Psalm 88

By the Descendants of Korah
A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite

O Jehovah, the god of my salvation,
By day and by night do I call out to you.
Listen to my prayer, heed my cry for help.

My soul is beset with tribulations,
And my life is drawing me near the grave.
I am among those who are marked for death.
Like one who is bereft of vitality,
I have been abandoned among the dead,
Lying in the grave like one who has been slain,
Remembered no more, and beyond your help.
You have lain me into the deepest pit,
And have consigned me to the darkest depths.
Your wrath has lain heavily upon me,
And by all your waves I am overwhelmed.
You have driven my companions far from me
Making me an abomination to them.
I am in a trap with no means of escape.

My eyes grow faint with tears of grief.
I call to you, O Jehovah,
And daily stretch out my hands to you.
Do you show wonders to the dead?
Do their spirits rise up to praise you?
Can one proclaim your gracious love
From the grave or your faithfulness
In a place of devastation?
Does one speak of your miracles
In the darkness or your righteousness
In the realm of oblivion?

But I cry out to you, Jehovah,
And present to you my morning prayer.
Why, Jehovah, do you cast off
My soul and hide your face from me?
From my childhood  have I been ill
And afflicted and close to death.
Bearing your terrors, I am numb.
Your anger has swept over me,
And your terrors have destroyed me.
Daily they engulf me like a flood
And from every side surround me.
From my loved ones, friends, and neighbors
You have taken me far away.
My companion is the darkness.