When darkness is your only friend

God assures us that His written Word is not only absolutely reliable, it is also profitable: “All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable” (2 Tim. 3v16). All Scripture is profitable. Not some of it, not most of it, but all of it. This is wonderfully reassuring... until you read a passage like Psalm 88. Stop reading now and read the Psalm.

From beginning to end, Ps. 88 is unremittingly bleak. The Psalmist is “full of troubles”, he is a man with “no strength”, all his companions shun him, God’s wrath has swept over him, “Your dreadful assaults destroy me. They surround me like a flood all day long”. The Psalm closes with the words, “my companions have become darkness”. What possible profit are we to gain from reading this sad and sorrowful litany? If Ps. 88 was your daily reading and you felt cast down in your soul, would it not be wise to jump to Ps. 89 with its exalted views of the covenant Lord? No!

It is often said that Ps. 88 is unremittingly bleak, that there are no glimmers of light anywhere. I think not. The Psalm begins with the words, “O Lord, God of my salvation”. As thick darkness all but consumes him, this man cries out “day and night” to the Lord. The interior darkness has not eclipsed his faith. He does not understand God’s ways with him, but in his perplexity he refuses to deny the Lord. He summons his remaining strength to “cry out” to the God of salvation. I wonder if there are any brighter examples of faith in the whole of God’s Word.

So, what profit is there in Ps. 88? Let me mention two very obvious profits embedded in this sad and sorrowful song.

First, the Psalm teaches us that even the choicest of God’s servants can experience thick, all-consuming spiritual darkness. Here is one of the “pen-men” of Holy Scripture and he is overwhelmed by his circumstances. Life is not sweet. Life is hard. God seems far off (v14). This is the experience of someone privileged by God to be one of His Spirit-inspired penmen. The believing life is not all sweetness and roses. On the contrary, the default of the life of faith is difficulty, opposition, hardship, shot through with moments of “joy unspeakable and full of glory” (1 Pt. 1v9). Does this seem unduly dark to you? Perhaps. But did our Lord Jesus not say to (forewarn) His disciples, “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own, but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you”? (Jn. 15v19). This is the realism of faith. This is the reality of union with Christ in His death and resurrection. I am not seeking in any way to downplay the great joy of the believing life. I am seeking to say that the hostility of the world, the flesh and the devil conspire to engulf God’s people in a darkness that overwhelms them and spiritually disables them.

Second, the Psalm teaches us that God’s ways are not our ways (Isa. 55v8-9). The Psalmist knows that his dark and sore experiences can ultimately be traced to his Saviour God’s sovereignty (v14-18). The covenant Lord is not a helpless bystander, He is the wise sovereign initiator. One of our greatest needs as Christians is to bow humbly before our great God’s sovereignty. His sovereignty is a reflection of His character. This means that His sovereignty is wise and good and merciful, and never coldly arbitrary.

Perhaps the greatest lesson we can learn in the Christian life is to “walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5v7). This is so basic and yet it is actually deeply profound. Our Lord Jesus was the prototypical man of faith. When darkness engulfed His human soul and all helps were taken from Him, He yet cried: “My God, my God...?” As all the lights went out for our Saviour, He walked by faith and not by sight (read Isa. 50v10). He trusted His God. He is our example, as well as our Saviour and King (1 Pt. 2v21).

Gospel faith is believing and trusting God even, and especially, when all around our soul gives way. He is, in Christ, our loving heavenly Father. He loves His children with an everlasting love (Jer. 31v3) and nothing in all creation can separate us from His love (Rom. 8v37-39).

So, if Ps. 88 describes in any way your present spiritual experience, do what the Psalmist did, cry out to the God of your salvation. He loves you. He gave His own Son for you. You can trust Him even when all your lights go out.