Psalm 88
שִׁ֥יר מִזְמ֗וֹר לִבְנֵ֫י קֹ֥רַח לַמְנַצֵּ֣חַ עַל מָחֲלַ֣ת לְעַנּ֑וֹת מַ֝שְׂכִּ֗יל לְהֵימָ֥ן הָאֶזְרָחִֽי
BSB
I Cry Out before You
A song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. For the choirmaster. According to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.
1O LORD, the God of my salvation,
day and night I cry out before You.
2May my prayer come before You;
incline Your ear to my cry.
3For my soul is full of troubles,
and my life draws near to Sheol.
4I am counted among those descending to the Pit.
I am like a man without strength.
5I am forsaken among the dead,
like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom You remember no more,
who are cut off from Your care.
6You have laid me in the lowest Pit,
in the darkest of the depths.
7Your wrath weighs heavily upon me;
all Your waves have submerged me.
Selah
8You have removed my friends from me;
You have made me repulsive to them;
I am confined and cannot escape.
9My eyes grow dim with grief.
I call to You daily, O LORD;
I spread out my hands to You.
10Do You work wonders for the dead?
Do departed spirits rise up to praise You?
Selah
11Can Your loving devotion be proclaimed in the grave,
Your faithfulness in Abaddon ?
12Will Your wonders be known in the darkness,
or Your righteousness in the land of oblivion?
13But to You, O LORD, I cry for help;
in the morning my prayer comes before You.
14Why, O LORD, do You reject me?
Why do You hide Your face from me?
15From my youth I was afflicted and near death.
I have borne Your terrors; I am in despair.
16Your wrath has swept over me;
Your terrors have destroyed me.
17All day long they engulf me like water;
they enclose me on every side.
18You have removed my beloved and my friend;
darkness is my closest companion.
Introduction
Psalms 88
This psalm is a lamentation, one of the most melancholy of all the psalms; and it does not conclude, as usually the melancholy psalms do, with the least intimation of comfort or joy, but, from first to last, it is mourning and woe. It is not upon a public account that the psalmist here complains (here is no mention of the afflictions of the church), but only upon a personal account, especially trouble of mind, and the grief impressed upon his spirits both by his outward afflictions and by the remembrance of his sins and the fear of God's wrath. It is reckoned among the penitential psalms, and it is well when our fears are thus turned into the right channel, and we take occasion from our worldly grievances to sorrow after a godly sort. In this psalm we have, I. The great pressure of spirit that the psalmist was under (Psa 88:3-6). II. The wrath of God, which was the cause of that pressure (Psa 88:7, Psa 88:15-17). III. The wickedness of his friends (Psa 88:8, Psa 88:18). IV. The application he made to God by prayer (Psa 88:1, Psa 88:2, Psa 88:9, Psa 88:13). V. His humble expostulations and pleadings with God (Psa 88:10, Psa 88:12, Psa 88:14). Those who are in trouble of mind may sing this psalm feelingly; those that are not ought to sing it thankfully, blessing God that it is not their case.
A song or psalm for the sons of Korah, to the chief musician upon Mahalath Leannoth, Maschil of Heman the Ezrahite.
Cross-references: Ps 88:3 · Ps 88:7 · Ps 88:15 · Ps 88:8 · Ps 88:18 · Ps 88:1 · Ps 88:2 · Ps 88:9 · Ps 88:13 · Ps 88:10 · Ps 88:12 · Ps 88:14