PSALM 88[L] A Despairing Lament 88
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.
3Let my prayer come before you;
incline your ear to my cry.
4[M]For my soul is filled with troubles;
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.Selah
II
9Because of you my acquaintances shun me;
you make me loathsome to them;
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[N]Do you work wonders for the dead?
Do the shades arise and praise you? Selah
III
12Is your mercy proclaimed in the grave,
your faithfulness among those who have perished?[O]
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.
18All day they surge round like a flood;
from every side they encircle me.
19Because of you friend and neighbor shun me;
my only friend is darkness.
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