WHY HIDEST THOU THY FACE FROM ME?

There is no certainty as to the identity of the author of this psalm. Many suggestions have been made, but none is conclusive. There is an affinity in language with that of Job. Some think that he was the writer, but this is not decisive, for similar language is employed by others, Psa. 6. 5, 6; 30. 3; Isa. 38. 10, 11. In the introduction, the chief musician is instructed to sing the psalm “upon Mahalath Leannoth”, i.e. in a mournful tone. It is considered to be the gloomiest psalm in the psalter. It reflects the utter despair of the composer, e.g. “my life draweth nigh unto the grave”, v. 3.; “Thy wrath lieth hard upon me”, v. 7; “Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction”, v. 9; “Lover and friend hast thou put far from me”, v. 18. It ends in darkness without a ray of hope. The only glimmer of light amidst the gloom is in verse 1, where he mentions that the Lord God was his salvation.

We also observe that this psalm is a “Maschil psalm”, i.e. a psalm giving instruction—not just to the precentor, but to us as well. What can we learn from such a sorrowful psalm? Firstly, that we must cling to God in times of inexplicable gloom. The prophet wrote, “Who … walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God”, Isa. 50. 10. Job said, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him”, Job 13. 15. However hard, it is better to walk with God in the dark, than to walk alone in the light. Secondly, that times of affliction drive us to earnest prayer. What a formality prayer sometimes can be! Trial produces reality. The psalmist pours out his soul plaintively, “I have cried day and night before thee”; “I have called daily upon thee”; “why hidest thou thy face from me?”, vv. 1, 9, 14.

However dark our path, we who live in this age have more light than the psalmist. God’s wrath no longer rests upon us; death’s sting is gone; we know that nothing can separate us from His love. This, and much more, is because He spared not His own Son, who in the darkness endured sin’s penalty, John 3. 36; 1 Cor. 15. 55; Matt. 27. 45; Rom. 8. 32, 39.

“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”, Matt. 27. 46.