Psalm , Sarah Barry
I CRY TO YOU IN THE MORNING
Passage: Psalm 88:1~18  
Key verse: 13
Psalm 88[a]A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah. For the director of music. According to mahalath leannoth.[b] A maskil[c] of Heman the Ezrahite.
1 Lord, you are the God who saves me;(A)
day and night I cry out(B) to you.
2 May my prayer come before you;
turn your ear to my cry.
3 I am overwhelmed with troubles(C)
and my life draws near to death.(D)
4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit;(E)
I am like one without strength.(F)
5 I am set apart with the dead,
like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom you remember no more,
who are cut off(G) from your care.
6 You have put me in the lowest pit,
in the darkest depths.(H)
7 Your wrath(I) lies heavily on me;
you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.[d](J)
8 You have taken from me my closest friends(K)
and have made me repulsive to them.
I am confined(L) and cannot escape;(M)
9 my eyes(N) are dim with grief.
I call(O) to you, Lord, every day;
I spread out my hands(P) to you.
10 Do you show your wonders to the dead?
Do their spirits rise up and praise you?(Q)
11 Is your love declared in the grave,
your faithfulness(R) in Destruction[e]?
12 Are your wonders known in the place of darkness,
or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?
13 But I cry to you for help,(S) Lord;
in the morning(T) my prayer comes before you.(U)
14 Why, Lord, do you reject(V) me
and hide your face(W) from me?
15 From my youth(X) I have suffered(Y) and been close to death;
I have borne your terrors(Z) and am in despair.(AA)
16 Your wrath(AB) has swept over me;
your terrors(AC) have destroyed me.
17 All day long they surround me like a flood;(AD)
they have completely engulfed me.
18 You have taken from me friend(AE) and neighbor—
darkness is my closest friend.
1 Lord, you are the God who saves me;(A)
day and night I cry out(B) to you.
2 May my prayer come before you;
turn your ear to my cry.
3 I am overwhelmed with troubles(C)
and my life draws near to death.(D)
4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit;(E)
I am like one without strength.(F)
5 I am set apart with the dead,
like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom you remember no more,
who are cut off(G) from your care.
6 You have put me in the lowest pit,
in the darkest depths.(H)
7 Your wrath(I) lies heavily on me;
you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.[d](J)
8 You have taken from me my closest friends(K)
and have made me repulsive to them.
I am confined(L) and cannot escape;(M)
9 my eyes(N) are dim with grief.
I call(O) to you, Lord, every day;
I spread out my hands(P) to you.
10 Do you show your wonders to the dead?
Do their spirits rise up and praise you?(Q)
11 Is your love declared in the grave,
your faithfulness(R) in Destruction[e]?
12 Are your wonders known in the place of darkness,
or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?
13 But I cry to you for help,(S) Lord;
in the morning(T) my prayer comes before you.(U)
14 Why, Lord, do you reject(V) me
and hide your face(W) from me?
15 From my youth(X) I have suffered(Y) and been close to death;
I have borne your terrors(Z) and am in despair.(AA)
16 Your wrath(AB) has swept over me;
your terrors(AC) have destroyed me.
17 All day long they surround me like a flood;(AD)
they have completely engulfed me.
18 You have taken from me friend(AE) and neighbor—
darkness is my closest friend.
Footnotes
- Psalm 88:1 In Hebrew texts 88:1-18 is numbered 88:2-19.
- Psalm 88:1 Title: Possibly a tune, “The Suffering of Affliction”
- Psalm 88:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
- Psalm 88:7 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 10.
- Psalm 88:11 Hebrew Abaddon
Cross references
- Psalm 88:1 : S Ps 51:14
- Psalm 88:1 : Ps 3:4; 22:2; Lk 18:7
- Psalm 88:3 : Ps 6:3; 25:17
- Psalm 88:3 : S Job 33:22
- Psalm 88:4 : S Ps 31:12
- Psalm 88:4 : Ps 18:1
- Psalm 88:5 : S Ps 31:22
- Psalm 88:6 : Ps 30:1; S 69:15; La 3:55; Jnh 2:3
- Psalm 88:7 : Ps 7:11
- Psalm 88:7 : S Ps 42:7
- Psalm 88:8 : S Job 19:13; Ps 31:11
- Psalm 88:8 : Jer 32:2; 33:1
- Psalm 88:8 : S Job 3:23
- Psalm 88:9 : S Ps 38:10
- Psalm 88:9 : Ps 5:2
- Psalm 88:9 : Job 11:13; Ps 143:6
- Psalm 88:10 : S Ps 6:5
- Psalm 88:11 : S Ps 30:9
- Psalm 88:13 : S Ps 30:2
- Psalm 88:13 : Ps 5:3; S 55:17
- Psalm 88:13 : Ps 119:147
- Psalm 88:14 : S Ps 43:2
- Psalm 88:14 : Ps 13:1
- Psalm 88:15 : Ps 129:1; Jer 22:21; Eze 16:22; Hos 2:15
- Psalm 88:15 : Ps 9:12
- Psalm 88:15 : Job 6:4; S 18:11
- Psalm 88:15 : 2Co 4:8
- Psalm 88:16 : Ps 7:11
- Psalm 88:16 : Job 6:4
- Psalm 88:17 : Ps 124:4
- Psalm 88:18 : ver 8; Ps 38:11
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source:  BibleGateway
1. My soul is full of trouble (1-9a)
This is the prayer of a man in distress. His life is in danger (3). He is powerless. And he is lonely. Perhaps he lives in exile in a foreign country (8). He is full of sorrow, so he cries out to the Lord day and night. He knows that God is sovereign and God isth. one who saves. His time of sorrow is the time to meet God.
2. I cry to you for help (9b-18)
Grief, fear of death and despair close in on him like darkness. He remembers the suffering of his youth. But he cries out to God in the morning. He asks God to spare his life so that he may praise God and testify to his wonderful deeds. How can a dead man praise God? Or preach the gospel? The Psalmist is lonely; he says that God has taken away his friends. But in his loneliness he draws close to God. God is ready to answer those who cry out to him.
Prayer: Lord, teach me to seek you in times of suffering or in loneliness. Darkness is not my closest friend--you are.
One Word: Don't despair--pray!