Bible Commentary

Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, [and] mine acquaintance into darkness. 18. Cp. Psa 88:8; Psa 38:11; Job 19:13. and mine acquaintance into darkness ] A difficult phrase. Another possible rendering is, my familiar friends are darkness: darkness takes the place of friends: cp. Job 17:14. We take leave of this sad … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 88:18”

They came round about me daily like water; they compassed me about together. 17. They have surrounded me like water all the day long; They have encompassed me about together. The figure of Psa 88:16 is continued. The flood of calamity threatens to engulf him, and there is none ( Psa 88:18) to stretch out … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 88:17”

Thy fierce wrath goeth over me; thy terrors have cut me off. 16. The fiery streams of thy wrath have gone over me. Cp. Psa 42:7; but for waves he substitutes fiery wraths. Thine alarms, a word found only in Job 6:4, have made an end of me (Lam 3:53). Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 88:16”

I [am] afflicted and ready to die from [my] youth up: [while] I suffer thy terrors I am distracted. 15. Will God have no pity upon one whose whole life has been spent at the point of death? Could this be said of Israel as a nation? ‘From youth’ is of course frequently used of … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 88:15”

LORD, why castest thou off my soul? [why] hidest thou thy face from me? 14. Questions of surprise and expostulation. Cp. Psa 74:1; Psa 77:7. For the second line cp. Job 13:24; Psa 13:1. God “shuts out his prayer,” Lam 3:8. Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Lord, why castest thou off my … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 88:14”

But unto thee have I cried, O LORD; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent thee. 13. But as for me, unto thee, Jehovah, have I cried for help, And in the morning shall my prayer come before thee. He contrasts himself with the dead, whose covenant relation with God is at an end. … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 88:13”

Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? 12. Nay, God’s wonders will not even be known in Darkness, nor His righteousness, His faithfulness to His covenant (Psa 71:2, and often), in the land of Oblivion: where men neither remember God (Psa 6:5) nor are remembered by … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 88:12”

Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? [or] thy faithfulness in destruction? 11. To proclaim God’s lovingkindness and faithfulness is the delight of His people (Psa 40:10; Psa 92:2), but in the grave they will neither have cause nor power to do it. These two attributes, so often coupled together, are the keynote of … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 88:11”

Wilt thou show wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise [and] praise thee? Selah. 10. This and the two following verses can hardly be, as some commentators suppose, the prayer to which he refers in Psa 88:9. The connexion of thought seems to be this. He has prayed that God will shew him His … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 88:10”

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 … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 88:9”