Structure
Psalm 88 is the darkest of all the psalms, a prayer for help, ending without resolution. The psalmist cries out, with images providing an unflinching view of someone who feels as if God has not only abandoned him but is even behind his predicament.
Psalm 88 has three sections: The first (vs. 1-8) and third (vs. 13-18) cover similar subjects, with the third repeating the first. Between the first and third, the second section (vs. 10-12) barrages God with a series of questions.
| Psalm 88, First Section | Psalm 88, Third Section |
| vs. 1-2: The opening plea | vs. 13: A renewed plea |
| vs. 1, 9: day and night | vs. 13, 17: morning and day |
| vs. 3-6: The dead and the realm of the dead | vs. 15: The dead |
| vs. 6, 9, darkness and eyes grows dim | vs. 18: darkness |
| vs. 7: God’s anger | vs. 16: God’s anger |
| vs. 7: afflicted by water | vs. 17: surrounded by water |
| vs. 8, friends distance themselves | vs. 18: friends and neighbors distance themselves |
Among the psalms, Psalm 88 distinguishes itself for what is lacking. The absence of any confession of guilt, either explicit or implicit, implies the suffering is not warranted. The psalm describes no adversary or hostile action. Is the reader supposed to think God is the source of the problem? Yes—as a vehicle for expressing the turmoil someone feels.
Even the end of this psalm is different from the others. The psalmist cannot go on, ending with a single word: “darkness.” It psalm ends, hinting at both depression and death, implying he has no more words he can say. Many psalms end with a final prayer—not this one. It ends in darkness. The end.
Scribal Notes
This is not part of the official psalm but worship notes for the musical director.
A song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. For the leader, on the mahalath leannoth. A maskil of Heman, the native born.
The scribes introduce this psalm with long superscription. Did the apparent hopelessness of this psalm cause them to put in more notes?
“mahalath leannoth”: This phrase occurs only here, and its meaning is uncertain. It probably refers to the name of a tune or a musical instrument.
“maskil”: from the Hebrew root, which mean “to be prudent.” Outside the psalm scribal notes (Psalm 32, 42, 44, 45, 52, 53, 54, 55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142), it refers to a prudent, insightful person. Though a maskil can refer to a joyous song, this is not the meaning here.
“Heman”: A known “wise man” (magus) during the time of Solomon (1 Kings 4:31). 1 Chronicles 6:33 mentions him as one of the sons of Korah.
“native born”: Hebrew, ezrahi, the Hebrew root has the meaning of “aborigine.”
First Section
Verses 1-2
O Yahweh, God of my salvation, by day I cry out, in the night before You.
May my prayer come before You; incline Your ear to my cry.
“day I cry out, in the night before You”: The Hebrew literally reads “By day I cry, at night to You.” We find no evidence the psalmist is referring to the past but the present. He prays, calling to Yahweh, God’s personal name, being a state of being for him: both day and night.
Verses 3-4
For my soul is saturated with troubles, and my life draws near the grave.
I am counted among those who do down into the pit. I am a strong man without strength.
“the grave”: Hebrew, sheol, the realm of the dead.
“strong man”: Hebrew, geber, a man, but also can have the meaning of a hero or warrior. The poetry here results in the oxymoron: The psalmist is a strong [warrior] man [man] without strength.
“the pit”: Hebrew, bor. The usual meaning of is for a well of cistern (Deuteronomy 6:11, Exodus 21:34), but it can also mean a pit used as a trap (Psalm 7:15). A cistern or hole in the ground could also be used for prison (Exodus 12:29, Jeremiah 37:16). Here, it is a metaphor for someone in the process of dying (see also Psalm 28:1, 30:3; and Isaiah 38:18).
Vs. 5
With the dead, I am cast away, like the slain, those who lie in the grave, whom You remember no more. They, they are cut off from Your hand.
“they, they”: Literally, “and they, from your hand, they are cut off.” The double use of “they” adds emphasis, stressing that among all the bad events happening, being cut off from God is the worst of all.
“cast away”: Hebrew, chopshi. The most common meaning is “free,” which is a positive connotation. Here, the connotation is negative. In 2 Kings 15:5, we find a form of chopshi referring to the place of quarantine where lepers were segregated.
Verses 6-7
You plunged me in the bottom of the pit, in utter darkness, in the depths.
Your anger presses heavy against me; with all Your waves, You afflict me.
“utter”: The plural noun form of darkness (darknesses) implies a dark darkness.
“Your waves”: The picture here is being battered by the waves as the psalmist is tossed over and again into the depths.
Verses 8-9
You have distanced my friends from me. You make me an utter abomination to them. I am imprisoned and unable to escape.
My eyes grow dim from my affliction. I call to you, O Yahweh every day; I spread out my palms to you.
“friends”: Literally, “the ones knowing me.” From Psalm 55:13 and 2 Kings 10:11, the word implies more than a mere acquaintance.
“utter”: Like verse 6, the plural of abomination (abominations) implies being worse than a normal abomination to his friends.
“My eyes… my affliction”: This is a word play of sounds in the Hebrew. “My eyes (eni); “my affliction” (oni).
“spread out my palms”: denoting the posture of prayer. See Exodus 9:33 and 1 Kings 8:38.
Second Section
Verses 10-12
Do You work wonders for the dead? Do those sunk down in death rise up to praise You?
Is Your faithful love declared in the grave, Your faithfulness in Hell?
Will Your wonder be known in the darkness, Your righteousness in the Land of Forgetfulness?
“sunk down in death”: Hebrew, rephaim. The exact meaning of this word is uncertain. Most likely it comes from the Hebrew root rph, which means “to sink.” In Isaiah 26:14, the context means “the dead.”
“Hell”: From the Hebrew abaddon, derived from the verb that means to perish or to be lost.
“Land of Forgetfulness”: A poetic term found nowhere in the Bible. Psalm 6:6 associates the loss of memory and the inability to praise Yahweh as features of being in sheol, the place of death.
This section of the psalm contrasts what faith believes versus what someone feels. Faith believes “yes” to all the questions asked; the person lost in hopelessness answers, “No.”
Third Section
Verses 13-14
But I, O Yahweh, call to You, and in the morning my prayer comes before You.
Why, O Yahweh, do you reject me? Why do you hide Your face from me?
“But I”: In Hebrew, the “I” is usually attached with the verb. When the “I” is included on its own, it is for emphasis. Here, “I” stresses the contrast between the psalmist and the dead who do not pray to God.
“life”: literally, “soul,” which can mean soul (as we usually understand the word), life, or “life force.”
Verses 15-16
Afflicted and close to death since my youth, I suffer Your terrors; I am petrified with fear.
Your anger overwhelms me; Your dreadful attacks destroy me.
“close to death”: Hebrew, gaba, meaning “expire, die” (see Genesis 25:8, Job 3:11). In the context of this psalm, it means “ready or about to die.”
“petrified with fear”: Hebrew, poon. This word only appears here. The Septuagint translates this as “desperate.” Jewish Scholar, Abraham ibn Ezra (Spain, 1089-1167 AD) said this word meant “fearful.” The word could come from the Hebrew root, pwn, meaning “to grow stiff or paralyzed.” Since the meaning in uncertain, “petrified with fear” best carries with it the range of probable meanings.
“terrors… dreadful attacks”: In both places, the Hebrew carries the idea of terror. In vs. 15, the Hebrew word has two syllables; in vs. 16, four. Since the words and amounts of syllables differ, this translation tries to keep those differences intact.
Verses 17-18
They surround me like water all day long. They close in on me alone.
You have distanced from me loving friend and neighbor. My only friend—darkness!
“distanced”: Hebrew, rachaq. Verse 18 repeats the idea of verse 9, even using the same verb.
“darkness”: The Hebrew ends with this word, intentionally to end in darkness.
This psalm uses synonyms more often than repetition to make its point. However, we do find two terms that are repeated three times: “darkness” (vs. 6, 12, 18) and “affliction” (vs. 7, 9, 15). The expressions that convey the idea of death are many: the grave, going down to the pit, slain corpses whom God no longer remembers, in utter darkness, in the depths, drowning in the waters of God’s anger, friends who distance themselves, surrounded, eyes darkened by sorrow.
The Psalmist calls out to God, describing how he feels. His fallen flesh tells him God must intervene, for if He doesn’t, he will be “cut off” from God. The dead lie in the grave, do not get up, and cannot praise God—or at least the despondent fallen nature will assert as much, seeing death as the end.
The psalm also teaches a lesson about life in this fallen world. We often don’t experience happy endings—a result of a sin-infected creation. What we experience, at times, is “darkness” without respite. The solution, in the end, is a recreation where death and darkness will be no more.
This psalm expresses well what we may often “feel.” The solution, however, is intertwined within the Psalm, if our darkened eyes can see it—the One to whom the psalmist prays: Yahweh. The psalmist’s faith calls out to God, even while his sinfulness refuses to move beyond what he “feels.” He reflects what we all want from God: heaven now on earth and not having to walk by faith but by sight. Only if we can “see” to One to whom the psalmist prays will we move beyond the all-engulfing darkness.
Christ in the Psalm
Three times in the Garden, Christ implored His Father to take away His cup of suffering (Mark 14:35-41). Three times, our psalmist cries out to the Lord from acute pain. This Psalm points to Christ in His suffering: He experienced this darkness, this separation from God, while He became sin for us.
We may “feel” this estrangement; Christ experienced this as a reality on the cross. For this reason, the Church uses this psalm on Good Friday, allowing it to describe Jesus’ suffering for us on the cross. Jesus took into Himself—not our pristine, unfallen nature—but our nature tainted at the ancient tree (original sin) and throughout the rest of our history (committed sin). So, the fear of estrangement from God was not only felt by Jesus but became a reality for Him on the tree, the cross.
Yes, this psalm’s cry of death points us to the cross. However, the One to whom the psalmist prayed, God, points us to the resurrection, for God raised Jesus from the dead (Acts 2:24, Romans 8:11). Praying this psalm apart from Christ’s fulfillment of it leaves one the “darkness.” Praying it while understanding that death (Christ’s death) is the gate to life, we can even end in “darkness,” knowing that Jesus defeated death to give us His life.
The second section of the Psalm asks a series of questions:
- “Do You work wonders for the dead?” Yes, because of Christ, we will rise from death into life.
- “Do those sunk down in death rise up to praise You?” Yes, we will rise, where our life itself, because we are alive, will even be a praise to God.
- “Is Your faithful love declared in the grave, Your faithfulness in Hell?” Yes, Jesus descended into Hell, testifying to His victory (Colossians 2:15, Ephesians 4:8-9, 1 Peter 3:18-19).
- “Will Your wonder be known in the darkness, Your righteousness in the Land of Forgetfulness?” Yes, for even “if we are faithless, he [God] remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself” (2 Timothy 2:13).
In Christ, all these questions are answered by God’s “yes” (2 Corinthians 1:20).
Praying the Psalm
P O Yahweh, God of my salvation, by day I cry out, in the night before You.
C May my prayer come before You; incline Your ear to my cry.
P For my soul is saturated with troubles, and my life draws near the grave.
C I am counted among those who do down into the pit. I am a strong man without strength.
P With the dead, I am cast away, like the slain,
those who lie in the grave, whom You remember no more.
C They, they are cut off from Your hand.
P You plunged me in the bottom of the pit, in utter darkness, in the depths.
C Your anger presses heavy against me; with all Your waves, You afflict me.
P You have distanced my friends from me.
C You make me an utter abomination to them. I am imprisoned and unable to escape.
P My eyes grow dim from my affliction.
C I call to you, O Yahweh every day; I spread out my palms to you.
P Do You work wonders for the dead?
C Do those sunk down in death rise up to praise You?
P Is Your faithful love declared in the grave, Your faithfulness in Hell?
C Will Your wonder be known in the darkness, Your righteousness in the Land of Forgetfulness?
P But I, O Yahweh, call to You, and in the morning my prayer comes before You.
C Why, O Yahweh, do you reject me? Why do you hide Your face from me?
P Afflicted and close to death since my youth, I suffer Your terrors; I am petrified with fear.
C Your anger overwhelms me; Your dreadful attacks destroy me.
P They surround me like water all day long. They close in on me alone.
C You have distanced from me loving friend and neighbor.
P My only friend—
C darkness!
C Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
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