Is the Psalter an Obsolete Songbook? – 4 – Death and Depression

Is the Psalter an Obsolete Songbook? Why Sing All 150 Psalms AND the Best of the Best of All Ages?

Part 4

In the final section of this essay on the importance of including the whole Psalter in our congregational singing, we look at Psalm 88 and its doctrine of death and the grave — and why Christians need to sing Psalms like this more often.

Death and Depression: Why We Need to Sing Psalm 88 More Often

Some argue that there are obsolete doctrines in the Psalms. For instance, some claim that Psalms 6:5, Psalm 30:9, and Psalm 88:10-12 reflect an obsolete doctrine of the grave. Psalm 88 is perhaps the most egregious example, so I will focus my attention there.

A pastor from a denomination that sings all 150 Psalms once asked me, “when would you ever sing Psalm 88 in worship?” I simply answered, “Do you really have no one in your congregation who suffers from depression?” Psalm 88 reminds us that there are days in the Christian life that may end in utter blackness.

“Do you work wonders for the dead?
Do the departed rise up to praise you?
Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,
or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
Are your wonders known in the darkness,
or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?”

Some think that some or all of the Old Testament authors had no clear idea of the resurrection, and so expressed unclear or incomplete ideas regarding the afterlife. They grant that the text is inspired by God and true so far as it goes – but they argue that it was written at a time when the people of God were uncertain about the afterlife, and so Psalm 88 is not appropriate for Christian worship. After all, we know that the departed will rise up to praise God!

Geerhardus Vos takes a different – and more helpful – approach:

“And most touching of all I think is the form which this sentiment assumes in the mind of the Old Testament saints in view of the mysteries, so much greater to them than to us, of the state after death. Did you ever observe what is the thought that seems to have most acutely distressed and perplexed the writers of some of the Psalms when they tried in vain to pierce this veil of mystery enveloping to them the future world? It was the fear that in these strange regions there might be no remembrance of God, no knowledge of his goodness, no praise of his glory. We may be assured that when a religious want is in this way projected into the world to come so that the fear of its not being satisfied proves stronger than the fear of death in itself, we may be sure that there it has been recognized as the supreme, the essential thing in religion.”[1]

But the question of the afterlife is not really the issue in Psalm 88. The question in Psalm 88 has to do with God’s promises to Israel, and particularly, with God’s promises to David. If the Davidic king is overthrown, and Israel is destroyed, then what will become of God’s promises? To use New Testament language, if the Gates of Hell prevail and the church is destroyed then what will become of God’s promises to Jesus? “Do you work wonders for the dead?”

Of course, this is precisely where Psalm 88 is so helpful for the church to sing! If God never works in history, then what can God do for the dead? This is what makes Psalm 88 such a beautiful song of the cross. After all, Psalm 88 opens “O LORD, God of my salvation…” How can salvation come to God’s people? It is only if God does “wondrous works” in history. It is only if God is the God of the living that there is any hope for the dead!

In the end, the answers to the questions in verses 10-12, which so obviously appear to be “No!” – in fact, are “Yes!” God’s steadfast love will be declared in the grave – when he raises Jesus from the dead. Israel’s only hope – and our only hope – is if God triumphs over the grave by raising up his Son to eternal life!

But what about us? Psalm 88 is helpful for the Christian to sing – not just about Jesus, but also for ourselves. Because in the Christian life there are days that end in darkness and despair like this:

“Your wrath has swept over me;
your dreadful assaults destroy me.
They surround me like a flood all day long;
they close in on me together.
You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me;
my companions have become darkness.” (88:16-18)

It was true for Jesus on the cross – and it can be true in the Christian life as well. There were days when Paul himself “despaired of life” (2 Cor 1:8-10 – which almost quotes Psalm 88 with its emphasis on how God is the one who delivers us from deadly peril). Paul talks openly about his own discouragement in 2 Cor 4:7-12 — though the fact that God is his salvation prevents him from reaching ultimate despair (just like Psalm 88 never reaches ultimate despair). After all, Psalm 88 is a Psalm of the cross. This is what Jesus endured for us. The reason why we must sing Psalm 88 is because when we sing Psalm 88 in union with Christ, we can sing Psalm 88 with the same hope as the Psalmist — because God is the God of our salvation! The Psalmist’s hope was exactly the same as our hope. He hoped in the same Redeemer.

As Geerhardus Vos put it, there are different redemptive-historical epochs, but there is a “homogeneity of redemption.”[2] Certainly there can be a difference in “tone” between the Davidic era and New Covenant – which is due to our diverse redemptive-historical eras. Certainly the resurrection of Jesus gives us a greater joy and glory than anything in the “obsolete covenant” – but this simply demonstrates that we need to sing more than the Psalms.

Conclusion

Congregational singing is where the church participates in the songs of the heavenly assembly. As such, we should use the songs of the old covenant in the same way that we use readings from the old covenant. And as the word of Christ dwells in us richly, perhaps once again in our daily lives, we will begin “teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in [our] hearts to God” (Col. 3:16).

While we often prefer to avoid themes of darkness, depression, cursing, and death, we cannot do so without ignoring New Testament teaching on the subject. One of the best ways of renewing our understanding and piety in such matters would be to resume singing the “hard” Psalms, singing them in the light of the glory of Christ.

Of course, congregational singing should not be limited to the 150 Psalms – but it will always be nourished and enriched by the Psalter. But the relation between psalmody and good hymnody will have to wait for another essay!