Psalm 88


(Psa 88:1) A Song or Psalm for the sons of Korah, to the chief Musician upon Mahalath Leannoth, Maschil of Heman the Ezrahite. O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee:
(Psa 88:2) Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry;
(Psa 88:3) For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave.
(Psa 88:4) I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength:
(Psa 88:5) Free among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, whom thou rememberest no more: and they are cut off from thy hand.
(Psa 88:6) Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps.
(Psa 88:7) Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves. Selah.
(Psa 88:8) Thou hast put away mine acquaintance far from me; thou hast made me an abomination unto them: I am shut up, and I cannot come forth.
(Psa 88:9) Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction: LORD, I have called daily upon thee, I have stretched out my hands unto thee.
(Psa 88:10) Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise thee? Selah.
(Psa 88:11) Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? or thy faithfulness in destruction?
(Psa 88:12) Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
(Psa 88:13) But unto thee have I cried, O LORD; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent thee.
(Psa 88:14) LORD, why castest thou off my soul? why hidest thou thy face from me?
(Psa 88:15) I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up: while I suffer thy terrors I am distracted.
(Psa 88:16) Thy fierce wrath goeth over me; thy terrors have cut me off.
(Psa 88:17) They came round about me daily like water; they compassed me about together.
(Psa 88:18) Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance into darkness.

Whether it was because of sin or because of bad circumstances this writer feels totally abandoned by family, friends and God Himself. This must be one of the most horrible things that could happen to an individual. Imagine for a moment of being falsely accused of a crime and no way to defend yourself. No alibi of your whereabouts. Imagine losing a job and all the sudden being without any income or not having any family or friends to help. It is a frightening experience. Perhaps this is a sickness the writer is experiencing with no possible cure.

The only possible help is from the Lord. The Lord, who is usually our last resort, should be our first resort. In fact we should be having constant fellowship with the Lord in good times so that when bad times come, He is close by. Yet even if we have been faithful, there are times of trials and testing to see if we are going to trust God or give up in despair.  I've never seen God forsake anyone of us for very long.  He will hear our prayers always but sometimes we have to wait and trust. 

According to the scriptures, God never leaves or forsakes anyone who is living for Him. Even if we are away from His fellowship, a prayer of genuine repentance will restore that fellowship to Him.  If we are still in our sin and have not yet come to God for salvation then we need to come to God through Jesus Christ for salvation before our prayers can be answered. 

Psa 66:18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:

Sin keeps our prayers from being answered if we have not repented of sin and still have it hindering us.  The message of salvation is needed for everyone. This message of God's will for all human beings should go forth into all the world. He is our only true help and our savior.

Here is the message of salvation:

1. God wants His spirit to dwell in each and every person on the earth.
2. He wants us to be able to walk with Him constantly.
3. He wants us to trust Him in troubles like this writer is experiencing.
4. He wants us to live forever and not perish.
5. Sin separates us from God's blessings, from eternal live and from the Holy Spirit from indwelling in our lives.
6. God sent Jesus to remove the sin from us by dying for all our sins in our place.
7. In order for His death and sacrifice to count for us, we need first to believe what He did for us.
8. In order to receive this blessing we must repent or renounce sin. Turn from it and turn to Christ for salvation.
9. If we are sincere and really want to be saved, He will save us from sin and grant us eternal life.
10. The Holy Spirit then comes to us after God sees our faith in His Son Jesus Christ.
11. God abides with us through the Holy Spirit continually. We can be filled with the Holy Spirit all the time.
12. We will enter eternal life at the point of our physical death but we already have this eternal life within us through faith in Jesus.

This is for all who will believe. We are cut off only by our own choices. We must spread this message to all the world. No matter what race or religion there is only one way to be saved, have the presence of God continually with you and inherit eternal live.  Jesus Christ is that way. 

Psalm 89

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