Your wrath has swept over me; Your terrors have destroyed me. Your wrathThe Hebrew word for "wrath" here is "chemah," which conveys a sense of intense anger or fury. In the context of the Old Testament, God's wrath is often depicted as a response to sin and disobedience. This phrase reflects the psalmist's deep awareness of God's righteous anger, which is a recurring theme throughout the Scriptures. It serves as a reminder of the holiness of God and the seriousness with which He views sin. From a conservative Christian perspective, this acknowledgment of divine wrath underscores the need for repentance and the seeking of God's mercy. has swept over me
The imagery of being "swept over" suggests a powerful, overwhelming force, akin to a flood or a storm. The Hebrew root "abar" is often used to describe something passing over or through, indicating a complete and consuming experience. This phrase captures the psalmist's feeling of being engulfed by God's judgment. Historically, such language would resonate with the ancient Israelites, who were familiar with the destructive power of natural elements. Spiritually, it speaks to the overwhelming nature of divine discipline, yet also hints at the possibility of purification and renewal through such trials. Your terrors
The word "terrors" is translated from the Hebrew "behalah," which denotes fear, dread, or panic. This term reflects the psalmist's profound sense of fear in the face of God's judgment. In the broader biblical narrative, the fear of the Lord is often associated with wisdom and reverence. However, here it conveys a more immediate and visceral experience of divine power. For the believer, this serves as a sobering reminder of the awe-inspiring nature of God, who is both loving and just. have destroyed me
The phrase "have destroyed me" comes from the Hebrew "shamad," meaning to annihilate or bring to ruin. This expression of total devastation highlights the psalmist's sense of hopelessness and despair under the weight of divine judgment. In the historical context, such language would resonate with the experiences of exile and suffering faced by the Israelites. From a theological standpoint, it emphasizes the depth of human frailty and the need for divine intervention. For Christians, this destruction is not the end but a precursor to redemption, pointing ultimately to the hope found in Christ's victory over sin and death. Persons / Places / Events 1. The Psalmist (Heman the Ezrahite)The author of Psalm 88, traditionally identified as Heman the Ezrahite, is a figure known for his wisdom and musical contributions in the time of King David. He is associated with the sons of Korah, a group of temple musicians. 2. God (Yahweh)The central figure to whom the psalmist is addressing his lament. The psalmist perceives God’s wrath and terrors as overwhelming forces in his life. 3. The Place of DespairWhile not a physical location, the psalmist describes a state of deep spiritual and emotional despair, feeling as though he is in the depths of Sheol (the realm of the dead). 4. The Event of SufferingThe psalmist is experiencing intense suffering, which he attributes to the wrath and terrors of God. This event is characterized by a sense of abandonment and relentless affliction. Teaching Points Understanding Divine WrathRecognize that the psalmist attributes his suffering to God's wrath, which reflects a deep awareness of God's holiness and justice. This can lead us to a greater understanding of the seriousness of sin and the need for repentance. The Reality of DespairAcknowledge that even the faithful can experience profound despair. This psalm teaches us that it is permissible to bring our deepest fears and feelings of abandonment before God. The Role of Lament in FaithLament is a vital part of a healthy spiritual life. It allows believers to express their pain honestly while still maintaining a relationship with God. Hope in the Midst of DarknessWhile Psalm 88 does not end on a hopeful note, it is part of a larger biblical account that points to redemption and hope through Christ. Believers can find solace in the promise of God’s ultimate deliverance. Community SupportThe psalmist’s isolation highlights the importance of community support. As believers, we are called to support one another in times of despair, reflecting God’s love and compassion. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the psalmist’s description of God’s wrath and terrors in Psalm 88:16 challenge or affirm your understanding of God’s character? 2. In what ways can the experience of the psalmist in Psalm 88:16 be related to the sufferings of Job or Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane? 3. How can the practice of lament, as seen in Psalm 88, be incorporated into your personal prayer life, especially during times of distress? 4. What role does community play in helping believers navigate feelings of despair similar to those expressed in Psalm 88:16? 5. How can the themes of Psalm 88:16 inspire you to offer support and compassion to others who may feel overwhelmed by life’s challenges? Connections to Other Scriptures Job's Suffering Similar to Job, the psalmist feels overwhelmed by divine wrath and terror. Both express feelings of abandonment and question the purpose of their suffering. Lamentations The themes of divine wrath and destruction are echoed in Lamentations, where the author laments the destruction of Jerusalem and the perceived abandonment by God. Jesus in Gethsemane The intense emotional and spiritual anguish experienced by Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane parallels the psalmist’s feelings of being overwhelmed by divine wrath. People Abaddon, Ethan, Heman, Korah, Mahalath, PsalmistPlaces JerusalemTopics Anger, Assaults, Broken, Burning, Cruel, Cut, Destroy, Destroyed, Dread, Fierce, Heat, Nought, Passed, Punishments, Swept, Terrors, WrathDictionary of Bible Themes Psalm 88:1-18 5831 depression
8613 prayer, persistence Psalm 88:3-18 5265 complaints Psalm 88:14-18 8672 striving with God Psalm 88:15-18 9614 hope, results of absence Psalm 88:16-17 4260 rivers and streams 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 88:16 NIVPsalm 88:16 NLTPsalm 88:16 ESVPsalm 88:16 NASBPsalm 88:16 KJV
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