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seated. I had mentioned this 
morning that there was no one else I'd rather be here for this 
weekend than Richard Barcelos. The other one would be Dr. Renahan. 
I don't know him or I haven't known him as long or in the same 
sort of a relationship, but in the early 2000s, and you'll have 
to forgive me for the dates, the early 2000s were not a fun 
time in our church or in our life. I'm looking at Leslie as 
she's smiling brightly at me. We've come a long way. But in 
the early 2000s, I had a friend, and he lived in Washington, and 
it must have been Tacoma or Kirkland. He said, oh, we should go hear 
this Dr. Renahan preach. I said, sure. So it was Hebrews 11, or no, 
Hebrews 10. You point out the triad, faith, 
hope, and love. I don't know if you remember 
this time. But the thing that struck me was I knew he was a 
seminary professor, I knew he was a very intelligent academic, 
but he could preach. That's what first enamored me 
with Jim Renahan, is that he wasn't a stuffy old professor 
that didn't have any fire. He has both light and heat. And so he preached, and that 
was a great encouragement to me, because I think the word 
of God is to be preached. But then I also had the privilege, 
and probably I'd say 2004, 2005, he taught symbolics at the church 
in Tacoma, and I was able to attend that. If you look at my 
copy of the confession, I have all your outlines in there. So 
Rich gave me that. I still have the same confession 
of faith that Rich gave me way back in 1990, but it took meeting 
Jim Renahan to flesh it out, fill it out. And I've been indebted 
to your work and to your help to the churches all this time. 
So brother, it's a privilege to have you with us. So please 
come and preach. Well, that was very kind. Thank 
you, Jim, for those words. I bring you greetings from Heritage 
Baptist Church in Mansfield, Texas. I was asked to do that. It is wonderful to be with you. 
What a great couple of days we've had, and we can thank God for 
that. Would you turn in your Bibles, please, to Psalm 88. 
Psalm 88. And I want to preach from this 
text this evening. Psalm 88. Listen to the word 
of God. A song, a psalm of the sons of 
Korah, to the chief musician, set to Mahalath-Leanoth, a contemplation 
of Heman the Ezraite. O Lord, God of my salvation, 
I have cried out day and night before you. Let my prayer come 
before you, incline your ear to my cry, for my soul is full 
of troubles, and my life draws near to the grave. I'm counted 
with those who go down to the pit, I'm like a man who has no 
strength, adrift from the dead like the slain who lie in the 
grave, whom you remember no more, and who are cut off from your 
hands. You have laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the 
depths. Your wrath lies heavy upon me 
and you have afflicted me with all your waves. Selah. You have put away my acquaintances 
far from me. You've made me an abomination 
to them. I am shut up and I cannot get 
out. My eye wastes away because of affliction. Lord, I have called 
daily upon you, I've stretched out my hands to you. Will you 
work wonders for the dead? Shall the dead arise and praise 
you? Selah. Shall your lovingkindness be 
declared in the grave or your faithfulness in the place of 
destruction? Shall your wonders be known in 
the dark and your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? 
But to you I have cried out, O Lord, and in the morning my 
prayer comes before you. Lord, why do you cast off my 
soul? Why do you hide your face from 
me? I have been afflicted and ready to die from my youth. I 
suffer your terrors. I am distraught. Your fierce 
wrath has gone over me. Your terrors have cut me off. 
They came around me all day long like water. They engulfed me 
altogether. Loved one and friend, you have 
put far from me and my acquaintances into darkness. Let's pray. Oh God, we ask you, by your grace, 
through the power of your Spirit, to allow us now to hear the voice 
of our Savior. Guide us into the truth and help 
us as we wrestle with this psalm to understand it and apply it 
to our lives. We ask humbly in Jesus' name, 
amen. Darkness. Often it's an ominous 
word. Children are frightened when 
parents send them to bed in a shadowy room. Accidents happen when light 
is obscured. Crimes are committed under the 
cover of darkness. As the calendar moves toward 
winter, nights are longer, and when clouds hide the moon, the 
result makes our world seem even dimmer. In October, our society 
takes advantage of the threatening nature of darkness to undergird 
the haunting scenes of the season. I don't know if you have what 
we have in Texas, but we have these Halloween lawn displays. And I've noticed that they look 
silly during the day, even though at night they look ghoulish. 
There's one in our neighborhood, it's actually an electric chair 
with a skeleton in it, and it buzzes all through the evening. 
It is ghoulish. But during the day, it looks 
really silly. In scripture, darkness often 
bodes trouble or evil. The first creative act described 
in Genesis 1 records that God said, let there be light. since 
darkness was over the face of the deep. Hebrews 12.18, referring 
to the deep gloom at Sinai, says that the darkness there was so 
profound it could be felt. The absence of light has great 
spiritual significance. Isaiah likens it to prison, two 
times in his prophecy. Do you remember the story of 
Job? In the account of his profound troubles, the idea of darkness 
appears 35 times. In the disasters of his life, 
he metaphorically encountered darkness. Paul tells us that 
we are to take no part in the works of darkness. He calls our 
spiritual enemies the powers of darkness, and he asks the 
question, what communion has light with darkness? And our 
Lord Jesus, as he approaches his crucifixion, says, this is 
the hour of the power of darkness. You'll remember that during that 
horrible event, darkness reigned for three hours, from noon until 
3 p.m., hours that are normally the brightest of the day. Well, 
here in Psalm 88, Haman the Ezraite describes his own experience 
using this word. In fact, in the original, and 
in most English translations, the last word that we hear or 
read is the word darkness. The psalm begins with God, but 
it ends with this disturbing word. It's not immediately uplifting, 
but rather turns our thoughts to unresolved gloom and anguish. I was paying attention as I read 
the psalm to the emotional temperature in the room, and I could see 
even in your countenance as the psalm was read, a sense of difficulty 
facing the words that were being read. I could see it on your 
faces. Let's be honest. This is an emotionally 
charged psalm. To read it any other way misses 
its power and undermines its usefulness. When you consult 
the commentaries, there's universal agreement that the 88th psalm 
is the most sorrowful of all the songs in the book. It is 
the honest cry of a disheartened saint in the midst of melancholy 
and misery and pain. Now, someone might ask the question, 
why are you preaching on it? Well, the answer ought to be 
obvious. It's inspired scripture. Speaking of the Old Testament, 
the Apostle Paul says this, whatever things were written before were 
written for our instruction that through endurance and through 
the encouragement of the scriptures, we might have hope. And so my 
desire for you today is that Psalm 88 will assist your endurance 
and encourage you to have hope. Several commentators point out 
that this 3,000-year-old inspired poem has been the means of aiding 
God's people for millennia. I pray that that might be true 
today. Now, we might think of the Psalter 
in a couple of different ways. If an artist were to paint various 
Psalms in different colors according to their themes, we would find 
a wide variety of shades on the canvases. Psalms 1 and 23 might 
be predominantly green, as they portray streams of water running 
through green pastures. Psalms 2 and 45 and 110 would 
be golden and purple, for they describe Messianic royalty. Psalms 
22 and 69 and other crucifixion psalms might be crimson, reminding 
us of the death of the Son of God. But the most common color 
tone used in the psalms would be blue, since at least in our 
culture, blue reflects the realities of lament. Did you know that 
there are more Psalms of lament among the 150 than of any other 
kind? They outnumber all the rest. 
There is more sorrow and complaint in the Psalms than there is joy. 
And these many Psalms of lamentation would be blue. And among them, 
Psalm 88 would be the deepest possible hue of midnight blue. It would be only one shade away 
from black. Since the psalms are intended 
to be sung, we might conjecture about appropriate tunes for them. 
Some comforting psalms, such as 23 or 91 and 92, could have 
pleasant melodies and harmonies to support their encouraging 
words. The royal psalms might incorporate fanfares. The final 
five psalms, 146 through 150, should reflect the jubilant and 
triumphant scene portrayed in Revelation 4 and 5 when our Lord 
Jesus is welcomed to the eternal throne. These would be written 
in a major key with all the beauty and resolution of that kind of 
music. But once again, the largest segment of the psalms, the laments, 
should be different. The appropriate musical setting 
for most of them would be a dominant minor key, and perhaps a slow 
tempo with melancholic and evocative arrangements, making them beautiful 
in themselves, but contemplative. Have you ever noticed in our 
hymnal, I'm glad that you sing the amens, but have you ever 
noticed that when a tune is written in a minor key, it almost always 
is resolved into a major key in the final amen? And this is 
a musical way of saying, there is hope even when there is sadness. If this principle were to be 
applied to the Psalms, many would be set to a minor key, moving 
to a major key at the end. But Psalm 88 is different. Not 
only would it be written in a minor key, but its musical setting 
would be discordant and perhaps even harsh. And it would not 
naturally resolve into a major key, rather it would leave us 
waiting for something else, some musical element to bring us out 
of the depths. Because you see, Psalm 88 is 
a cry from the depths. Heman the Ezraite writes from 
the lowest place. He wants us to think about that. 
Now, probably you're familiar with famous medieval European 
castles. the ancient dwellings of powerful 
kings and princes and dukes. These great buildings are surrounded 
by high walls and battlements, sometimes by moats, and may only 
be accessed by drawbridges. The castle was a place of power 
and authority, and its size and strength reflected the high rank 
in society that was held by its lord. We know that many of these 
castles had dungeons. dark underground rooms where 
enemies or criminals might be placed for punishment. It's not 
unusual to watch a movie set in a medieval fortress and see 
a scene that's filmed in a dungeon. But did you know that often the 
dungeon was not the most horrible place in the castle for an out 
of favor person to be abandoned? There was another site, much 
worse than any dungeon could possibly be. Usually at the lowest 
point of the deepest dungeon, there would be a metal grate 
in the floor. It might look to us like a drain or a sewer cover, 
but it was not. It had hinges on one side and 
a great locking mechanism on the opposite side, and it marked 
the spot of what was called an oubliette. Now Nubliet was a 
small chamber, often no wider than the space of a human body. 
Think about your body, that's its size, while you are standing 
at about eight or 10 feet deep. Being at the foundation of the 
castle, all manner of runoff would come through the grate 
and puddle at the bottom. It would have been a disgusting, 
terrible, unsanitary place. And into this tiny, deep, dark 
space, someone would be dropped, and most frequently, left to 
die. No light, no room to move, no 
escape. The name for this lowest and 
worst prison is French, oubliette. It comes from the verb oublier, 
which means to forget. And it describes the hopeless 
situation of anyone who was placed there. No food, no water, no 
human companionship, no rest. The prisoner was forgotten, left 
to die alone and deprived of all comfort. And the only thing 
that the prisoner could do while in the jubilee was cry out for 
mercy. Would anyone hear? Would anyone 
respond? Help! over and over, so long 
as there was life and breath. Help! Have mercy! Save me! You see, in many ways, 
Heman the Ezraite describes his life in these terms. We don't 
find him in a physical oubliette in the lowest place of a dungeon, 
but his language very much describes this kind of experience. Think 
about the words that we have read. I am counted with those 
who go down to the pit. You've laid me in the lowest 
pit, in darkness, in the depths. I am shut up. I cannot get out. Heman is in God's oubliette. That's where we find him. Now 
what are we to make of this? How shall we understand and apply 
his experience? That's our task this evening. 
So first I want to look at what we know about the Psalm, and 
what we know about Heman the Ezraite, because these things 
will help us to enter into Psalm 88. There are several clues that 
are given to us. We begin by thinking about the 
place of Psalm 88 in the Book of Psalms, and we need to look 
at the information that's provided in the superscription as well. 
So Psalm 88 in the Book of Psalms. The 150 Psalms in this collection 
have not been placed together randomly. They're not arranged 
by authorship, they're not arranged by chronology, but rather they're 
placed into five books. You've seen that as you've read 
your Bibles. And these five books speak primarily 
about David and his kingdom. The first book, Psalms 1-41, 
largely, though not exclusively, tell us about David's life and 
experiences before coming to the throne. Book 2, Psalms 42-72, 
contemplate the kingdom at its high point, culminating in Solomon's 
psalm of praise. But the third book, Psalm 73-89, 
turns in a different direction, for it speaks of the failure 
of the Davidic kingship because of the sins of the kings and 
the people. It sends the book of Psalms in 
a new direction. The fourth book, Psalm 90, begins 
with the Psalm of Moses, the man of God, and runs through 
106. Those Psalms turn the reader 
away from earthly kings to contemplate the only true and righteous king 
for God's people, the Lord himself. And then the final book, Psalms 
107 through 150, leads the reader to praise the God of heaven and 
earth in all of his glory. Our psalm is in the third book. Palmer Robertson gave this third 
book the title, Devastation. for it honestly depicts the trouble 
that came from the heavy, chastening hand of God. In some cases, it 
reveals the sins of believers. In others, the sins of the nation. 
In fact, Psalm 89 ends that way. But it honestly portrays the 
consequences of putting one's trust in human princes. This, 
next to the last Psalm, Psalm 88, carries forward this theme. 
Life in this world is hard, even for those who know and love the 
Lord. They must endure God's chastisements, 
and sometimes they do so for reasons beyond our understanding. It shouldn't surprise us that 
this is the lowest point in the entire Psalter, because from 
here, one can only look up and go up. Take a look at the superscription 
of the psalm. It gives us some help. By the 
way, the superscription of the psalm ought always to be read 
when the psalm is read. The New Testament authors quote 
it, they view it as if it is inspired scripture. In the Hebrew 
text, the superscription is the first verse. They need to be 
recognized as part of the psalm itself. So don't read by it, 
read it and contemplate it. Sometimes it might be as simple 
as a Psalm of David. but in our case it gives us more 
information. A song, a psalm of the sons of 
Korah to the chief musician set to Mehalath-Leonath, a contemplation 
of Heman the Ezraite. Let's think about each of these 
portions. The first section of the superscription, a song, a 
psalm to the sons of Korah to the chief musician set to Mehalath-Leonath, 
tells us that this poem was intended to be used in public worship. 
The Sons of Korah were a guild of musicians responsible for 
leading worship in the temple in Jerusalem, along with a chief 
musician, and the untranslated Hebrew words are probably the 
name of the tune that would have been used in public worship. Secondly, we notice that this 
is called a contemplation, or if you have an ESV in front of 
you, it's untranslated, and it says, maskil. That Hebrew word 
seems to suggest meditation or instruction. That means we are 
intended to think deeply about the contents of this psalm. We 
are to pause over it and meditate on it and think about what it 
says. Thirdly, we notice in the superscription that the author 
is identified as Heman the Ezraite. Ezraite is his family name, like 
Renahan or Butler. That's what the Ezraite means. 
But his name Heman, his given name, means faithful. He only 
appears here in the Psalms, but we find him in other places in 
Scripture. In 1 Chronicles 25.5, he's appointed to serve in the 
worship of God under David, and we're told in that text that 
he was a seer in the things of God, the old name for prophet. 
He was a seer in the things of God. This tells us that he was 
a man of faith and prominent in the spiritual life of Israel. 
You see, the Lord chose him to be an instrument of the inspiration 
of scripture. And today, we're able to enter 
into his experience. So if we look at the superscription, 
what do we have? We have a psalm that is written 
by a prominent spiritual leader that was intended for public 
worship so that the people of God might be instructed in one 
of God's ways with his people. We can learn that much just from 
the superscription. Now we look at the psalm itself. 
The psalm divides quite simply. Verses one and two are an example 
of the classic beginning of a psalm of lament. They directly address 
God with great urgency. Verses 3-5 summarize Heman's 
cry, and verses 6-18 pick up the theme and describe it in 
greater detail. Now what do we find when we look 
at the psalm? Simply that our psalmist has 
been and continues to be in agony. Like a man in an oubliette, he 
cries out to God day and night. And he uses the language of faith, 
Lord, God of my salvation, calling his master to hear and to respond. When we read this psalm, we need 
to hear the complaint in his voice. He has shouted his plea 
to the Lord over and over again, and yet there has been no reply. 
He is still trapped in the pit, unable to be free, enduring great 
pain and sorrow. Heman is before the Lord. There's 
some doctrine that's important that he understands. He understands 
that God is present in all places. He understands the omnipresence 
or the immensity of God. And though God is there, God 
is silent. So he's asking the question, 
where is the Lord? Where is the God of my salvation? 
Oh, Lord, hear me. Oh, God, save me. Now, do you 
see that despite the delay and the ongoing agony, this man's 
faith has not weakened. He trusts the Lord will hear 
him and that the Lord will save him from his prison of misery. Look at verses three through 
five again. My soul is full of troubles and 
my life draws near to the grave. I'm counted with those who go 
down to the pit. I'm like a man who has no strength. I drift 
among the dead like the slain who lie in the grave, whom you 
remember no more and who are cut off from your hand. These 
words are full of pain in soul and in body. Heman is almost 
like a walking corpse and his soul might as well be dead. Now, 
we might ask the question, I think it's a reasonable question to 
ask, what specifically is Heman's affliction? Was it some kind 
of physical disease? Did he suffer a profound loss, 
such as the death of a spouse? Did he encounter a Judas in his 
life, betrayed by a trusted friend? Well, the honest answer is, we 
don't know, and we can't tell. Much of the language in this 
song obviously is symbolic or metaphorical. Now there are some 
who speculate that perhaps he was enduring one of the skin 
diseases such as leprosy that required physical separation 
from family and friends, but I don't find that convincing. 
It relies on the most circumstantial bits of evidence. Certainly, 
these diseases could produce the kind of lament we find here, 
but to state that this was Heman's affliction presses the evidence 
beyond credibility. I would suggest to you this. 
The fact that the psalm, along with the other mentions of Heman 
in the Old Testament, does not describe a specific cause of 
suffering is really to our benefit. If this psalm were to identify 
a particular cause, we might be tempted to limit its usefulness 
to those who endure a similar circumstance. But because it's 
open-ended, the psalm becomes a means of help for every believer 
who faces deep and profound troubles in life. You see, it's a universal 
description of deep pain among God's faithful people. It is 
for you, and it is for me. Now, in the long section from 
verses 6 through 18, there are several things to notice. The 
first is that this section is bracketed by the idea of darkness. Look at verse 6. You've laid 
me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the depths. And then notice 
verse 18, the psalm ends with the word darkness. In verse six, 
the Lord metaphorically places Heman and the oubliette in utter 
darkness. The following verses should be 
read under this dark shadow. And verse 18 concludes with a 
similar thought, but it is very difficult, actually, to translate. One commentator rendered it like 
this, this is verse 18, you've put loved one and neighbor far 
from me, my acquaintance's darkness. The NKJV, or the commentators 
acknowledge that the final few words are challenging. The NKJV, 
the New American Standard Bible, and the ESV render it similarly, 
but when I look at it, I wonder what does this mean? You've loved 
one and friend, you've put far from me and my acquaintances 
into darkness. What does that mean? Is it that 
from Heman's perspective, his loved ones and friends have been 
taken away so that he cannot see or hear them? Well, that 
would seem to be the sense in this rendering. But if you have 
an ESV in front of you, there's an interesting footnote suggesting 
another way to translate these difficult words, and it makes 
a great deal of sense to me, especially in the context. The 
footnote says, darkness has become my only companion. Now, I would 
prefer to keep the word order of the original and say, my only 
companion is darkness. But this translation fits the 
psalm well. As he ends the psalm, Heman's 
prayer has not yet been answered. He waits for the Lord in the 
depth of the shadow of the oubliette and stands as an example to us 
of continued cries and pleas to the Lord for help in the midst 
of the most difficult trouble. That in itself ought to give 
us encouragement. Heman, remember his name means 
faithful, Heman does not give in to utter despair and fall 
into silence. Rather, he constantly raises 
his voice to heaven to seek help and deliverance. May I speculate 
just for a moment? It's always a dangerous thing 
for a preacher to speculate, but I'm gonna do it. No one has 
objected yet. Is it possible that the inclusion 
of Psalm 88 in the Book of Psalms, and thus in the Word of God, 
implies that at some point the Lord did answer Heman's cry? Someone, I have my ideas of who 
put the Psalter together, probably Ezra or Nehemiah or someone else 
after the exile, but someone recognized the inspired nature 
of this poem and incorporated it into the third book of the 
Psalter where it fits perfectly. The language of the psalm is 
evocative and consistently depicts a believer in great distress. He's alone. He's imprisoned. He wonders if death is nearby. He repeatedly emphasizes calling 
on God. Look at verse 9, verse 13, verse 
14. Lord, I've called daily upon 
you, I've stretched out my hands to you, 13, but to you I have 
cried, O Lord, and in the morning my prayer comes before you. Lord, 
why do you cast off my soul? Why do you hide your face from 
me? These are the words of a child in great danger, pleading for 
a parent to come help. In verse 12, shall your wonders 
be known in the darkness and your righteousness in the land 
of forgetfulness? In verse 12, Heman sounds like 
a man who wishes to continue leading worship. The temple is 
the place of adoration. It's the place of light, not 
of darkness or forgetfulness. And it was in the temple that 
the wonders of God were made known. Twice, Heman uses that 
Hebrew word that we don't translate, silah. He calls us to pause and 
meditate over his trouble. And the pictures really are frightening. In verses six and seven, we have 
mixed metaphors. A pit, the depths, waves, breakers, 
these things are drowning him. And in verse 9b and 10, he contemplates 
death. Silah. Now, we notice as we read the 
Psalm, Heman tells us that his sorrow originates with the hand 
of God. Notice these verses with me, 
6, 7, and 8. You have laid me in the lowest 
pits, in darkness, in the depths. Your wrath lies heavy upon me. 
You have afflicted me with all your waves, Selah. You have put 
away my acquaintances far from me. You have made me an abomination 
to them. I am shut up, I cannot get out. 
Look down at verse 14. Lord, why do you cast off my 
soul? Why do you hide your face from 
me? I've been afflicted and ready to die from my youth. I suffer 
your terrors. I am distraught. Your fierce 
wrath has gone over me. Your terrors have cut me off. 
Verse 18, loved one and friend, you have put far from me. He even tells us that his trouble 
is not a result of sin, his own sin. but rather the Lord's providential 
way in his life. Now there are other Psalms in 
this third book which speak of affliction because of sin. Psalm 
73 at the beginning, when Asaph was slipping and stumbling because 
he envied the prosperity of the wicked. That's true of him. But 
there's no hint of sin here. Heman is like Job or Paul or 
even our Lord Jesus, who endured the deepest possible suffering 
as he faced the horror of the cross. For his own purposes, 
the good Lord of heaven and earth, the Lord who loves his people, 
sends some of them into the darkest and deepest trouble. And he gives 
them this psalm and other examples such as Job and Paul and the 
believers in the book of Hebrews and our Lord Jesus to help them. You remember earlier I quoted 
from Romans chapter 15. We've heard Paul's voice. He 
was not afraid to admit that he despaired even of life in 
the midst of his affliction. The Hebrew Christians endured 
a great struggle with sufferings and they were reminded that some 
were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might 
obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings 
and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, 
they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were slain with 
a sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, 
being destitute, afflicted, tormented, of whom the world was not worthy. 
They wandered in deserts and mountains and dens and caves 
of the earth. Even of our sinless Savior, it 
is said, in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers 
and supplication with vehement cries and tears to him who was 
able to save him from death and was heard because of his godly 
fear, though he was a son, yet he learned obedience by the things 
which he suffered. You see, Psalm 88 is part of 
a great theme of scripture. We are strangers and aliens in 
this world, and it is full of trouble. We are called to endure 
suffering, all the while crying out to the Lord for deliverance. 
Our rest and our comfort is not in this present evil age, but 
rather it is in the world to come. So Heman the Ezraite's 
experience is a reminder to us that we should expect trouble 
now. Psalm 88 weans us from the love 
of the world and turns our attention to heaven. Now, you might ask 
the question, is there any light in this psalm about darkness? 
And my answer is yes, indeed, there is. We've already noticed 
much of it. The fact that the psalm is included 
in the canon of scripture tells us that the Lord wants us to 
know and to understand, to contemplate and to be instructed by its words. 
But that's not all we have. Here is a man whose name means 
faithful. who addresses the covenant Lord, 
notice how the Psalm begins, Lord written in all uppercase 
letters, the covenant name by which he reveals himself to Israel 
and not to the nations. The man whose name means faithful 
addressing the covenant Lord by his most intimate appellation, 
a name revealed only to Israel, calling him the God of his salvation 
and seeking his help in trouble. Though faithful, as in God's 
oubliette, he never forgets God. Three times he uses Lord, capital 
L-O-R-D, Yahweh, a reminder that he is in covenant with God and 
that the one who is always faithful, greater than any human commitment, 
listens and hears. In a physical medieval dungeon 
oubliette, the cries of the prisoner would go unheeded. The guards 
would ignore. The prince was so far removed 
from the dungeon that he would never hear the fervent pleas 
of the prisoner. But Heman knows that the Lord 
will hear, though he may delay. The psalmist must continue to 
cry to the great king, trusting that at the right time he will 
hear and he will deliver. And even if the king keeps him 
in the oubliette until his death, there's a better hope that awaits. 
And this strengthens Heman in the midst of his trouble. So 
what then should we say about this psalm? Let's say several 
things. Let's reflect on it for a few 
moments. The first thing is this. This psalm validates the experience 
of believers who endure suffering. Suffering is a genuine Christian 
experience. And I want you to contemplate 
that with me for a moment. I can hear someone say, but brother, 
that was the Old Testament. We live under the New Covenant. 
We have the Spirit who produces joy. Well, it's certainly true 
that we live under the New Covenant. and we have received the Spirit 
who works joy in us, but this in no way negates the realities 
of Psalm 88. Consider these facts. Number 
one, we've already heard Paul's words from Romans 15, which tell 
us that the writings of the Old Testament are given for our benefit. 
Secondly, we must remember that for much of the apostolic era, 
the only scripture available was the Old Testament, Paul tells 
us that it is inspired and profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, 
and instruction in righteousness. All of God's Word belongs to 
us, and we need it in its fullness. I'm more convinced of this than 
ever, and I hope you are as well. The Old Testament is a Christian 
book. It is a book for us. Thirdly, We've noted the fact 
that many New Testament believers, those who lived under the New 
Covenant and knew the Spirit who brings joy, many New Testament 
believers endured suffering similar to Heman's. This is not an isolated 
Old Testament experience, but rather one vignette in a tapestry 
that extends from Genesis to Revelation. You know, even the 
saints in heaven know sorrow. Do you ever notice, John says, 
I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for 
the word of God and for the testimony which they held. Do you know 
what comes next? He says, and they cried with 
a loud voice saying, how long, O Lord, holy and true, until 
you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth? 
that a white robe was given to each of them and it was said 
to them that they should rest a little while longer until both 
the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who would 
be killed, as they were, was completed. You see, it's not 
until the end, the final resurrection, that God will wipe away every 
tear from our eyes. See, I fear that we have been 
too easily and readily deceived by prosperity preachers so that 
we think that the life of Christ's disciples is one of continuous 
and increasing comfort and joy. But the Bible teaches us a very 
different story. We ought to expect trouble in 
this life, and sometimes it will be as profound as the trouble 
that came to Heman the Ezraite. So brother or sister, This means 
that when you face a circumstance such as we've mentioned, a critical 
illness, or bereavement, or abandonment, or betrayal, or any other dark 
providence, this is not an indication that you have sinned, but rather 
an opportunity, painful though it may be, to draw near to God 
through texts such as Psalm 88. Think about it like this. Would 
you be so bold, simply by yourself, to address God in the terms that 
Heman uses? Most of us would be quite reluctant 
to do so. But remember this, a song, a 
psalm for public worship, a prayer to God for deliverance is given 
to you. You may take these very words 
boldly to the throne of grace. You may bring them before the 
Lord. You may say, Lord God of my salvation, hear the words 
you've given to me. Why have you laid me in the lowest 
pit? Why do you cast off my soul? Why do you hide your face from 
me? And when you say those words to the Lord, you may be comforted 
by the fact that the Lord himself is glad to hear his own word 
coming from the mouths of his people. These are words given 
to you that you might pray. I wouldn't be bold enough to 
say these things on my own, but because they're revealed in scripture, 
I can bring them to the Lord in prayer. One wonders if Psalm 
88 might have been on the lips of Jesus when he was in Gethsemane. 
The Psalms were his prayer book, and this may be the case. We'll 
talk about that in a few moments. Certainly, both Mark and Luke 
seem to have Psalm 88 in mind when they describe the events 
of the crucifixion. But in any case, be comforted 
by this psalm. Receive its instruction, and 
through endurance and through the encouragement of the scriptures, 
have hope. That's what Paul says it's there 
for. Secondly, There's an important word in Psalm 88, for those of 
us who do not endure sufferings such as Heman's. Did you notice, 
as we read the psalm, how he complains of being alone, of 
his companions being far from him? And even that translation 
that I offered to you of the very end, my only companion is 
darkness. The oubliette, is solitary confinement 
at its extreme. Now while we don't know the circumstances 
of human separation from friend and loved one, we must learn 
from his isolation. Christian love calls us to be 
companions to brothers and sisters in their times of darkness. We 
have obligations to them. On the one hand, we must overcome 
our tendency to think of trials as punishments and thus keep 
our distance from those who endure them. Rather, we are taught to 
weep with those who weep, and this is the time and place where 
we must do this. The false doctrine which denies 
sorrow in the Christian life and promotes prosperity and happiness 
must be rejected, rooted out of your thinking, Have compassion 
on sisters and brothers who endure hardships and difficulties and 
sufferings. In a Christian church, we have 
obligations to one another. We ought to make it our aim to 
see that no believer we know endures suffering alone as did 
Heman the Ezraite. So far as it is within our power, 
let us comfort and encourage one another. Speak a word of 
love, remind your friend of the key of promise to overcome giant 
despair, as Bunyan describes it in The Pilgrim's Progress, 
and pray for the deliverance of your brother or sister. Remember 
what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13? Love suffers long and is 
kind. That's a legitimate translation, 
but it doesn't really bring to us the sense of what Paul says, 
because in English it doesn't work. I made up a word, I coined 
my own word to try to describe what Paul says. He doesn't say 
that love is kind as if kind is a characteristic of love. 
Really what he says is love kindnesses. That's the way love acts. It 
kindnesses. It looks to others and reaches 
out to them and helps them. It acts according to the needs 
of others, seeking to aid them in their troubles. And so I read 
Psalm 88 and I say, beloved, let us love one another. That's 
what Psalm 88 says to us. Let us love one another. But 
thirdly, let us think of how Psalm 88 points us to our Lord 
Jesus Christ and his gospel. Now we've stated that the book 
of Psalms was Jesus' prayer book. God in his kindness prepared 
everything for his son, and it served him in many ways. If Martin 
Luther is correct in saying that all of the Psalms are about Jesus, 
may we read this as his prayer? Think about the Garden of Gethsemane. 
Jesus knew and understood the horror that was before him. Listen 
to how Matthew describes the scene in light of Psalm 88. Then 
Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane and said to 
his disciples, sit here while I go and pray over there. And 
he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and he began 
to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then he said to them, my soul 
is exceedingly sorrowful even to death. Stay here and watch 
with me. He was in terror. He went a little 
farther and fell on his face and prayed, saying, O my Father, 
if it is possible, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless not 
as I will, but as you will. Then he came to the disciples, 
you remember what he found? found them sleeping, and said 
to Peter, what could you not watch with me one hour? Watch 
and pray lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed 
is willing, but the flesh is weak. Again a second time he 
went away and prayed, saying, oh my father, if this cup cannot 
pass away from me unless I drink it, your will be done. And he 
came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. So 
he left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying 
the same words. You know, when I read that, much 
of it is reminiscent of Psalm 88. We're told that Jesus was 
sorrowful and deeply distressed, even to the point of death. He 
was profoundly exercised in his soul by the dread of the events 
immediately before him. And I ask the question, who could 
do otherwise? What man could view it differently? He knew that the physical sufferings 
of crucifixion would be horrible, Crucifixion was the ultimate 
torture and the Romans were experts at it. But even more so, he knew 
that facing the wrath of God against sin and draining to the 
dregs the cup of the wrath of God would be the greatest trial 
anyone could ever know. Our Lord did not go to Calvary 
unaware. He was fully conscious of everything 
he would encounter. And as he comes to the garden, 
he's accompanied by his closest friends, Peter, James, and John. They were brought along to aid 
him, and what did they do? They fell asleep, and they left 
him alone. And three times he prayed alone. We might even go beyond the garden 
and consider the entire experience of his ordeal. Abandoned by friends, 
exhausted without sleep, beaten by enemies, and finally crying 
out, an echo of Psalm 88, my God, my God, why have you forsaken 
me? Do you hear Heman? Of course, 
that's a quotation from Psalm 22, but do you hear Heman's words 
in those words of Jesus? I don't want to diminish Heman's 
sorrow in any way, but we might read Psalm 88 as a transcript 
of Jesus' experience as he walked toward and endured the cross. 
And brothers and sisters, this gives us much hope because it 
reminds us of a great truth. Seeing then that we have a great 
high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of 
God, let us hold fast our confession, for we do not have a high priest 
who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points 
tempted as we are yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly 
to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find 
grace to help in time of need. It's not an empty promise, that's 
a promise based upon our Savior and His own experience. When 
you pray Psalm 88, you come to God by way of an intercessor 
who has experienced deeper and darker sorrow than you have ever 
known. And I don't mean to diminish 
your sorrow and difficulty. But because of this, because 
of his endurance, he is sympathetic with your trouble. He knows, 
he understands, he hears. So you may come boldly into the 
throne room of heaven, bring your request before the majestic 
throne of grace, and there find mercy, the cry of one in the 
oubliette, and find grace to help in your time of need. Now 
this is not a promise of immediate resolution, but of divine assistance. The Savior will give you grace 
to endure and you will find help. You are not alone. You have loved 
ones and friends, but even better, you have a compassionate high 
priest and the ear of the Lord of heaven and earth when you 
come to him. Finally, let me remind you of 
the gospel of Jesus Christ. He endured the cross, despising 
its shame. He made himself of no reputation, 
taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of 
men, and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself 
and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the 
cross. Therefore God also has highly 
exalted him and given him the name which is above every name, 
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in 
heaven and of those on earth and of those under the earth, 
and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is 
Lord, to the glory of God the Father. So I ask you this question. Have you bowed the knee to Jesus 
Christ? You will now, or you will at 
the last day. There are many in this room who 
can say he is a wonderful Savior, a compassionate Redeemer, a forgiving 
Lord. He took our sin upon Himself. 
He endured the wrath of God so that we might be forgiven. He 
died so that we might have life. And He gives everything freely 
to all who will place their faith in Him. So if you have not placed 
your faith in Him, why do you wait? Because if you confess 
with your mouth Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that 
God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. That's a promise 
that is always true for everyone who comes to him. So will you 
confess and believe? Psalm 88 is dark. There's no 
denying this fact. But as we have seen, it has some 
light. And when set in the context of the whole of scripture, the 
darkness begins to dissipate. God's oubliette is undoubtedly 
a difficult place to be and none of us should want to be there. 
Even Jesus asked the Lord to take it from him. But Psalm 88 
may also be encouraging. It reminds us that we need the 
Lord and that he hears us even when we cry out to him in the 
darkest moments of life. The color tone of the psalm may 
be the deepest shade of blue and the tune may be in a dissonant 
minor key. but there is light for those 
who look up, and there is melody for those who will listen. Glory 
be to God. Amen. Let's pray. O Lord, we do cry to you, thanking you that you have given 
us a book that is honest, that doesn't hide from us the realities 
of life, but provides help, encouragement, strength for the difficulties 
that we face in this world. We pray for one another. For 
those in this room now who are enduring the kind of darkness 
that Heman the Ezraite faced, would you draw near to she or 
he? Would you draw near to that one 
and give encouragement and strength and help and help them to look 
up and find in you a God who loves and who cares? Would you 
help us to endure in this life, recognizing that it is not our 
home, but we look for a city whose builder and maker is God. 
We anxiously wait for the day when we will gather around your 
throne with all of the saints of all of the ages and sing your 
praises. So thank you for giving us The 
Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for giving us the Holy Spirit. 
Thank you for giving us your Holy Word. Thank you for giving 
us Haman the Ezraite and the record of his own experience, 
which is an assistance to us as we walk in this world. We 
give you thanks in Jesus' name, amen. Well, I know our esteemed brethren 
didn't conspire, but Brother Richard preached the soul trouble 
of Christ connected to the hour in John 12, 27. And you preached 
the soul trouble of Christ in the Psalter. But as he said, 
it's not just Christ's soul trouble that we find there, but Heman's 
as well. And hallelujah, what a savior that he delivered us. 
from our sins. We'll close by singing doxology 
of praise to our God. You can stand and turn to page 
568. Praise the God who all blessings flow. Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen. The Lord bless you and keep you. 
The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. 
The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. 
Father, thank you that in your kind providence we are reminded 
of our blessed Savior this morning with reference to the hour and 
the trouble of his soul. Thank you as well for this encouraging 
word from Psalm 88 tonight and how it does show us more of the 
Savior in Gethsemane and Golgotha, but as well it shows us the reality 
of the Christian life. Thank you for our brothers. Thank 
you for these men. Thank you for their visit, for 
their encouragement to us as a church. I pray they'd go back 
to their respective churches with joy in their hearts. They 
would pass on our greetings and our love to them. that you would 
continue to strengthen your work on the face of this earth. And 
may Christ be exalted and praised among your people. And we pray 
that you would go with us now and that the truths of number 
six would be ours. And we pray in Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Well, please be seated 
for a brief time of meditation.