I recently read When Pain is Real and God Seems Silent by Ligon Duncan. This book is composed of two of Duncan’s sermons on Psalm 88 and 89. It was a very short, yet rich read. My reflections will primarily focus on Psalm 88:10-12.
10 Do you work wonders for the dead?
Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah
11 Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,
or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
12 Are your wonders known in the darkness,
or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
Living for God’s Glory as We Suffer
Duncan summarizes the psalmist’s point in 10-12, “How am I going to live for your glory when I’m dead?” (Duncan, 26). Even in the midst of intense suffering, the psalmist desired to fulfill His purpose in life, to glorify and enjoy God. Duncan notes two points about this observation.
“First, we must remember never to allow suffering to make us bitter toward life or cold toward the glory of God” (Duncan, 26). We should acknowledge our pain and cry to the Lord for relief. Yet, also realize God has sovereignly allowed these circumstances in our lives and desires us to continue to live for His glory.
“Second, we learn that the trouble we endure in this life should not call into question the genuineness of God’s love” (Duncan, 26-27). God uses the sufferings of His children to display His love by conforming us to His image, increasing our dependence upon Him, and to prepare us for the future glory we will experience (Hebrews 12:3-11; 2 Corinthians 1:8-9; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18).
Jesus in Psalm 88
“You have put me in the depths of the pit, in the regions of the dark and deep.
Your wrath lies heavy upon me…
You have caused my companions to shun me…
O LORD, why do you cast my soul away?
Why do you hide your face from me?
I suffer your terrors…
Your wrath has swept over me
You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me…” (Psalm 88:6-8, 14-16, 18)
The sufferings of Psalm 88 ultimately point to Jesus’ sufferings. Amid His sufferings, Jesus continued to glorify the Father and perfectly obey His will. Jesus suffered in the greatest way imaginable, by taking on the wrath of the Father. “Christian, when you find yourself in trouble like that described in Psalm 88, you are being granted by the Father just a tiny taste of what Christ endured for you to the full” (Duncan, 30).
God’s Answer to Psalm 88:10-12
10 Do you work wonders for the dead?
Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah
11 Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,
or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
12 Are your wonders known in the darkness,
or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
“God’s answer is ‘Yes! Yes, I will do all these things!’ God ultimately answers the despair that concludes this psalm by resurrecting Jesus from the dead….Psalm 88 may be the darkest psalm in the Psalter, perhaps the darkest chapter in all Scripture. But, because of the work of our Lord Jesus Christ, there is a light of hope even here that will never go out” (Duncan, 30).
Crown Him the Lord of life,
Who triumphed o’er the grave,
Who rose victorious to the strife
For those He came to save.
His glories now we sing,
Who died, and rose on high,
Who died eternal life to bring,
And lives that death may die.
-Crown Him With Many Crowns
Our suffering in this world is real and challenging. But, we have an everlasting hope that can never be taken away from us. We have hope beyond this world because our Savior suffered on our behalf and defeated sin and death! Brothers and sisters, may we cling to this hope, even as the sufferings we experience in this world attempt to bring us to despair. May we live for God’s glory and rejoice in His steadfast love no matter our circumstances.
Written by Jonathan Mitchell