Psalms 88

A prayer from the darkness

Lord, you are the God who saves me; day and night I cry out to you.a ²May my prayer come before you; turn your ear to my cry. ³I am overwhelmed with troubles and my life draws near to death.

⁴I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am like one without strength. ⁵I am set apart with the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom you remember no more, who are cut off from your care. ⁶You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths.

⁷Your wrath lies heavily on me; you have overwhelmed me with all your waves. ⁸You have taken from me my closest friends and have made me repulsive to them. I am confined and cannot escape;b ⁹my eyes are dim with grief. I call to you, Lord, every day; I spread out my hands to you.

¹⁰Do you show your wonders to the dead? Do their spirits rise up and praise you? ¹¹Is your love declared in the grave, your faithfulness in Destruction? ¹²Are your wonders known in the place of darkness, or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?

¹³But I cry to you for help, Lord; in the morning my prayer comes before you.c ¹⁴Why, Lord, do you reject me and hide your face from me? ¹⁵From my youth I have suffered and been close to death; I have borne your terrors and am in despair.

¹⁶Your wrath has swept over me; your terrors have destroyed me. ¹⁷All day long they surround me like a flood; they have completely engulfed me. ¹⁸You have taken from me friend and neighbor— darkness is my closest friend.