What happensPermalink
The psalmist cries out to God in despair, feeling utterly abandoned—by God, family, and friends. Unlike most laments, this psalm offers no hope; it ends in total darkness, mirroring the depth of the singer’s suffering.
Why it mattersPermalink
This is the darkest psalm in Scripture, ending not in hope but in silence and darkness (v.18). And yet—the psalmist keeps praying. Even in despair, he does not stop crying out to God. This psalm echoes Job’s suffering, where God seemed distant, and foreshadows Jesus’s cry on the cross (Matthew 27:46). No answer comes—but God is still listening. The next psalm begins with “I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord”—a reminder that even if we cannot yet see the dawn, it is coming.
Key versePermalink
You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me; my companions have become darkness.