Psalm 88
A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah. For the director of music. According to mahalath leannoth. A maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.
O LORD, the God who saves me,
day and night I cry out before you.
May my prayer come before you;
turn your ear to my cry.
For my soul is full of trouble
and my life draws near the grave.
I am counted among those who go down to the pit;
I am like a man without strength.
I am set apart with the dead,
like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom you remember no more,
who are cut off from your care.
You have put me in the lowest pit,
in the darkest depths.
Your wrath lies heavily upon me;
you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.
Selah
You have taken from me my closest friends
and have made me repulsive to them.
I am confined and cannot escape;
my eyes are dim with grief.
I call to you, O LORD, every day;
I spread out my hands to you.
Do you show your wonders to the dead?
Do those who are dead rise up and praise you?
Selah
Is your love declared in the grave,
your faithfulness in Destruction?
Are your wonders known in the place of darkness,
or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?
But I cry to you for help, O LORD;
in the morning my prayer comes before you.
Why, O LORD, do you reject me
and hide your face from me?
From my youth I have been afflicted and close to death;
I have suffered your terrors and am in despair.
Your wrath has swept over me;
your terrors have destroyed me.
All day long they surround me like a flood;
they have completely engulfed me.
You have taken my companions and loved ones from me;
the darkness is my closest friend.
1 comment:
What a blessing this journey has been. I am so grateful to Pastor Joe and the folks at Blue Sky for inviting me to join in this Lenten Pilgrimage. Hard to believe it is almost over.
Going through the different Psalms daily, the messages at church, the various comments here on the website have all added something valuable to my life. But there is something about these last few days, this Holy Week, that has blessed me tremendously.
I was honored to be 'invited' (I love that word! - have you noticed!?) to be a part of the Maundy Thursday celebration. Thank you Joe and Kristi for that opportunity!
The Seder meal was very special - I think it is important to honor the history of Passover. It was a fun, yet reverent, event - and seeing it from this side of the Cross, under the New Covenant, gives it a whole new meaning. I'd seen re-enactments of the Lord's Supper (the guy playing Jesus 'glowed' for weeks!) and danced the Hora, but had never partaken in such an indepth teaching/event.
The foot washing was a blessing to me - it always is. When looking it up in John 13, I kept wondering 'why?' - why did Christ choose those last moments of His time on earth to wash the feet of His disciples? Pastor Joe mentioned during the Seder that it was Jesus' last opportunity to teach the men who shared the past 3 years with Him. And that's what He did - He said they wouldn't understand what He was doing while He was doing it, but that they would catch on eventually. He said He was setting an example for them - as He washed their feet, they were to wash one another's feet. An example of service, yes, but also a huge example of love and forgiveness. Don't forget He washed the feet of Judas as well, knowing what was in his heart. How many of us would do that? Imagine how the disciples felt whent they finally 'got' that part of it.
Now Good Friday - that was something really moving. We ended in silence and darkness - and now we're waiting for the stone to be rolled away. At least we know it WAS, the disciples waited in fear and confusion for 3 days.
Thank you Blue Sky for this experience. God has opened my eyes and my heart to so much through this. I am so grateful to Him that my salvation doesn't depend on my feeble attempts at sacrifice, or that my mistakes aren't too big to be covered by the blood of Jesus. Thank you Lord. God bless you all, and Happy Easter ~ Susie
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