“Mahalath” (a lute) used as an accompaniment for “Leannoth” (singing). [1]
This was a song to be sung in worship. The sons of Korah were a guild of Levites singers. The intro of Psalm 88 credits Heman as the composer of this Psalm. We read in 1 Chronicles 25:1 that the sons of Heman prophesied with harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals. His sons were musicians. In 1 Chronicles 25:5, we read that Heman was David’s seer in the words of God. [2]
In 1 Kings 4:30-31, we read that Heman was famous for being wise, yet Solomon’s wisdom exceeded his wisdom. [3]
“O Lord, God of my salvation, I have cried out day and night before You.” Psalm 88:1
Heman devoted himself to prayer day and night. He was very earnest in prayer. “I have cried out.” “I have stretched out my hands unto You” (vs. 9), like one seeking to grasp the hem of His garment. He prayed frequently in prayer... “day and night.”
In Luke 18:1, Jesus spoke a parable saying, “Men ought always to pray, and not faint.” And afterwards, In Luke 18:7, He said, “And shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them?
When we remain steadfast and persistent in prayer, we may confidently expect God to hear and answer in His perfect time. [4]
“Let my prayer come before You. Incline Your ear to my cry.” Psalm 88:2
Heman directed his prayer to God and looked to Him alone for an answer. His desire was not that his prayer would be seen and admired by men, as the Pharisees sought, but that it would be accepted by God. He was not concerned with human approval. He trusted in God. [5]
“For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to the grave. I am counted with those who go down to the pit. I am like a man who has no strength” Psalm 88:3-4
Some view Heman in this psalm as a type of Christ. In John 12:27, Jesus said, “Now is My soul troubled,” and later in Matthew 26:38, He said, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death.” Heman likewise declares, “My life draws near unto the grave.” [6]
Heman was a wise and godly man—a man of God and a singer of Israel. One might naturally expect him to have a cheerful spirit, yet here he is overwhelmed with sorrow, troubled in mind, and brought to the brink of despair. This reminds us that inward troubles are often the most painful of all afflictions, and that even God’s much beloved servants experience them. [7]
“Adrift among the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom You remember no more, and who are cut off from Your hand.” Psalm 88:5
Heman viewed himself as a dying man, whose heart was ready to break under the weight of sorrow. “Adrift among the dead” is to be grouped with those who no longer matter. He felt forgotten and neglected, like those whose bodies decay in a tomb and whose condition no longer draws the notice or concern of others. [8]
Heman felt that God remembered him no more. The hand that had supported, sustained, and delivered him previously as moved on to help others. [9]
“You have laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the depths. Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and You have afflicted me with all Your waves. Selah!” Psalm 88:6-7
To be in the lowest pit is to be as low as possible. He could not escape without God’s help.
He grieved because it seemed God was against him. Had he been able to discern God’s favor and love in his affliction, the burden would have seemed much lighter. Instead, it lay heavily upon him—so heavily that he was ready to sink and faint beneath it. [10]
The impressions of this perceived wrath upon his spirit were like waves rolling over him one after another. No sooner had he begun to recover from one dark thought than another hit him. These waves crashed upon him with noise and fury. Not merely some, but all of God’s waves seemed to be employed in beating him down. [11]
Sometimes, children of God’s love view themselves as children of wrath. No outward trouble can weigh so heavily upon them as the apprehension that God is displeased with them. [12]
This shows how greatly even good men may be afflicted. Such dismal apprehensions may arise concerning their troubles, and such dark conclusions about their outcome may sometimes be drawn through the power of melancholy and the weakness of faith. [13]
“You have put away my acquaintances far from me. You have made me an abomination to them. I am shut up, and I cannot get out.” Psalm 88:8
When we are in trouble, it is a comfort to have people around us who love us and sympathize with our situation. Heman had no such support so he brought his grief to God. [14]
God allowed their affections toward him to grow cold. Every creature is to us only what God permits it to be. If those from whom we expect kindness prove unkind, we must bear it with the same patient submission to God’s will as with other afflictions. [15]
According to Job 1:2, Job and his wife had 10 children together. In Job 1:4, we learn that their sons and daughters took turns feasting at one another’s homes. In Job 1:5, Job made offerings unto God on behalf of his children in case they had sinned against God. He wanted what was best for them. However, after all 10 of their children were killed by whirlwind, his wife said to him, in Job 2:9, “Do you still retain your integrity? Curse God, and die.” Job lost his children and his wife’s devotion to God and to him all in one day.
Heman grieved that he had become an abomination to his acquaintances. They were not only unwilling to associate with him, but regarded him with contempt and even disgust. He was viewed not merely with indifference but with abhorrence. [16]
Therefore, let no believer think such a trial unusual. Heman, though renowned for his wisdom, was nevertheless neglected when the world turned against him. He was treated like a vessel wherein is no pleasure—discarded and forgotten by those who once knew him. [17]
The apostles of Christ were treated with contempt. In 1 Corinthians 4:9-10, Paul wrote, “I think that God has set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death. For we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honorable, but we are despised.”
“My eye wastes away because of affliction. Lord, I have called daily upon You. I have stretched out my hands to You.” Psalm 88:9
Sometimes after weeping a person feels better, but better yet, mix your tears with prayers to God. In Isaiah 38:5, God says, “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears.” Our sorrow is not hidden from Him, and our tears, joined with faith and prayer, are precious in His sight. [18]
“Will You work wonders for the dead? Shall the dead arise and praise You? Selah!” Psalm 88:11
Heman notes that if he dies, he will no longer be able to glorify God on earth. His questions are not expressions of unbelief in the resurrection but earnest pleas for immediate help. [19]
“Shall Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave, or Your faithfulness in the place of destruction? Shall Your wonders be known in the dark? And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?” Psalm 88:11-12
Heman appeals to God’s lovingkindness, faithfulness, wonders, and righteousness, asking how these attributes will be displayed through his life if he is taken away. [20]
“But to You I have cried out, O Lord, and in the morning my prayer comes before You.” Psalm 88:13
Despite receiving no immediate answer, Heman refuses to stop praying. Faith is demonstrated not merely by praying once, but by continuing to pray when answers seem delayed. He fully expected God to rescue him. God’s delays are not necessarily denials. Often He uses them to develop patience, dependence, and perseverance in us. [21]
Heman sought God early in the morning before the duties of the day distracted him. [22]
“Lord, why do You cast off my soul? Why do You hide Your face from me?” Psalm 88:14
Heman felt abandoned by God, and he let God know it.
“I have been afflicted and ready to die from my youth. I suffer Your terrors. I am distraught. Your fierce wrath has gone over me. Your terrors have cut me off. They came around me all day long like water. They engulfed me altogether.” Psalm 88:15-17
Ever since Heman was young, he suffered terror or panic attacks. These attacks caused him intense spiritual distress, but they were not necessarily evidence of lost favor with God. [23]
In 2 Corinthians 1:8, Paul wrote, “We would not, brothers, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life.” Paul and the apostles suffered afflictions due to their care for others.
Heman teaches us that great wisdom and godliness can coexist alongside feelings of sorrow. His seasons of suffering produced in him seriousness, humility, and dependence upon God. [24]
“Loved one and friend You have put far from me, and my acquaintances into darkness.” Psalm 88:18
The Apostle Paul spoke of a similar experience. In 2 Timothy 4:16-17, he wrote, “At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear. Also I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.”
Heman’s loved ones and friends, God’s sweetest earthly gifts, forsook him. Though he perceived their departure as a sign of God’s departure as well, he continued to speak to God. His prayer is evidence that his faith in God, though battered, had not died. [25]
The wisdom of Psalm 88 is that the absence of comfort is not the absence of faith. Delayed answers should lead to continued prayer, not prayerlessness. Faith is sometimes seen most clearly not in rejoicing, but in refusing to stop praying when no relief is in sight. [26]
The psalm ends without a visible resolution, which makes it especially precious to suffering believers. It assures them that God included in Scripture the prayer of a saint who walked through darkness and yet continued to pray, “Unto You have I cried, O Lord.” [27]
Friend, know that God is with you. In Hebrews 13:5, the Lord says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” In 1 Peter 5:10, Peter wrote to suffering saints, saying, “The God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, will perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.” In James 5:11, James, a bondservant of Christ, wrote, “Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.”
[1] Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary
[2-27] Edited and modified material from Matthew Henry’s Commentary
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