Psalms 88

A prayer from the darkness

A song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. For the choirmaster. According to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite. O LORD, the God of my salvation, day and night I cry out before You.a 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. 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 ⁸You have removed my friends from me; You have made me repulsive to them; I am confined and cannot escape.b 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? Selah ¹¹Can 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?

¹³But to You, O LORD, I cry for help; in the morning my prayer comes before You.c 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.