psalm, he pours out his anguish, questioning God's apparent absence and the purpose of his afflictions. The tone remains bleak, and the psalm concludes with a sense of isolation, loneliness, despair and darkness, making it one of the most somber and desolate psalms in the Book of Psalms. Unlike many other psalms of lament, Psalm 88 lacks a clear resolution or expression of hope, highlighting the raw and unremitting nature of the psalmist's suffering.

How do you live when there is no light at the end of the tunnel?

How do you go on when you feel abandoned?

How do you live by faith when the future seems dark and bleak?

Outline:

1. Sleepless prayer (88:1-2, 9, 13).
2. Encroaching darkness (88:3-9).
1. Life ending without hope (88:3-5).
2. Under God's wrath (88:6-9, 16).
3. Facing the future without hope (88:10-12).
4. Darkness is my only friend (88:13-18).

How to Deal with Dark Times (Psalm 88 by Tim Keller)

1. Darkness can last a long time for believing Christians. Outer (Ps 88:3-5, 8) and inner (Ps 88:15-18) darkness.
2. There's no better place to learn about the grace of God than in dark times. Sarcastic (Ps 88:10-12).
3. There's no better place to be a person of greatness than in dark times. Job 1:9.
4. Darkness can be relativised.

Titles: A Cry of Pain and Sorrow. A Sermon for Sufferers. 

References:

1. Tim Keller. The Songs of Jesus. 2015.
2. Alec Motyer. Psalms by the Day. A New Devotional Translation. 2016.
3. Robert Altar. The Hebrew Bible. A Translation with Commentary. 2019.
4. Derek Kidner. Psalms 1-72, 1973. Psalms 73-150, 1975.
5. Affliction, Adversity, Anxiety and Anguish is Good for Me.