I wrote Cry to You (Psalm 88) with my friend Connor while on a retreat. Psalm 88 is often called the darkest psalm in the Bible—one of the most despairing passages in all of Scripture. It ends with these haunting words:

"You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me;
my companions have become darkness."

This psalm leaves us in utter despair—hopeless, abandoned, and crying out. Yet what strikes me most is that, even in the midst of such deep sorrow, rays of hope still shine through, like sunlight piercing storm clouds.

From the very first verse, we see a glimmer of light:

"O Lord, God of my salvation..."

Even in his anguish, the psalmist is certain of one thing—God is his salvation. His cries are not sent into the void; they are directed to the only One who can truly help. As Spurgeon puts it, we must aim the arrows of our cries straight at the heart of God, for nothing else can sustain us in such depths of despair.

Another ray of hope emerges in verses 11–12:

"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?"

Why would the psalmist ask these questions if he had never known God's steadfast love, faithfulness, wonders, and righteousness? Even as he feels close to the grave, he remembers God’s love. As he stands in Abaddon—the place of destruction—he recalls God's faithfulness. As he sits in darkness, he remembers God’s wonders. And in the land of forgetfulness, he clings to God’s righteousness.

I believe this is what the psalmist wants us to see: Even in the darkest places, in the most intense suffering, in the face of death itself, God's rays of hope still shine. When we feel abandoned and alone, we must remember the God of our salvation—steadfast, faithful, and righteous.