Thou hast laid Me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps. Psalm 88:6 KJV
You have put me in the lowest pit, In dark places, in the depths. Psalms 88:6 NASB
Psalm 88 is the psalm of extremes. Its vocabulary includes words and expressions which tell of the depths of suffering and sorrow. Notice some of them throughout the psalm.
In verse 3 we are told, “My soul is full of troubles.” It was not merely that His soul felt some distress; it was full. We are reminded of His words in the garden, recorded in the Gospel, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death” (Mark 14:33). His sorrow was so great that a natural man would have succumbed to it in death.
In verse 4, He is a Man with “no strength.” Do not ask how the Omnipotent could be as a man without strength. In 2 Corinthians 13:4, we are told that He was “crucified in weakness.” Yet we understand that it was a weakness that He allowed. He did not use His omnipotence at Calvary, but in meekness and submission to God’s will, allowed men to do with Him as they desired.
In verse 6 He is placed, not only in a pit, but in the lowest pit. His experience was unparalleled.
None of the ransomed ever knew,
how deep were the waters crossed.”
He is in the darkness, in the deeps or in the depth of God’s judgment. All is calculated to cause us to appreciate that His sufferings do not have earthly language to describe. There is no measuring rod, no standard against which we can understand what He passed through for us.
In verse 7, not only was God’s wrath poured out on Him but “Thy wrath lieth hard upon Me.” He was afflicted with “all” the waves of God’s judgment against sin. Each broke with fresh fury upon Him and each was received with a sensitivity never dulled by the previous wave. In verse 16, that wrath is described as “Thy fierce wrath goeth over Me.” Again in verse 8 and verse 18, the concept of distance is introduced by the word “far,” which echoes with the pathos of the lonely sufferer.
Darkness, distance, dread, and sorrow
Met together like a confluence of mighty rivers
And cascading down upon One Lone Man
A Niagara of judgment; an ocean of mercy flowing out.
Consider:
- Look at some of the expressions for His suffering such as “cut off, shut up,Thy terrors.”
- What is the attitude of the Sufferer in Psalm 88 in light of all He is passing through? Can you trace His dependence?
- This psalm is unique in a sobering way: it is one of the few psalms which does not offer hope or comfort in any form.
I find it almost unfathomable to consider how heavy that weight was placed upon Him. The Lord Jesus Christ endured so much suffering, and he was not given relief during those hours, as he bore the full brunt of the pain, agony, and misery as it overwhelmed Him. Even as he walked with his disciples and shared grace and truth, his hour was always before him, where he would be left alone. He referred to this hour many times and He understood where His path led.
The Perfect Son of Man, declared to be the Lamb of God by John the Baptist, was nailed to a piece of wood and lifted up between the earth and heaven and became the object of the mighty wrath of a Holy God against sin.
And not simply man’s sin, but my sin. My selfishness, my pride, my dishonesty, my rebellion, my envy, my impatience, my defiance, my self-pity was all laid upon Him. When I consider that He would be WILLING to go to Calvary, I begin to feel a sense of deep appreciation as I know that there would NEVER be, in all of the history of mankind, anyone who would willing do that for me.
Jesus Christ did that for ME. That’s love.