Why, O LORD, do You reject me? Why do You hide Your face from me? Why, O LORDThe psalmist begins with a poignant question directed to the LORD, using the covenant name "Yahweh" (יהוה) in Hebrew. This name signifies God's eternal presence and faithfulness to His people. The use of "Why" indicates a deep sense of confusion and distress. The psalmist is not questioning God's authority but is expressing a heartfelt plea for understanding. In the context of a conservative Christian perspective, this reflects the believer's struggle to reconcile God's promises with their current suffering, a theme that resonates throughout Scripture, especially in the lamentations of Job and Jeremiah. do You reject my soul?
The word "reject" comes from the Hebrew root "זָנַח" (zanach), which means to cast off or spurn. The psalmist feels a profound sense of abandonment, not just physically but at the very core of his being—his "soul" (נֶפֶשׁ, nephesh). This term encompasses the whole person, indicating that the psalmist feels utterly forsaken. Historically, this reflects the experience of Israel during times of exile or divine judgment, where the people felt cut off from God's presence. In a broader theological context, it echoes the cry of Jesus on the cross, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46), highlighting the depth of human suffering and the longing for divine intervention. Why do You hide Your face from me?
The phrase "hide Your face" is a common biblical metaphor for the withdrawal of God's favor and presence. In Hebrew, "face" (פָּנִים, panim) often represents God's attention and blessing. When God "hides His face," it signifies a break in the relationship, often due to sin or disobedience. However, in this psalm, there is no confession of sin, suggesting that the psalmist's suffering is not a direct result of personal wrongdoing. This aligns with the conservative Christian understanding of suffering as sometimes being a test of faith or a means of spiritual growth, as seen in the lives of Joseph, Job, and the early apostles. Theologically, it underscores the mystery of God's ways and the believer's call to trust in His ultimate goodness, even when His presence seems distant. Persons / Places / Events 1. The Psalmist (Heman the Ezrahite)The author of Psalm 88, traditionally identified as Heman the Ezrahite, a wise man and a musician in the time of King David or Solomon. He is known for his deep lament and expression of despair in this psalm. 2. The LORD (Yahweh)The covenant name of God used in the Old Testament, representing His eternal and unchanging nature. The psalmist addresses his lament directly to Yahweh, indicating a personal relationship. 3. The Place of DespairWhile not a physical location, the psalmist describes a spiritual and emotional state of deep distress and feeling of abandonment by God. Teaching Points The Reality of Spiritual DespairEven the faithful can experience times of deep spiritual despair and feel abandoned by God. This is a normal part of the human experience and is reflected in the lives of many biblical figures. Honesty in PrayerThe psalmist's raw honesty in expressing his feelings to God teaches us that we can bring our deepest emotions and questions to God in prayer. God's Silence is Not AbsenceWhile the psalmist feels rejected, the very act of addressing God shows a belief that God is still present and listening, even in silence. The Importance of PerseveranceDespite feeling abandoned, the psalmist continues to cry out to God, demonstrating perseverance in faith even when answers are not immediate. Hope Beyond DespairWhile Psalm 88 ends without resolution, it is part of the larger biblical account that points to God's ultimate faithfulness and redemption. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the psalmist's expression of feeling rejected by God resonate with your own experiences of spiritual despair? 2. In what ways can you practice honesty in your prayers, especially during times when you feel God is silent? 3. How do other scriptures, such as Job's account or Psalm 22, provide insight into understanding God's presence during times of suffering? 4. What steps can you take to persevere in faith when you feel abandoned or rejected by God? 5. How can the broader biblical account of redemption and hope encourage you when you are in a season of despair? Connections to Other Scriptures Job's Lament Similar to Job's expressions of suffering and questioning God's presence, Psalm 88 reflects a deep sense of abandonment and confusion about God's silence. Psalm 22This psalm also begins with a cry of abandonment, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" showing a common theme of feeling forsaken by God, yet ultimately trusting in His deliverance. Isaiah 59:2This verse speaks about how sin can create a separation between God and man, which can feel like God hiding His face, similar to the psalmist's experience. People Abaddon, Ethan, Heman, Korah, Mahalath, PsalmistPlaces JerusalemTopics Cast, Castest, Covered, Face, Hide, Hidest, O, Reject, SoulDictionary of Bible Themes Psalm 88:14 1255 face of God
5195 veil
5562 suffering, innocent
6232 rejection of God, results
6233 rejection, experience Psalm 88:1-18 5831 depression
8613 prayer, persistence Psalm 88:3-18 5265 complaints Psalm 88:14-18 8672 striving with God Library Out of the Deep of Doubt, Darkness, and Hell.
O Lord God of my salvation, I have cried day and night unto Thee. Oh! let my prayer enter into Thy presence. For my soul is full of trouble and my life draweth nigh unto Hell. Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in a place of darkness, and in the deep.--Ps. lxxxviii. 1, 2. If I go down to Hell, Thou art there also. Yea, the darkness is no darkness with Thee; but the night is as clear as the day.--Ps. cxxxix. 7, 11. I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined unto me, and heard my calling. …
Charles Kingsley—Out of the DeepHow to Make Use of Christ as the Truth, that we May Get Our Case and Condition Cleared up to Us.
The believer is oft complaining of darkness concerning his case and condition, so as he cannot tell what to say of himself, or what judgment to pass on himself, and he knoweth not how to win to a distinct and clear discovery of his state and condition. Now, it is truth alone, and the Truth, that can satisfy them as to this. The question then is, how they shall make use of, and apply themselves to this truth, to the end they may get the truth of their condition discovered to them. But first let us …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life How a Desolate Man Ought to Commit Himself into the Hands of God
O Lord, Holy Father, be Thou blessed now and evermore; because as Thou wilt so it is done, and what Thou doest is good. Let Thy servant rejoice in Thee, not in himself, nor in any other; because Thou alone art the true joy, Thou art my hope and my crown, Thou art my joy and my honour, O Lord. What hath Thy servant, which he received not from Thee, even without merit of his own? Thine are all things which Thou hast given, and which Thou hast made. I am poor and in misery even from my youth up,(1) …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ Our Status.
"And he believed in the Lord: and he counted it to him for righteousness." --Gen. xv. 6. The right touches a man's status. So long as the law has not proven him guilty, has not convicted and sentenced him, his legal status is that of a free and law-abiding citizen. But as soon as his guilt is proven in court and the jury has convicted him, he passes from that into the status of the bound and law-breaking citizen. The same applies to our relation to God. Our status before God is that either of the …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit His Past Work.
His past work was accomplished by Him when he became incarnate. It was finished when He died on Calvary's cross. We have therefore to consider first of all these fundamentals of our faith. I. The Work of the Son of God is foreshadowed and predicted in the Old Testament Scriptures. II. The incarnation of the Son of God. III. His Work on the cross and what has been accomplished by it. I. Through the Old Testament Scriptures, God announced beforehand the work of His Son. This is a great theme and one …
A. C. Gaebelein—The Work Of Christ How is Christ, as the Life, to be Applied by a Soul that Misseth God's Favour and Countenance.
The sixth case, that we shall speak a little to, is a deadness, occasioned by the Lord's hiding of himself, who is their life, and "the fountain of life," Ps. xxxvi. 9, and "whose loving-kindness is better than life," Ps. lxiii. 3, and "in whose favour is their life," Ps. xxx. 5. A case, which the frequent complaints of the saints manifest to be rife enough, concerning which we shall, 1. Shew some of the consequences of the Lord's hiding his face, whereby the soul's case will appear. 2. Shew the …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life Letter xvi to Rainald, Abbot of Foigny
To Rainald, Abbot of Foigny Bernard declares to him how little he loves praise; that the yoke of Christ is light; that he declines the name of father, and is content with that of brother. 1. In the first place, do not wonder if titles of honour affright me, when I feel myself so unworthy of the honours themselves; and if it is fitting that you should give them to me, it is not expedient for me to accept them. For if you think that you ought to observe that saying, In honour preferring one another …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux Letter xxiv (Circa A. D. 1126) to Oger, Regular Canon
To Oger, Regular Canon [34] Bernard blames him for his resignation of his pastoral charge, although made from the love of a calm and pious life. None the less, he instructs him how, after becoming a private person, he ought to live in community. To Brother Oger, the Canon, Brother Bernard, monk but sinner, wishes that he may walk worthily of God even to the end, and embraces him with the fullest affection. 1. If I seem to have been too slow in replying to your letter, ascribe it to my not having …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux The Wrath of God
What does every sin deserve? God's wrath and curse, both in this life, and in that which is to come. Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire.' Matt 25: 41. Man having sinned, is like a favourite turned out of the king's favour, and deserves the wrath and curse of God. He deserves God's curse. Gal 3: 10. As when Christ cursed the fig-tree, it withered; so, when God curses any, he withers in his soul. Matt 21: 19. God's curse blasts wherever it comes. He deserves also God's wrath, which is …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments Period ii. The Church from the Permanent Division of the Empire Until the Collapse of the Western Empire and the First Schism Between the East and the West, or Until About A. D. 500
In the second period of the history of the Church under the Christian Empire, the Church, although existing in two divisions of the Empire and experiencing very different political fortunes, may still be regarded as forming a whole. The theological controversies distracting the Church, although different in the two halves of the Graeco-Roman world, were felt to some extent in both divisions of the Empire and not merely in the one in which they were principally fought out; and in the condemnation …
Joseph Cullen Ayer Jr., Ph.D.—A Source Book for Ancient Church History Sense in Which, and End for which all Things were Delivered to the Incarnate Son.
For whereas man sinned, and is fallen, and by his fall all things are in confusion: death prevailed from Adam to Moses (cf. Rom. v. 14), the earth was cursed, Hades was opened, Paradise shut, Heaven offended, man, lastly, corrupted and brutalised (cf. Ps. xlix. 12), while the devil was exulting against us;--then God, in His loving-kindness, not willing man made in His own image to perish, said, Whom shall I send, and who will go?' (Isa. vi. 8). But while all held their peace, the Son [441] said, …
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius Of Faith. The Definition of It. Its Peculiar Properties.
1. A brief recapitulation of the leading points of the whole discussion. The scope of this chapter. The necessity of the doctrine of faith. This doctrine obscured by the Schoolmen, who make God the object of faith, without referring to Christ. The Schoolmen refuted by various passages. 2. The dogma of implicit faith refuted. It destroys faith, which consists in a knowledge of the divine will. What this will is, and how necessary the knowledge of it. 3. Many things are and will continue to be implicitly …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Psalm 88:14 NIVPsalm 88:14 NLTPsalm 88:14 ESVPsalm 88:14 NASBPsalm 88:14 KJV
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