Amen. Again, our scripture will be Psalm 88. Please open back to Psalm 88. And for the sake of time and for the sake of your attention, I only read verse 1. But I want to now read the entire chapter up through verse 18. And that so that we can fully grasp the tone with which this song was written. I would encourage you as we read it to tune in fully. And again, just feel the weight of the song of Psalm 88. And as we open it without question, you should be able to interpret the feeling and the tone with which Psalm 88 is speaking. So Psalm 88 beginning with verse 1 all the way through verse 18. This is God's Word. O Lord, God of my salvation, I cry out day and night before you. Let my prayer come before you and climb your ear to my cry. For my soul is full of troubles and my life draws near to shield. I am counted among those who go down to the pit. I am a man who has no strength. Like one set loose among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, like those whom you remember no more, for they are cut off from your hand. You have put me in the depths of the pit and the region's dark and deep. Your wrath lies heavy upon me and you overwhelm me with all your waves, Salah. You have caused my companions to shun me, you have made me a horror to them. I am shut in so that I cannot escape. My eye grows dim through sorrow. Every day I call upon you, O Lord, I spread out my hands to you. Do you work wonders for the dead? Do the departed rise up to praise you, Salah? Is your steadfast love declared in the grave or your faithfulness and abadon or your wonders known in the darkness or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? But I, O Lord, cry to you in the morning my prayer comes before you. O Lord, why do you cast my soul away? Why do you hide your face from me? Afflicted and close to death from my youth up, I suffer your terrors. I am helpless. Your wrath has swept over me. Your dreadful assaults destroy me. They surround me like a flood all day long. They close in on me together. You have caused me, you have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me. My companions have become darkness. May God bless the reading and the hearing of his word. Quickly, let's pray, God. Our Father, we bow now and we ask for your help in this time as we open up your word to hear from you, God. We pray that we will hear from you. Exalt yourself, exalt your son and bless us in this time. Open our ears to hear what you have to say in Jesus' name. Amen. Psalm 88, the Psalm that we have just read is a dark Psalm. I challenged you to catch the tone of that Psalm. And without question, it is a dark Psalm. It is filled with hopelessness. There is no hint of light at the end of the tunnel and with a Psalm 88, unlike the other Psalms. In fact, the final word of this very Psalm as we read in verse 18, depending on your translation, but the literal translation and as translated here in the ESV, the very last word literally is darkness. There is no hope, no light, just darkness. So what is this Psalm doing in our Bible? Why is it here? Well, the easiest and obvious answer to that is because God put it here. Scriptures are God-breed, so make no mistake about it. It is here because God put it here. God was not selective with his truth, only acknowledging the good things that were said about him throughout history and kind of ignoring the pain that people felt or even the disappointment that they felt towards him. And so because of that, he gave us Psalm 88. He gave us his people this Psalm, Psalm 88. And these are not the words of an unbeliever who doesn't trust in God. If that were the case, I guess kind of just explaining this Psalm away, it will be easy, but these are, in fact, brothers and sisters, the words of one of God's very own children, the words of one who has entrusted their very souls to God himself. In verse 1, we see that truth. The writer says, O Lord, my God or O Lord God of my salvation. Look back, Lord, all capitals, the covenant name for God, Yahweh, this is a believer, no doubt, part of the covenant community. So God gave Psalm 88. Let's be clear to his people. And he gave it to his people because sometimes the pain, feel the weight of this Psalm. The pain is too deep. Sometimes the hope is just running out. And brothers and sisters, sometimes the darkness, it remains for a very, very long time. And God understands. Without a doubt, God understands. So the beauty of this Psalm and the assurance that it can give to us as dark as it may be sometimes for as long as that darkness is there. The assurances that God doesn't just hear the prayers of his children when they pray right, or when they pray in the right circumstances, he hears us when we are unstable. And he hears us at our lowest point. He hears us in all of our pain and in all of our confusion. And this is what I think, this is my aim. This is what I think it is that we can learn from such a Psalm. Such a dark Psalm, a Psalm 88, that God hears us. That is the truth. God hears us. There was a commercial that aired. I don't know, sometime last year maybe. A father, and there were multiple versions of the commercial. But on one of the commercials, a man walked in and he was sick. He had a thermometer in his mouth, a cooling pad on his head. And he's speaking. You don't see who it is that he's speaking to. All you see is him from that point of view. And he's asking if, as if he's talking to his employer and he's asking, you know, can I take a sick day? Can I take a day off? But then the point of view changes and they show it at who it is that he's talking to. And it's actually his, there's a baby in a crib that he's talking to. And it was going to make the point that in parenthood, there's no days off as a parent. And as a parent myself, I know that truth. I know it very well. They inconvenience you at the most inconvenient times. Sometimes with the most inconvenient request. Things that may seem irrelevant to us as adults. But for them, as children, it means the world. And I've learned, and I try to be intentional about no matter what it may be, to just kind of hear them and give an answer so that they know that I hear them and acknowledge them. Because it goes a long way. And so brothers and sisters, Psalm 88. And I pray that we don't lose the backdrop in which the song is written. It's out of that darkness and that despair, which is prevalent just by reading. But I want us to also understand that in this, where there's no other good to be seen, the one main thing that we can put, the grace that we see displayed here is the truth. That as small as it may be a God, a God who created everything and holds up everything, it means the world to us to know that God hears us. Like three examples of when he hears us number one. First, he hears us when we're complaining to him. That's what the writer first shows us. That God hears us in our complaining. Now, for me, the past two years have been very trying years, very rough. And I've learned that it's made me, maybe even, if I look back, I kind of see it, even before those two years, but I was so weary that it became so easy to complain. The turmoil, there was plenty of it, the stress and anxiety, the weariness, it made it very, very easy to complain. And as I look back, even in those times, I noticed the people that I would complain to, it will become a burden, it will become burdensome to them. And they will sometimes just, you know, not intentionally, but they'll show that their tiredness. And they don't want to hear me understandably so. Because in this world, what taught? And even in the church, what taught that we're to dwell on those things that are admirable and those things are a good thing or those things and not to complain. And so many times we come in and we ask how's it going? And we kind of have to bite back the complaints that are right there, because we're taught to say, you know what, I'm hanging on, I'm holding on. And it became easy to complain. And it's good to know that even in a world where it can be a burden for many and we're taught not to do it, brothers and sisters, there's God who's there, who is above it all, but understands if nobody else does, he understands and he hears us even in our complaining versus one through five, starting with the second half of verse one. The writer says, I cry out day and night before you. This is an everyday thing, the turmoil is plantious. The darkness is prevalent so much so that it's day and night that I'm now complaining. Not just once a week, not just every blue moon or once a month, but day and night constantly. And verse two, he says, let my prayer come before you and climb your ear to my cry. My family started hearing me. My friends, they can't bear the burden of my complaining anymore, but God, the darkness is so real. The turmoil that I feel is so real, please, just hear me. Listen to me, if nobody else will. Verse three, for my soul is full of troubles. And my life draws near to, I'm at the point of doubt. God, hear me, how's your day, brother, sister? He lays it all out. It's not a good day. My life isn't happy. Everything's not well. I'm not holding on. I can't hang in there. There's trouble. I'm to the point of debt verse four. I am counted among those who go down to the pit. I'm a man who has no strength. Brothers and sisters, we call it complaining. And to God, he is. He's letting out this complaint. But again, the backdrop in which this song is set, it's the reality that even God's people, we experience some of the darkest moment and Psalm 88 is here to show us that even as covenant children of the most high God, we sometimes get to points that some people may not understand. We get to points of true turmoil. And our darkness, our pain, our hurt is relative. It differs from person to person. I've known people who have lost a loved one and they're strong and they're strengthened in God's grace and it manifests itself. And they say, you know, I know it was God's will. I know that he's still on the throne and he's still good. But brothers and sisters, because of their strength and their experience in that, we cannot discount the person who it's been 10 years, 15, 20 years since they lost their loved ones and they say the pain still hurts. I still feel it. And it is out of this. It is out of this that saints may sometimes go to God and what some may hear as complaining. But he hears us. He hears us when we complain, but secondly, the beauty of such a dark Psalm and the grace that we can pull from this Psalm where there is hurt and nothing but pain, no light at the end of the tunnel. It ends with darkness. The grace that we can pull from this, secondly, is the fact that God hears us even when we blame him. Now I know that that's not a theologically responsible thing to say. It's not a theologically responsible thing to do. And according to the scriptures, it's not accurate. We may say, who can blame God? I know the word. I know the doctrine of concurrence where God is at work, but even as his will is being worked out and his providence is guiding everything that happens in this earth, I know that at the same time, man is working freely and acting out his will. And the two go together in a mysterious way that I can't explain, but I know that theologically, that is the truth. Who can blame God? And we can come up with all these extravagant ways of detesting the idea of blaming God, but that's missing the point of this second point. How often are we wrong? Very often. Even the blame God. We're quick to do it. We're wrong often, but the point that's being made here is that even if we're wrong, even in our blaming God, he hears us. How compassionate of a father. How gracious a father. Verse six. Hear the blame. Here are the tone switches from that of complaint. To now, you know what? Blame. And remember the backdrop of the darkness that this writer is writing in. Remember, this song doesn't explain exactly what's going on in the life of this writer. Sounds like Joe's story to me as I read it. But that gives us freedom to kind of put ourselves in here. Whatever your darkness of your pain may be. Insert it there. Verse six. Here's what he said. The tone switches now. To blame. Blaming God. You have put me. You have put me in the depths of the pit. In the region's dark and deep. Your wrath lies heavy upon me. And you overwhelm me with all your waves. Verse eight. You have caused my companions to shun me. You have made me a horror to them. I am shut in so that I cannot escape. God, my eyes grow dim through sorrow. He's blaming God because the pain is so deep. And there's no more hope. And it's been dark for a long time. And he thought that if I just prayed enough, the darkness will subside. Peace will overcome me and will overwhelm me. But that wasn't the case. And he goes from complaining to God to blaming God. You know what? It's because of you that I'm in the situation. You hold the keys to life. You ordain everything that happens. You're the one who put me here and you're the one who can get me out. Why haven't you? Brothers and sisters, even in that. The grace that we have here. Is that God still hears him? God doesn't turn him away. God doesn't exile him. God still hears him. He hears us in our complaining. He hears us in our blame. And again, the context of this is because Christians experience real darkness and real pain that drives us to those depths. But God is there and he hears us all along. And that takes us to a third instance in which God hears us. Where the tone again shifts in verses 10 through 12. And as God hears us in our complaining. And even in our blaming. Brothers and sisters, God even hears us in our sarcasm. And sometimes our irreverence towards him. It's a scary idea. It's something that in our right minds we wouldn't think to do. But brothers and sisters, sometimes the pain Psalm 88 shows us is so deep. And the right or tone changes again. Now from blame to this time just being sarcastic. Maybe almost even disrespectful towards God. In verse 10, listen to him. And he ends verse 9 by saying every day I call upon you, O Lord. I spread out my hands to you. Here I am. What are you doing in verse 10? The tone changes. Do you work wonders for the dead? Do the departed rise up to praise you? Is your staff as love declared in the grave or your faithfulness in Abaddon? He's going to say, God, I'm almost at the point of death. And I want to serve you. Do you work wonders for somebody who's, if I'm dead, can you work a wonder for me? Why aren't you getting this thing fixed? Soon I'm almost dead. God, I want to go out and I want to declare your glory as your staff as love declared in the grave. Can I evangelize if I'm dead? Why aren't you working? Verse 12, are your wonders known in the darkness or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? God, if you want to be glorified, change my situation. And I can tell people all about it and God, you will get so much glory. Can you not, does that not make sense to you? And we're driven to that point, brothers and sisters, because the pain in Psalm 88 is a real pain that we experience that sometimes is so deep. Yet in our irreverence, if it drives us to that point in our sarcasm, we have a God who is gracious and merciful and he understands and he allows it and brothers and sisters, as wrong as it may be, he hears us. He hears us. Bless is the person who knows a friend, a minister, a pastor, who have themselves experienced such depths that they can relate and instead of being judgmental, they can have so much compassion for a person who was going through some of the most darkest seasons in their life who have dealt with turmoil and all of the problems and things that life has to offer and be heard. God hears us. This darkest Psalm 88 is there to remind us that like no other Psalm, all the other Psalms end on the good note. Even if the beginning is rough and dark, there's light at the end of the tunnel Psalm 88 ends in darkness because the darkness may last a lifetime and even in that it sometimes drives us. The good thing is that he's going to God. He's a child of God, his salvation is in God. He recognizes that and he goes to God to pray and to complain. He blames God and maybe even gets to the point of being irreverent, but all the while God's grace is seeing in the fact that God hears him. He listens and he understands this pain. And so we know that he hears us in all of our complaining, our blaming, our reverence, but now let's understand why. And I want to shift as we close verses 13 through 18. I want to read that and we'll shift our point of view from the writer to someone else, verse 13, but I, O Lord, cry to you. In the morning my prayer comes before you. O Lord, why do you cast my soul away? Why do you hide your face from me, afflicted and close to death from my youth up? I suffer your terrors. I am helpless. Your wrath has swept over me, your dreadful assaults destroy me. They surround me like they flood all day long. They close in on me together. You have caused my beloved, my friends to shun me. My companions have become darkness. Now out of the mouths of the writer, even ourselves, I think that these words are a bit exaggerated, despite the truth of how dark life can get. Some of what has said is just, again, a big exaggeration. But nevertheless, God, like a good father, he entertains our exaggeration and there is comfort in that. But there is one Son of God who could have rightfully said all of these words and he would have been fully justified. He was fully justified in saying, brothers and sisters, do you see Christ lifted up on the cross? Moaning these very words as the father turns his ears and turns his face from Jesus in order that when you and I cry out in complete and in blame and in irreverence, he would hear us. Do you hear Jesus saying these words? And when you hear Jesus saying these words on the cross, is it more fitting? He hears us because Christ truly experienced silence, the silence of the Father on our behalf so that God's children, us, you and me, could have our Psalm 88 moments. And they will come for some of us more than others. Let's remember that it's relative to each person. I pray that our own dark experiences give us the compassion to bear with our brothers and sisters. But to also know that God gives us these moments and it's been won by Christ. We have a Psalm 88 which sounds like complaint, which sounds like blame, which sounds like irreverence only because Christ made this possible. The words spoken here were truly spoken and experienced by Christ so that in these moments we would have full assurance that God would still be our God. And that's why it's here. So that even at our darkest moments, we would still have a reason to trust in God because we see Christ uttering these words. As far as God fills from us, brothers and sisters, we would be encouraged to know that He hears us. So through our darkness on that may last a lifetime. It's my prayer that we would know that God hears us. He hears our complaints. He allows our blame and our irreverence. And I pray that that would be a picture of His grace that even in those dark moments, if they last a lifetime, we'll know that His grace is right there with us. For a lifetime until He calls us home into glory where darkness will reign no more. May that be our encouragement. Amen. Let us pray. Our gracious God and our heavenly Father, Lord, we bow before you now, given you honor, thanks and glory. Thanks, Lord, that when even people may not understand us and we may not understand people, we have a God who does. And we may go about it in a way that is theologically inaccurate in a way that is by all of your teachings not right. God, you don't cast us away from you because of the turmoil we experience. And the low points that we get to, Lord, some so low that some even pastors have taken their own life in suicide because the point is the darkness has been so dark for so long. You hear us. You give us our Psalm 88 moments. And in a song full of darkness where there is no light, there is no hope. You still show us that there's grace there. That there is reason to have hope if we needed. And if we don't get there, if we have a day where though the grace is there, we still may be down, Lord, you hear us. You love us. You bear with us. God use this in all of his darkness to show us your mercy. To give us hope. To let us know that even if it is dark until the last hour of our life, you are there and that is reason enough to rejoice. Nevertheless, God, we trust you to do good by us, by your will through your spirit. It's in Jesus name that we pray. Amen. Please let us all stand for our benediction. Amen. I receive the benediction. Now I want to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you thoughtless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. To God our Savior who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power both now and forever. Let all of God's people say. Amen.