Psalm 88
A Song. A Psalm by the sons of Korah. For the Chief Musician. To the
tune of “The Suffering of Affliction.” A contemplation by Heman, the
Ezrahite.
1 LORD,
the God of
my salvation,
I have cried day
and night before
you.
2 Let my prayer
enter into your
presence.
Turn your ear to
my cry.
3 For
my soul is full
of troubles.
My life draws near
to Sheol.
4 I am counted
among those who go
down into the
pit.
I am like a
man who has
no help,
5 set apart
among the dead,
like the slain
who lie in
the grave,
whom you remember
no more.
They are cut off
from your hand.
6 You
have laid me
in the lowest pit,
in the darkest depths.
7 Your wrath
lies heavily on me.
You have afflicted me with all
your waves.
Selah.
8 You
have taken my friends
from me.
You have made
me an abomination
to them.
I am confined, and
I can’t escape.
9 My eyes
are dim from grief.
I have called on
you daily, LORD.
I have spread
out my hands to
you.
10 Do
you show wonders to
the dead?
Do the departed spirits rise
up and praise you?
Selah.
11 Is
your loving kindness declared in
the grave?
Or your faithfulness
in Destruction?
12 Are
your wonders made known in
the dark?
Or your
righteousness in
the land of forgetfulness?
13 But to
you, LORD, I
have cried.
In the morning,
my prayer comes before
you.
14 LORD, why
do you reject
my soul?
Why do you hide
your face from me?
15 I
am afflicted and ready
to die from
my youth up.
While I suffer
your terrors, I
am distracted.
16 Your fierce
wrath has gone over me.
Your terrors have cut me
off.
17 They
came around me
like water all day
long.
They completely engulfed
me.
18 You
have put lover and friend
far from me,
and my friends
into darkness.