Psalm 88
שִׁ֥יר מִזְמ֗וֹר לִבְנֵ֫י קֹ֥רַח לַמְנַצֵּ֣חַ עַל מָחֲלַ֣ת לְעַנּ֑וֹת מַ֝שְׂכִּ֗יל לְהֵימָ֥ן הָאֶזְרָחִֽי
KJV
A Song or Psalm for the sons of Korah, to the chief Musician upon Mahalath Leannoth, Maschil of Heman the Ezrahite.
1O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee:
2Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry;
3For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave.
4I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength:
5Free among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, whom thou rememberest no more: and they are cut off from thy hand.
6Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps.
7Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves. Selah.
8Thou hast put away mine acquaintance far from me; thou hast made me an abomination unto them: I am shut up, and I cannot come forth.
9Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction: LORD, I have called daily upon thee, I have stretched out my hands unto thee.
10Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise thee? Selah.
11Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? or thy faithfulness in destruction?
12Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
13But unto thee have I cried, O LORD; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent thee.
14LORD, why castest thou off my soul? why hidest thou thy face from me?
15I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up: while I suffer thy terrors I am distracted.
16Thy fierce wrath goeth over me; thy terrors have cut me off.
17They came round about me daily like water; they compassed me about together.
18Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance into darkness.
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