This psalm is an anguished lament, one of about fifty such complaints in the Psalter. However it stands alone in its group, since it is the only psalm in which the author expresses no ray of hope. We are not even sure of the nature of the author’s problem. Some would interpret verse 4, “I am a man who has no strength” and verse 15 “afflicted and close to death” as implying a devastating illness. Yet even that is not completely certain, since it was not unusual for a psalmist to express his emotional reaction to suffering, rather than describe the suffering itself.
In times of desperation, one turns to God for deliverance. That is what this writer did, but there was no answer, no relief. God appeared to be hidden, and the agony continued. Thus a sense of abandonment added to the burden of the sufferer. Nor was this all. The author saw God as being the cause of his suffering in verses 6-8, 15, and 18. There was no remonstration that God was unfair, but where can one find a resting place in life when even God visits him with his “wrath” (verses 6, 7)?
...it is the only psalm in which the author expresses no ray of hope.
Though not as serious as the divine “abandonment,” the separation from human comfort and condolence, indicated by “shun” in verse 8, and by the closing forlorn moan in verse 18, is also a source of despair.
If one is accustomed to reading psalms of lament (cf. 22, 55, 69 etc.) which have a hopeful note, it is shocking to read through 88 and come to the end feeling something else is needed. It is almost as if part of the psalm had been omitted. However, there is no textual evidence of this. The consolation is that this psalm, describing a genuine experience that many have known, comes to us amidst a collection of psalms whose words of hope flare forth again and again.
Another unusual element of this psalm includes an absence of reference to any enemies. Apparently no human foes were troubling the psalmist. Nor does he make any specific request of God, though the tone of the psalm makes it obvious he sought deliverance (see especially verses 10-12).
These verses contain the first prayer within the psalm. Though in a sense most of the psalm is a prayer, special focus on prayer is found also in verses 9 and 13. These prayers make a powerful point about faith. He had not given up on God, though it may “appear” God had given up on him. If he did not turn to God, where would he go? The continued petition (how long had they continued?), indicated the hope that someday there would be help. The literal translation of verse 1 is “God of my salvation” — which RSV has changed, as a conjectural reading, to “I call for help.” The thought is that the author would not speak of salvation while in his wretched “unsaved” situation. However other translations keep the literal rendering, assuming that the writer recognized that if he were to be saved, only God could do it, since he is, by nature, a saving God.
Verses 3-9 contain the first lament. The death imagery is stronger in this psalm than in any Old Testament text. Notice all the parallels by which this is expressed—“troubles,” Sheol” (the unseen world) — both in verse 3, “Pit,” “no strength (verse 4); “forsaken among the dead,” “slain . . . in grave” (both verse 5); “Pit” again, “regions dark and deep” (verse 6).
In many psalms we must understand death symbolically. To see it literally would be impossible, since corpses do not write psalms. Death, then, was a way of saying matters were as bad as they could possibly get. Even today we use death imagery in similar ways. A comedian “dies” before an audience; one “dies” of umbarassment; someone strikes a “killer” blow. Verse five reflects the idea in Israelite thought, that in death, one loses any relation with God, and was thus forgotten by him. However “forsaken” is literally “free.” Some interpreters argue the psalmist saw himself as free, only to realize his freedom was among the dead — hardly a desirable state. In verse 7, for the first time the writer indicates God was the cause of his distress. If he believed this to be a judgment for wrongdoing, he does not indicate it in the psalm. There is no confession of sin in these verses. We suspect, rather, that his calamities bore no relation to his character.
In view of the human tendency to rail against God in the presence of disaster, it is remarkable that this author did not level any charge of unfairness against the Almighty. His lament was because of his agonies, not because of any failures of God. Verse 8 indicates the seeming inescapability of his fate by “shut in so that I cannot escape.” These words are followed by the second specific reference to prayers in the psalm (verse 9). He prayed and prayed and prayed, and his efforts seemed fruitless. There was a remarkable faith to continue praying in such circumstances.
Here a series of four questions seems to indicate that only a living man could praise God, and if the author should actually die, he would be beyond the pale of God’s wonders, steadfast love, faithfulness, and saving help. These questions all imply a negative answer. In the realm of the dead, God could not be praised.
Was the author saying he would praise God for his marvelous works if only he could be delivered into a state where that were possible? Though his case seemed hopeless, he still acknowledged that God was a God of steadfast love (a very important term designating Yahweh’s unfailing love), faithfulness, and saving help? A lesser person than this author might come to doubt that he would remain true to God, but our author holds the line in his mind, though his experiences seemed to indicate the opposite.
Here is the second lament of the psalm. Verse 13 is the third specific reference to prayer. The subseuqent verses are a more intense and personal description of the writer’s anguish than found previously. The language of verse 14 indicates a desolation so extreme one quails when reading the words. Verse 15 may indicate a life-long illness (“from my youth up”) or the problem may have been so severe it seemed life long (cf. Ps. 51:5). Verses 16 and 17 repeat the thought of verse 7. The last verse reprises verse 8. There was no help from God or man.
Devotional Applications
The psalm paints a grim picture. The light which comes from God was not visible to the author, yet he still believed it existed. This was an amazing faith, and herein lies one of the great lessons of the psalm. If the psalter contains poems to fit all life situations, this lament is appropriate, since life does sometimes become this bleak. It is a reminder that God gives us words to speak honestly to him even in our worst of times.
These words could fit quite appropriately in the Book of Job. One hopes that this same writer authored another brighter psalm at a time of deliverance. This psalm leads the reader to wish some great hero would step into the scene to reverse the death threats and deliver the author. The text brings us to the tomb, whether metaphorically or literally. There, at the open tomb, the hero appears who has overcome death. His name is Jesus!
Title: "Unrelenting Lament"
Author: Dr. Tony Ash
Publication Date: January 27, 2002
Unrelenting Lament
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