How does Psalm 88:12 connect with Jesus' experience in Gethsemane and crucifixion? Shadowed Petition of Psalm 88:12 “Will Your wonders be known in the darkness, or Your righteousness in the land of oblivion?” (Psalm 88:12) • The psalmist feels cut off from God, wrestling with whether divine power and goodness can reach into the deepest night of suffering and death. • His words are not doubt but desperate petition: “Show me, even here, that You are still God.” Echoes in Gethsemane’s Night • Jesus enters Gethsemane under a similar darkness of soul (Mark 14:34). • Sweat “like drops of blood” (Luke 22:44) mirrors the psalmist’s anguish. • The cry “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass” (Matthew 26:39) asks the same question Psalm 88:12 raises—can God’s wonders be displayed when every human light goes out? • Hebrews 5:7 describes Jesus “offering up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears,” fulfilling the lament of Psalm 88 in flawless obedience. Fulfillment on the Cross • Physical darkness from noon to three (Matthew 27:45) answers the psalm’s “darkness.” • Jesus’ shout, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46) places Him squarely in the psalmist’s place, owning the question on our behalf. • Wonders made known in the darkness: – The temple veil torn (Matthew 27:51). – Earthquake and opened tombs (Matthew 27:52-53). – A hardened centurion confessing, “Truly this was the Son of God!” (Matthew 27:54). • Righteousness revealed in the “land of oblivion”: by bearing sin (Isaiah 53:12) He secures the very righteousness the psalmist longs to see. Answer Sealed by the Empty Tomb • Psalm 88:12 asks if God’s wonders can be proclaimed after death; the resurrection replies with a resounding “Yes.” • Acts 2:24—“God raised Him from the dead, releasing Him from the agony of death.” • The greatest wonder and the clearest display of righteousness occur precisely where the psalm feared they could not—inside a sealed grave, then outside an empty one. Take-Home Connections • Jesus entered the psalm’s darkest valley so no believer would ever face a night God cannot fill with His wonders. • When our prayers echo Psalm 88:12, we look to Gethsemane and Calvary and know the answer has already been given. |
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