The Resolution is Song

A Song. A Psalm. To the choirmaster. A Maskil.

“O Lord, God of my salvation,
    I cry out day and night before you.
Let my prayer come before you;
    incline your ear to my cry!

For my soul is full of troubles,
    and my life draws near to Sheol.
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,
    in the regions dark and deep.
Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
    and you overwhelm me with all your waves. Selah

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? Selah
Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,
    or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
Are 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 my beloved and my friend to shun me;
    my companions have become darkness.” Psalm 88

The fulsome subtitle and Selah musical directions for exclamation provided with this song remind that it is indeed a song, a lament with melody. The scribe- anguished, full of troubles, in the depths of despair- chooses to sing to the God of his salvation, and records it for the choir and all mankind. To whom else would he carry these burdens so great? For whom else could he cry from his dark pit, his terrors, his flood, for hope and relief? Surely his wailing was heard, and safe there.

As his song enjoins the choir for expression of mutual grief and longing while looking to the Lord, may it catch us up also. In every dark place, the incessant waves that overwhelm day and night, we can cry out to Him. From loneliness, destitution of soul, waste of opportunity and time and physical vigor, we can sing. In the morning, in the gloaming, He tunes our hearts and hears our voices. These are the places where grace meets lament with the harmony of benediction.

How do we handle disappointments, struggles, agonies? Do we complain in an endless vortex of negativity, brattling on about our woes while sweeping others into the whirlwind, or do we find and voice a song? How different would our troubles appear if we joined a choir of dependence on the God of our salvation, and made melody of His deliverance that keeps us with staying power? Let our prayers, let every song- dirge or jubilation- come before Him!

Lord, in all circumstances, keep me resolved to sing to You and for Your glory.