The Saddest Psalm on the Gladdest Day?

Psalm 88

This past year – 

1. Turning down –

“I am counted among those who go down to the pit.” (4)

“You have put me in the depths of the pit, in the regions dark and deep.” (6)

2. Turning in –

“For they are cut off from your hand.” (5b)

“I am shut in so that I cannot escape.” (8)

3. Turning away –

“O Lord, why do you cast my soul away? Why do you hide your face from me?” (14)

“You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me; my companions have become darkness.” (18)

Why are we talking about this Psalm on Easter? Two Reasons.

1. This Psalm gives us when we look toward Easter.

“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!” (1-2)

2. This Psalm only Easter can .

“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?” (10-12)

Worst case scenario strategy – 

“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.” C.S. Lewis