Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 88:9
Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction: LORD, I have called daily upon thee, I have stretched out my hands unto thee.
9. Mine eye mourneth ] R.V. wasteth away. The sunken, lacklustre eye is the sure sign of suffering. Cp. Psa 6:7; Psa 31:9; Job 17:7.
stretched out ] R.V. spread forth, in the attitude of prayer. Cp. (though the word is different) Psa 44:20; Psa 143:6; Isa 1:15.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
9 12. Again (cp. Psa 88:1) he pleads the constancy of his prayers. His strength is failing. He will soon be dead; and in the grave he will be beyond the reach of God’s love and faithfulness. Cp. Job 10:20 ff; Job 17:11 ff.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction – I weep; my eye pours out tears. Literally, My eye pines away, or decays. Compare Job 16:20, note; Isa 38:3, note; Psa 6:6, note.
Lord, I have called daily upon thee – That is, I have prayed earnestly and long, but I have received no answer.
I have stretched out my hands unto thee – I have spread out my hands in the attitude of prayer. The idea is that of earnest supplication.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 88:9
Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction.
The godly man in trouble
1. Godliness doth not make men senseless of grief, nor doth it hinder tears or mourning, or any other effects of sorrow to be seen in their body.
2. Sorrow should neither hinder the godly to seek God, nor move them to seek their consolation elsewhere.
3. It is possible that a godly man may be instant daily with God, praying with tears for comfort, and yet not obtain for a long time, as this example doth teach.
4. As in serious prayer, specially in secret, the affections of the heart do utter themselves in the answerable gestures of the body, as well as in the voice and words of the mouth; so those gestures have their own speech unto God, no less than the words of the mouth have; as here, I have stretched out my hands unto Thee, is brought forth to express his submissive rendering up of himself unto God, and his dependence upon Him. (D. Dickson.)
I have called daily upon Thee.
The necessity for daily prayer
appears when we consider the consequences of neglecting it. Experience proves that a regular habit, at some fixed hour or hours, becomes a safeguard against forgetfulness, as well as an invaluable help to the constant practice of the presence of God, whereas those who say that they can pray at any time, end in praying very seldom, or never. And Mrs. Besant has testified that God fades out of the life of the man who forgets to pray. On the other hand, you may lose hold of many a Christian doctrine, but you have not lost your faith so long as the angels can say of you, Behold, he still prayeth. Distress teaches us to pray, and prayer dispels distress. One wedge displaces the other.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Understand, without effect; for thou dost not hear nor answer me.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
9. Mine eye mournethliterally,”decays,” or fails, denoting exhaustion (Psa 6:7;Psa 31:9).
I . . . called(Psa 86:5; Psa 86:7).
stretched outfor help(Ps 44:20).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction,…. Or dropped tears, as the Targum, by which grief was vented; see Ps 6:7.
Lord, I have called daily upon thee, I have stretched out my hands unto thee; in prayer, as the Targum adds, this being a prayer gesture: notwithstanding his troubles continued and increased, he did not leave off praying, though he was not immediately heard and answered, which is what is tacitly complained of, as in Ps 22:2. Christ, in his troubles in the garden, and on the cross, prayed for himself, for divine support and assistance, as man; for his friends, disciples, and apostles, and for all that should believe in him through them; and even for his enemies.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
9. My eye mourneth because of my affliction. To prevent it from being supposed that he was iron-hearted, he again repeats that his afflictions were so severe and painful as to produce manifest traces of his sorrow, even in his countenance and eyes — a plain indication of the low condition to which he was reduced. But he, notwithstanding, testifies that he was not drawn away from God, like many who, secretly murmuring in their hearts, and, to use a proverbial expression, chafing upon the bit, have nothing farther from their thoughts than to disburden their cares into the bosom of God, in order to derive comfort from Him. In speaking of the stretching out of his hands, he puts the sign for the thing signified. I have elsewhere had an opportunity of explaining the import of this ceremony, which has been in common use in all ages.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(9) Mourneth.Rather, fadeth, or pineth. So a Latin poet of the effects of weeping:
Msta neque assiduo tabescere lumina fletu.
Cessarent, tristique imbre madere gen.
CATULLUS: xxviii. 55.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
9. Mine eye mourneth I have called daily I have stretched out my hands My eye, voice, and hands give expression daily of my suffering and peril, and plead for me. Thus far the psalmist’s prayer is grounded on his miserable state, but now he introduces another argument, and pleads that God will be glorified more in his salvation than in his death.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 88:9 Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction: LORD, I have called daily upon thee, I have stretched out my hands unto thee.
Ver. 9. Lord, I have called daily upon thee ] Which he would not have done if he had cast away his confidence; for “how shall they call upon him in whom they have not believed?” Rom 10:14 . The saints, when they want the sun, yet they have the daystar in their hearts.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 88:9-12
Psa 88:9-12
THE CRY REPEATED; HELP! BEFORE TOO LATE
“I have called daily upon thee, O Jehovah;
I have spread forth my hands unto thee.
Wilt thou show wonders to the dead?
Shall they that are deceased arise and praise thee?
(Selah)
Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave?
Or thy faithfulness in Destruction?
Shall thy wonders be known in the dark?
And thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?”
The string of questions here are presumed by the psalmist to call for negative answers; and the thought seems to be, “Hurry up and help me, God, before it is too late.”
Again, in this section, the gathering darkness of approaching death dominates it. Note the additional synonyms for death: “the dead” (Psa 88:10); “the deceased” (Psa 88:10); “the grave” (Psa 88:11); “Destruction” (Psa 88:1); “the dark” (Psa 88:12); “the land of forgetfulness” (Psa 88:12). ” Destruction” is translated “Abaddon” in some versions.
We agree that hardly anything could be more sad than this psalm. One’s heart instinctively goes out to a fellow-human sufferer who seems to have no hope whatever of recovery.
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 88:9. This verse is a pitiable picture of David’s state of mind through his afflictions. He spent much of his time in supplications.
Psa 88:10. The implied answer to these questions is “no.” See the comments on Psa 88:5 which shows that if God is going to do something for a man it will be before his body dies and is placed in its grave where nothing will be done in this age.
Psa 88:11. This verse calls for the same answer as the preceding one.
Psa 88:12. Dark and forgetfulness refer to the state of death. David knows that he cannot be helped against his enemies after he has passed from this life.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Mine: Psa 38:10, Psa 42:3, Psa 102:9, Job 16:20, Job 17:7, Lam 3:48, Lam 3:49, Joh 11:35
called: Psa 88:1, Psa 55:17, Psa 86:3
stretched: Psa 44:20, Psa 68:31, Psa 143:6, Eze 17:11, Job 11:13
Reciprocal: Psa 6:6 – I am Psa 6:7 – Mine Psa 31:9 – mine Psa 38:6 – mourning Psa 42:9 – why go Son 5:6 – I sought
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
88:9 {h} Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction: LORD, I have called daily upon thee, I have stretched out my hands unto thee.
(h) My eyes and face declare my sorrows.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
2. The sufferer’s prayer 88:9b-12
Even though Heman had prayed for relief and restoration every day, God had not delivered him. He asked for mercy by posing rhetorical questions, all of which expect a negative answer. If the writer died, he could no longer praise the Lord in the land of the living. What he said does not contradict revelation concerning conscious existence after death. It simply reflects Heman’s desire to praise God this side of the grave. [Note: See the discussion of Sheol, the grave, and death in the Psalms in VanGemeren, pp. 569-73.]