Psalm 88

I Cry Out before You

A song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. For the choirmaster. According to Mahalath Leannoth.^a A Maskil^b of Heman the Ezrahite.

¹ O LORD, the God of my salvation,

day and night I cry out before You.

² May my prayer come before You;

incline Your ear to my cry.

³ For my soul is full of troubles,

and my life draws near to Sheol.

⁴ I am counted among those descending to the Pit.

I am like a man without strength.

⁵ I 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.

⁶ You have laid me in the lowest Pit,

in the darkest of the depths.

⁷ Your wrath weighs heavily upon me;

all Your waves have submerged me.

Selah

⁸ You have removed my friends from me;

You have made me repulsive to them;

I am confined and cannot escape.

⁹ My eyes grow dim with grief.

I call to You daily, O LORD;

I spread out my hands to You.

¹⁰ Do You work wonders for the dead?

Do departed spirits rise up to praise You?

Selah

¹¹ Can Your loving devotion be proclaimed in the grave,

Your faithfulness in Abaddon^c ?

¹² Will Your wonders be known in the darkness,

or Your righteousness in the land of oblivion?

¹³ But to You, O LORD, I cry for help;

in the morning my prayer comes before You.

¹⁴ Why, O LORD, do You reject me?

Why do You hide Your face from me?

¹⁵ From my youth I was afflicted and near death.

I have borne Your terrors; I am in despair.

¹⁶ Your wrath has swept over me;

Your terrors have destroyed me.

¹⁷ All day long they engulf me like water;

they enclose me on every side.

¹⁸ You have removed my beloved and my friend;

darkness is my closest companion.