Psalms 88
88
PSALM 88
Common Meter: 8,6,8,6
A Song or Psalm for the sons of Korah, to the chief Musician upon Mahalath Leannoth, Maschil of Heman the Ezrahite.
1Lord God, my Saviour, day and night
before thee cry'd have I.
2Before thee let my prayer come;
give ear unto my cry.
3For troubles great do fill my soul;
my life draws nigh the grave.
4I'm counted with those that go down to pit,
and no strength have.
5Ev'n free among the dead, like them
that slain in grave do lie;
Cut off from thy hand, whom no more
thou hast in memory.
6Thou hast me laid in lowest pit,
in deeps and darksome caves.
7Thy wrath lies hard on me, thou hast
me press'd with all thy waves.
8Thou hast put far from me my friends,
thou mad'st them to abhor me;
And I am so shut up, that I
find no evasion for me.
9By reason of affliction
mine eye mourns dolefully:
To thee, Lord, do I call,
and stretch my hands continually.
10Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead?
shall they rise, and thee bless?
11Shall in the grave thy love be told?
in death thy faithfulness?
12Shall thy great wonders in the dark,
or shall thy righteousness
Be known to any in the land
of deep forgetfulness?
13But, Lord, to thee I cry'd; my pray'r
at morn prevent shall thee.
14Why, Lord, dost thou cast off my soul,
and hid'st thy face from me?
15Distress'd am I, and from my youth
I ready am to die;
Thy terrors I have borne, and am
distracted fearfully.
16The dreadful fierceness of thy wrath
quite over me doth go:
Thy terrors great have cut me off,
they did pursue me so.
17For round about me ev'ry day,
like water, they did roll;
And, gathering together, they
have compassed my soul.
18My friends thou hast put far from me,
and him that did me love;
And those that mine acquaintance were
to darkness didst remove.
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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
Psalms 88
88
A Despairing Lament
1A song; a psalm of the Korahites. For the leader; according to Mahalath. For singing; a maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.
I
2Lord, the God of my salvation, I call out by day;
at night I cry aloud in your presence.#Ps 77:3.
3Let my prayer come before you;
incline your ear to my cry.#Ps 119:170.
4#In imagination the psalmist already experiences the alienation of Sheol.For my soul is filled with troubles;#Ps 28:1; 30:4; 40:3; 86:13; 143:7; Nm 16:33; Jb 17:1; Jon 2:7.
my life draws near to Sheol.
5I am reckoned with those who go down to the pit;
I am like a warrior without strength.
6My couch is among the dead,
like the slain who lie in the grave.
You remember them no more;
they are cut off from your influence.
7You plunge me into the bottom of the pit,
into the darkness of the abyss.
8Your wrath lies heavy upon me;
all your waves crash over me.#Ps 18:5; 32:6; 42:8; 69:2; Jon 2:4.
Selah
II
9Because of you my acquaintances shun me;
you make me loathsome to them;#Ps 38:12; 79:4; 80:7; 123:3–4; 142:8; Jb 12:4; 19:13; Lam 3:7; Dn 9:16.
Caged in, I cannot escape;
10my eyes grow dim from trouble.
All day I call on you, Lord;
I stretch out my hands to you.
11#The psalmist seeks to persuade God to act out of concern for divine honor: the shades give you no worship, so keep me alive to offer you praise.Do you work wonders for the dead?
Do the shades arise and praise you?#Ps 6:6; 30:10; 38:18; 115:17.
Selah
III
12Is your mercy proclaimed in the grave,
your faithfulness among those who have perished?#Perished: lit., “Abaddon,” the deepest part of Sheol.
13Are your marvels declared in the darkness,
your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?
IV
14But I cry out to you, Lord;
in the morning my prayer comes before you.
15Why do you reject my soul, Lord,
and hide your face from me?
16I have been mortally afflicted since youth;
I have borne your terrors and I am made numb.
17Your wrath has swept over me;
your terrors have destroyed me.#Jb 6:4; 20:25.
18All day they surge round like a flood;
from every side they encircle me.
19Because of you friend and neighbor shun me;#Jb 19:13.
my only friend is darkness.
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc