"A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. To the choirmaster: according to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.
O Lord, God of my salvation;
I cry out day and night before you.
2 Let my prayer come before you;
incline your ear to my cry!
3 For my soul is full of troubles,
and my life draws near to Sheol.
4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit;
I am a man who has no strength,
5 like one set loose among the dead,
like the slain that lie in the grave,
like those whom you remember no more,
for they are cut off from your hand.
6 You have put me in the depths of the pit,
in the regions dark and deep.
7 Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
and you overwhelm me with all your waves. Selah
8 You have caused my companions to shun me;
you have made me a horror to them.
I am shut in so that I cannot escape;
9 my eye grows dim through sorrow.
Every day I call upon you, O Lord;
I spread out my hands to you.
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?
13 But I, O Lord, cry to you;
in the morning my prayer comes before you.
14 O Lord, why do you cast my soul away?
Why do you hide your face from me?
15 Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,
I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.
16 Your wrath has swept over me;
your dreadful assaults destroy me.
17 They surround me like a flood all day long;
they close in on me together.
18 You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me;
my companions have become darkness."
Psalm 88
One of the lessons the Psalm holds for us is this: the sentiments it expresses - the awful desolation, and the sense of being impaled upon his grief - remind one very graphically of the agonies of sorrow and bereavement. Here is an experience in which all the emotions expressed by the Psalmist are felt - the loneliness, the desolation, the agony, the sense of impalement, the feeling of finality - all are present in the experience of bereavement and loss. We learn two things here: one is that there is no easy or shortcut way out of the ache and pain of human loss for those who have loved deeply. And yet - and this is the other thing - basic faith can and does triumph; it can hold on to God even when the numbness of grief grips the soul. God is still the God of our salvation, and His secret ministrations can bring unexpected and continuing comfort and consolation. Here is a touching story that illustrates this point. An elderly couple were sitting in Princes Street Gardens, in Edinburgh. A young woman passed by them. The man followed, touched her and spoke, apologising for the intrusion, and told her that he and his wife were disconsolate over the death of their only daughter in South Africa. Something about the woman as she passed by them reminded them of their daughter. Would she, he asked, mind turning and waving to his wife before she went on her way? His wife felt that, in some way she could not explain, this would give her a measure of peace and let her feel as if she had managed to say goodbye to her daughter for the last time. Deeply touched, the woman did more. She went to the bench, leaned over, and kissed the old lady's cheek. For a moment a hand held hers. Then she walked away, turned at the end of the path and waved, her eyes filled with tears, before she walked out of the old couple's sight. God's secret care, indeed, coming graciously and gently to the sorrowing couple, and tenderly ministering to their need in such an unexpected way! When there are some pains and distresses to be borne and endured, not delivered from, this is the kind of thing that can be expected.