88
I Cry Out before You
A song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. For the choirmaster. According to Mahalath Leannoth.* A Maskil † 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 ‡?
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.
* 88: Mahalath Leannoth is probably a musical or liturgical term; see also Psalms 53:1. † 88: Maskil is probably a musical or liturgical term; used for Psalms 32, 42, 44–45, 52–55, 74, 78, 88–89, and 142. ‡ 88:11 Abaddon means Destruction.