Let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry! To the Chief Musician. Bible Study Tools Language Tools Historical Writings Pastoral Resources Personal Resources Site Resources advertisement. Among the gods there isnone like You, O Lord; Nor are there any workslike Your works. The title of this psalm is A Contemplation of Ethan the Ezrahite. The psalmist pours out his soul to God in lamentation. (1 Kings 4:31; 1 Chronicles 2:3-6) The superscription does not provide sufficient detail to determine exactly how the sons of Korah and Heman are associated with Psalm 88. His prayer for mercy and deliverance, Psalm 88:10-18. The Psalmist of Psalm 88 expresses “Prayers that Light Darkness” with prayer as an: 1) Urgent appeal in Affliction (Psalm 88:1–9a), 2) Urgent appeal with No Answers (Psalm 88:9b–12), 3) Urgent appeal under Divine Wrath (Psalm 88:13–18). Thus greatly may good men be afflicted, and such dismal thoughts may they have about their afflictions, and such dark conclusion may they make about their end, through the power of melancholy and the weakness of faith. (1-9) He wrestles by faith, in his prayer to God for comfort. Jonathan Parnell Jul 27, 2014 4.1K Shares God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him Learn more about Desiring God Desiring God. He seemed unwilling even to look upon the sufferer. Shall the dead arise and praise thee? "Commentary on Psalms 88:4". Such was the calamitous state of a good man. See Psalm 42:7. He urges this as a reason why he should be rescued. That the psalmist dreaded this is clear, for he had not yet the full light of revealed truth in regard to the grave, and it seemed to him to be a gloomy abode. Even the children of God's love may sometimes think themselves children of wrath and no outward trouble can be so hard upon them as that. Psalm 88. The sustaining hope of resurrection, Ps 88:10 (with a solemn pause, "Selah"), Ps 88:11-12. He complained most of God's displeasure. A Psalm of the Korahites. PSALM 89 * A Lament over God’s Promise to David. Incline thine ear unto my cry - See the notes at Psalm 5:1. “And thy righteousness.” The justice of thy character; or, the ways in which thou dost maintain and manifest thy righteous character. This may mean either that they had so turned away that he could not see them, as if they were in the dark; or, that his familiars now - his companions - were dark and dismal objects - gloomy thoughts - sad forebodings. The reference is to the sepulchre, as in Psalm 88:4. Psalm 89. There are many examples of this type of psalm in the book of Psalms (for example, Psalms 93, 136, 150). Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit - That is, I am as if I were thus laid; the deep grave seems now to lie so certainly before me, that it may be spoken of as if it were already my abode. This psalm is a lamentation, one of the most melancholy of all the psalms; and it does not conclude, as usually the melancholy psalms do, with the least intimation of comfort or joy, but, from first to last, it is mourning and woe. Probably the psalmist described his own case, yet he leads to Christ. (4) the grave, Psalm 28:1; Psalm 30:4; Isaiah 38:18. I. Lord, you have been our refuge. - The original word, here rendered “the dead,” is Rephaim - רפאים rephâ'iym On its meaning, see the notes at Isaiah 14:9. Psalm 88 Prayer for Help in Despondency. Oftentimes, blessed Jesus, do we forsake thee; but do not forsake us, O take not thy Holy Spirit from us. He permitted him to bear his sorrows, unpitied and alone. Follow Desiring God on Twitter. Psalm 88. Lover and friend hast thou put far from me - That is, Thou hast so afflicted me that they have forsaken me. A description of the sick man‘s suffering, Psalm 88:1-9. the earth and the world brought forth, from eternity to eternity you are God. In Psalm 88, God gives us permission to be fully human, to face the realties of misery rather than deny them, and to pour our complaints, despondency, and miseries before Him in prayer. Like the slain that lie in the grave - When slain in battle. The Title of this eighty-seventh Psalm contains a fresh subject for enquiry: the words occurring here, for Melech to respond, being nowhere else found. The question here is not whether they would rise to live again, or appear in this world, but whether in Sheol they would rise up from their resting places, and praise God as men in vigor and in health can on the earth. That people without the Gospel ought to dread it, is clear, for when the grave is not illuminated with Christian truth and hope, it is a place from which man by nature shrinks back, and it is not wonderful that a wicked man dreads to die. Compare Luke 16:28-31. It is probable that this psalm was designed to illustrate what may occur when disease is such as to produce deep mental darkness and sorrow. 3 I am overwhelmed with troubles and my life draws near to death. Selah. Lord, why castest thou off my soul? These bodily sufferings he interpreted, in the sad and gloomy state of mind in which he was, as evidences of the divine displeasure against himself. Psalm 88 is the 88th psalm from the Book of Psalms.According to the title, it is a "psalm of the sons of Korah" as well as a "maskil of Heman the Ezrahite".In the Greek Septuagint version of the bible, and in its Latin translation in the Vulgate, this psalm is Psalm 87 in a slightly different numbering system. 1. But this psalm begins with the darkness of complaint and ends with resignation and a heavy sigh: “Darkness is my closest friend. The reasons for the earnestness of the prayer, or the grounds of petition are. Even those designed for God's favours, may for a time suffer his terrors. As the Book of Psalms was designed to be useful in all ages, and to all classes of people, and as such a state of mind as that described in this psalm might occur again and often - it was proper that such a condition of utter despondency, even in a good man, should be described, in order that others might see that such feelings are not necessarily inconsistent with true religion, and do not prove that even such a sufferer is not a child of God. Crying out to God with your complaints in difficult times is evidence of faith, not a lack of faith. In all these places (except in 1 Samuel 17:25, where it refers to a house or family made free, and Job 39:5, where it refers to the freedom of the wild ass), it denotes the freedom of one who had been a servant or slave. It means properly. 1 O Lord, # Ps. 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