Psalms 88

¹O Lord, God of my salvation, I have been crying to you for help by day and by night:

²Let my prayer come before you; give ear to my cry:

³For my soul is full of evils, and my life has come near to the underworld.

⁴I am numbered among those who go down into the earth; I have become like a man for whom there is no help:

⁵My soul is among the dead, like those in the underworld, to whom you give no more thought; for they are cut off from your care.

⁶You have put me in the lowest deep, even in dark places.

⁷The weight of your wrath is crushing me, all your waves have overcome me. (Selah.)

⁸You have sent my friends far away from me; you have made me a disgusting thing in their eyes: I am shut up, and not able to come out.

⁹My eyes are wasting away because of my trouble: Lord, my cry has gone up to you every day, my hands are stretched out to you.

¹⁰Will you do works of wonder for the dead? will the shades come back to give you praise? (Selah.)

¹¹Will the story of your mercy be given in the house of the dead? will news of your faith come to the place of destruction?

¹²May there be knowledge of your wonders in the dark? or of your righteousness where memory is dead?

¹³But to you did I send up my cry, O Lord; in the morning my prayer came before you.

¹⁴Lord, why have you sent away my soul? why is your face covered from me?

¹⁵I have been troubled and in fear of death from the time when I was young; your wrath is hard on me, and I have no strength.

¹⁶The heat of your wrath has gone over me; I am broken by your cruel punishments.

¹⁷They are round me all the day like water; they have made a circle about me.

¹⁸You have sent my friends and lovers far from me; I am gone from the memory of those who are dear to me.

¹Lord, the God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before you.

²Let my prayer enter into your presence. Turn your ear to my cry.

³For my soul is full of troubles. My life draws near to Sheol.

⁴I am counted among those who go down into the pit. I am like a man who has no help,

⁵set apart among the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom you remember no more. They are cut off from your hand.

⁶You have laid me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths.

⁷Your wrath lies heavily on me. You have afflicted me with all your waves. Selah.

⁸You have taken my friends from me. You have made me an abomination to them. I am confined, and I can't escape.

⁹My eyes are dim from grief. I have called on you daily, Lord. I have spread out my hands to you.

¹⁰Do you show wonders to the dead? Do the dead rise up and praise you? Selah.

¹¹Is your loving kindness declared in the grave? Or your faithfulness in Destruction?

¹²Are your wonders made known in the dark? Or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

¹³But to you, Lord, I have cried. In the morning, my prayer comes before you.

¹⁴Lord, why do you reject my soul? Why do you hide your face from me?

¹⁵I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up. While I suffer your terrors, I am distracted.

¹⁶Your fierce wrath has gone over me. Your terrors have cut me off.

¹⁷They came around me like water all day long. They completely engulfed me.

¹⁸You have put lover and friend far from me, and my friends into darkness.