←Psalm 88→BSB

In This Chapter 41 terms 5 resources

Key Terms

Kindness (Solidarity) 4 Salvation 3 To Acknowledge 3 Justice (Right) 3 Steadiness (Quality) 2 Terror 2 Save (Help) Salvation (State) Save (Restore) Salvation (Physical) Salvation (Deliverance) Salvation (Rescuer) Save (Rescue) Salvation (Means) Saving (Means) Abomination Abomination (Act) Praise Be Kind Kindness (Benevolence) Kindness (Graciousness) Kindness (Affection) Faithfulness (Truth) Faithful Faithfulness (Trust) Be (Or Show Oneself) Just Acquit Righteousness (Standard) Righteousness (Act) Just Put Right With Make Righteous Deserved Justify (Vindicate) Justify Justly Justice Righteousness (Quality) Love To Love Love (Appreciation)

Resources

Psalms Book Overview Heman Articles Mahalath Leannoth Articles Music Articles Zerah Articles

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.

ⓘ In this lament, the psalmist sees himself as...

In this lament, the psalmist sees himself as cast out from God’s presence. At first, he calls on the Lord. When he finds no relief from his suffering, he presents three charges against God (88:6–7, 8–12, 13–17).
ⓘ The psalmist calls on the Lord for salvation.

The psalmist calls on the Lord for salvation.
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.
ⓘ In his first charge, the psalmist blames the...
  • In his first charge, the psalmist blames the Lord for his demise. God’s overpowering anger did not make sense.
  • The phrase the darkest depths implies the place of the dead (143:3; see Lam 3:6) or the depths of the sea (Pss 68:22; 69:1–2).
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
ⓘ In his second charge, the psalmist claims that...

In his second charge, the psalmist claims that God has isolated him and caused his loneliness (cp. 31:11; 38:11). Loneliness was a curse in a culture where relationships were more important than personal achievement.
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?Selah11Can 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?
ⓘ In his third charge, the psalmist accuses the...

In his third charge, the psalmist accuses the Lord of rejecting him. The force and apparent cruelty of the psalmist’s suffering overwhelm him.
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.