Psalm 88

Psalm 88

For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah. A song to be sung to the tune “The Suffering of Affliction.” A psalm of Heman the Ezrahite.

1 O LORD, God of my salvation,
I cry out to you by day.
I come to you at night.2 Now hear my prayer;
listen to my cry.3 For my life is full of troubles,
and deatht draws near.4 I am as good as dead,
like a strong man with no strength left.5 They have left me among the dead,
and I lie like a corpse in a grave.
I am forgotten,
cut off from your care.6 You have thrown me into the lowest pit,
into the darkest depths.7 Your anger weighs me down;
with wave after wave you have engulfed me.
Interlude8 You have driven my friends away
by making me repulsive to them.
I am in a trap with no way of escape.9 My eyes are blinded by my tears.
Each day I beg for your help, O LORD;
I lift my hands to you for mercy.10 Are your wonderful deeds of any use to the dead?
Do the dead rise up and praise you?
Interlude11 Can those in the grave declare your unfailing love?
Can they proclaim your faithfulness in the place of destruction?t12 Can the darkness speak of your wonderful deeds?
Can anyone in the land of forgetfulness talk about your righteousness?13 O LORD, I cry out to you.
I will keep on pleading day by day.14 O LORD, why do you reject me?
Why do you turn your face from me?15 I have been sick and close to death since my youth.
I stand helpless and desperate before your terrors.16 Your fierce anger has overwhelmed me.
Your terrors have paralyzed me.17 They swirl around me like floodwaters all day long.
They have engulfed me completely.18 You have taken away my companions and loved ones.
Darkness is my closest friend.

PSALMS 88

A Prayer When You //Can't Find the Way

1 You keep me safe, [Lord] God.
So when I pray at night,

2 please listen carefully
to each of my concerns.

3 I am deeply troubled
and close to death;

4 I am as good as dead
and completely helpless.

5 I am no better off
than those in the grave,
those you have forgotten
and no longer help.

6 You have put me in the deepest
and darkest grave;

7 your anger rolls over me
like ocean waves.

8 You have made my friends turn
in horror from me.
I am a prisoner
who cannot escape,

9 and I am almost blind
because of my sorrow.
Each day I lift my hands
in prayer to you, [Lord].

10 Do you work miracles
for the dead?
Do they stand up
and praise you?

11 Are your love and loyalty
announced in the world
of the dead?

12 Do they know of your miracles
or your saving power
in the dark world below
where all is forgotten?

13 Each morning I pray
to you, [Lord].

14 Why do you reject me?
Why do you turn from me?

15 Ever since I was a child,
I have been sick
and close to death.
You have terrified me
and made me helpless.t

16 Your anger is like a flood!
And I am shattered
by your furious attacks

17 that strike each day
and from every side.

18 My friends and neighbors
have turned against me
because of you,
and now darkness
is my only companion.