Psalm 88:4
I am counted among those who go down to the pit;
I am like one without strength. (NIV)
Today’s Reading: Psalm 88
Psalm 88 is another psalm that can be read as if Jesus is speaking in the first-person during the last day of his time on earth. It describes the physical and emotional pain that Jesus is experiencing using very similar language found in Psalms 22 and 69. Although this psalm is not quoted in the New Testament, you can read it and clearly see why this psalm would be identified with the passion of Christ.
It’s a psalm that describes someone on the brink of death but also experiencing great loneliness. On the night before Jesus’ crucifixion, he spent some time in Caiaphas’ pit while the Jewish leaders decided what to do with him. This psalm seems to express Jesus’ experience in those moments. “You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths” (vs. 6) describes his current situation.
“My life draws near to death” (vs. 3) tells us that death is coming soon for the psalmist. Jesus’ knew where all the questioning from the authorities would lead. As he was passed back and forth between various Jewish and Roman leaders, he knew he was “set apart with the dead” (vs. 5) and he would be headed to the cross that day.
I find it interesting that a couple of similar phrases are found in all of these psalms referring. The first refers to Jesus’ losing his friends or his companions abandoning him. “You have taken from me my closest friends and have made me repulsive to them” (vs. 8). This is not only prophetic but also a real emotion that Jesus experienced. During their last meal in the Upper Room, Jesus told his disciples, “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15).
I sometimes forget to put skin on God who came to earth. Seeing that Jesus is in pain from losing the support of his friends brings that back into perspective for me. Jesus deeply loved his friends and their betrayal was as much part of the pain of the crucifixion as the physical pain.
The other phrase that is similar asks, “Why, Lord, do you reject me and hide your face from me?” (vs. 14). Possibly the most painful aspect of the cross for Jesus was losing his connection with the Father. I don’t think we can fully grasp what it feels like to have God turn His back on Jesus and experience the pain of having the sin of the world placed on him. “Darkness is my closest friend” (vs. 18) is how the psalmist ends this song. All Jesus has left after everyone including his Father have abandoned him is the darkness.
Pretty much every psalm ends on a high note with some resolution of faith or promise from God. But not Psalm 88. This psalm leaves us with the dark and empty feeling of being completely alone with only the darkness as his companion. We know that this wasn’t the end and that Jesus’ gloriously rose from the grave three days later. But I think there is a lesson for us in the darkness.
When Jesus was in the pit, he still called out to God, “But I cry to you for help, Lord” (vs. 13). Two other times in verses 1-2 and again in verse 9 we see Jesus cry out to God. This is all we can do when we are at the bottom. When darkness overwhelms us, it’s important that we cling to God in those times. They will pass. But we must seek God’s face to climb out of the pit.
“You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness” (1 Thess 5:5). We don’t belong to the darkness. We are called to leave the darkness. The gospel “truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining” (1 John 2:8).
Christ in the Old Testament 
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