DRAWING NEAR TO DEATH

We have read today one of the most gloomy of all the psalms; three words seem to sum it all up—depression, despair, death. Yet gloomy though it is, we realize how relevant to life and experience the psalms are. Problems of life are not just swept under the carpet. Neither are we only shown the light and cheerful side of life. In no way do the psalmists tell us that trust in God is an insurance policy against the ills of life. We can be thankful for this, for we can find help and comfort in the uncertainties and troubles of life today.

Verse 3 expresses the heart of the matter. Here we find one who is full of troubles and who is drawing near to the grave; people count him as one who is finished, v. 4. In verses 6, 7, the depths are plumbed: “the lowest pit … darkness … the deeps”. God’s wrath lies upon him, he is afflicted with all God’s waves. Could any soul descend lower—can we imagine a case more desperate and hopeless?

It is interesting to study what the O.T. as a whole, and the Book of Psalms in particular, say about death. Words such as Sheol, the pit, the grave, are used, and all give the impression of a place of nothingness where the good and evil are found. Note verse 10, “Wilt thou show wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise thee?”. So verses 11, 12 intensify this sense of emptiness and loss. This is true regarding the mentions of the grave. “In death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?”, Psa. 6. 5; cf. 49. 14; 89. 48. Dimly the godly could see light beyond the grave, but a solid hope of immortality was waiting for a fuller revelation and greater light.

Thank God we know that this hope awaited the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Daniel 12. 2 epitomizes the Jewish hope of a general resurrection of the dead. In the Lord Jesus we are confronted with resurrection from among the dead. In this, He was the Firstborn, Col. 1. 18; Rev. 1. 5. We can triumphantly meet the gloom of Psalm 88 with the words, “our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel”, 2 Tim. 1. 10.

Death is now a defeated foe, John 11. 25, 26. Depression and despair give place to joy; He lives: we shall live also!