A Service of Healing and Wholeness
A Message Delivered on Tuesday, June 4, 2024, by the Rev. Dr. Patrick H. Wrisley
It is always from a particular point of view. If we look at the title of our Psalm for the evening, we see it is a song written by the descendants of Korah who, as we learn in Numbers 16, is a man who led a rebellion of 250 Hebrews against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. Some of his descendants, namely, Asaph, Nathan, and the one mentioned in the title today, Heman, were known for their musical abilities and who penned some of the psalms in the psalter. Tonight’s Psalm, Psalm 88, is written from Heman’s perspective.[i] We know this because in the psalm’s title, which never gets read in worship, we read that it’s, “A Song for the sons of Korah, to the chief musician upon Mahalath Leannoth, Maschil of Heman the Ezrahite.”
As we hear this psalm, you will note the tone and perspective is from a person who is feeling victimized by God. Indeed, Heman is railing against God for God’s utter silence in the face of his multitude of troubles. The tone is not unlike what I often hear from folks who are going through physical or emotional struggles or whose life feels like the wheels have simply fallen off. The complaint goes something like this –
God, I’m a decent person. I don’t hurt people or intentionally do anything wrong. I don’t steal or lie or bully others. I know I’m not perfect but really, why are you doing this to me?
It’s at this point they input their problem or troubles into the prayer.
People over time have not changed much. Both the ancients and people today often hold to the notion that when bad things happen to “me” it is a result of my doing something wrong or a failure to do something right and God is causing the calamity. God is often painted as the scapegoat for our problems. Hear the words of Heman in Psalm 88. Listen and see if you resonate with his prayer.
Psalm 88
1O Lord, God of my salvation, when, at night, I cry out in your presence,
2let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry.
3For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol.
4I am counted among those who go down to the Pit; I am like those who have no help,
5like those forsaken among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, like those whom you remember no more, for they are cut off from your hand.
6You have put me in the depths of the Pit, in the regions dark and deep.
7Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and you overwhelm me with all your waves. Selah
8You have caused my companions to shun me; you have made me a thing of horror to them. I am shut in so that I cannot escape;
9my eye grows dim through sorrow. Every day I call on you, O Lord; I spread out my hands to you.
10Do you work wonders for the dead? Do the shades rise up to praise you? Selah
11Is your steadfast love declared in the grave, or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
12Are your wonders known in the darkness, or your saving help in the land of forgetfulness?
13But I, O Lord, cry out to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you.
14O Lord, why do you cast me off? Why do you hide your face from me?
15Wretched and close to death from my youth up, I suffer your terrors; I am desperate.
16Your wrath has swept over me; your dread assaults destroy me.
17They surround me like a flood all day long; from all sides they close in on me.
18You have caused friend and neighbor to shun me; my companions are in darkness. (NRSV)
Heman is writing from a very ancient mindset that when bad things happen, it’s a form of divine punishment. It is written from the perspective of not knowing the full story. In a flourish of rhetorical zingers, Heman peppers God with a series of questions:
Do you work wonders for the dead? The implied answer is an emphatic, “No!”
Do the departed rise up to praise you? No.
Is your steadfast love declared in the grave or your faithfulness in Abaddon? No.
Are your wonders known in the darkness, or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? No.
At least, that’s the mindset of Heman and many others. But beloved, as followers of the Nazarene, we hold a distinct perspective that Heman was not aware of and many folks today seem to have forgotten. We are an Easter people. We would say to Heman like Paul Harvey, “Now, here’s the rest of the Story.”
Do you work wonders for the dead? Yup
Do the departed rise up to praise you? Well, yes, actually.
Is your steadfast love declared in the grave or your faithfulness in Abaddon? Yes.
Are your wonders known in the darkness, or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? Absolutely!
Friends, this is when our Christian faith reminds us of Jesus’ words from the gospels that God so loved the world he gave up his only Son so that the world would be saved, literally healed, through him. The answer, friends, is always, “Yes!”
Jesus’ primary work was preaching, teaching, and healing. He spent his life bringing healing to people’s bodies, minds, and spirits. He spent his life trying to reconcile people to one another and to reconcile people to God.
If Heman were with us today, what might we tell him?
Brother, God hears you and has already done what is needed to answer your prayer. God does hear your prayer, but your life is such a screeching train wreck you can’t hear the answer just now. We would tell him to continue in his faithfulness even when he can’t see the fruit of it because God is not only listening but is with him through the Holy Spirit.
Friends, have the answer to your prayers seemed silent? Do you wonder where God is during the storms? Are there those times in your living you feel you are existing in the Land of Forgetfulness? Take heart. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus felt his Father was silent. As he was being paraded around the Chief Priests and Pilate, he felt the storms of our lives. As he uttered his last breath, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit,” he too entered the Land of Forgetfulness. Remember, there is no place we have been or gone or shall go that Jesus has not gone there first.
In the name of the One who is, was, and is yet to come. Amen.
© 2024 Patrick H. Wrisley, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church of Glens Falls, NY 12801. Sermon manuscripts are available for the edification of members and friends of First Presbyterian Church of Glens Falls, New York, and may not be altered, re-purposed, published, or preached without permission. All rights reserved.
[i] See https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/the-other-psalmists-who-were-the-sons-of-korah.html. Accessed on June 4, 2024.
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