The Psalm That Never Turns the Corner: Praying Psalm 88

Nearly every lament in the Psalter turns a corner. The complaint bends toward trust, the darkness thins, and the psalmist ends somewhere near praise. Psalm 88 does not. Its last line, in most translations, is some form of "darkness is my closest friend."Psalms 88:18 English - ESV

And yet it opens, "O LORD, God of my salvation, I cry out day and night before you."Psalms 88:1-2 English - ESV Hold those two facts together. The psalmist has felt abandoned for a long time, his prayers seem to hit the ceiling, and still he is praying to the God he calls my salvation. The address never changes even when the answers never come.

This psalm was written down, set to music, handed to the choirmaster, and kept in Israel's public hymnbook Psalms 88:1 English - ESV. The community that compiled the Psalter decided, under God, that a prayer with no happy ending belonged in the collection. Some seasons need borrowed words, and some seasons are Psalm 88 seasons.

Rocky Cave Landscape. The kind of dark place Psalm 88 says has become its closest companion.

That tells us something about honest prayer: God does not require the corner to be turned before he will listen. Faith in Psalm 88 is not the feeling of light; it is the stubborn habit of speaking into the dark in the direction of the God of my salvation.

If that is where you are, this psalm is yours. Pray it as it stands. The turn can come later; the address is what matters now.

Psalms 88:1 English - ESV

Psalms 88 Berean Standard Bible - Bob Souer