📖 Psalms — Chapter 88 (KJV)
Read the complete King James Version chapter below, then explore the passage sections, check what you remember, and keep your private study notes.
Scripture source: Project Gutenberg KJV, ebook 10.
Psalms 88:1 O Rlord God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee:
Psalms 88:2 RLet my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry;
Psalms 88:3 For my Rsoul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave.
Psalms 88:4 I am Rcounted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength:
Psalms 88:5 RFree among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, whom thou rememberest no more: and they are cut off Tfrom thy hand.
Psalms 88:6 Thou hast laid me in the Rlowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps.
Psalms 88:7 RThy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves. Selah.
Psalms 88:8 Thou hast Rput away mine acquaintance far from me; thou hast made me an abomination unto them: I am shut up, and I cannot come forth.
Psalms 88:9 RMine eye mourneth by reason of affliction: LORD, I have called daily upon thee, I have stretched out my hands unto thee.
Psalms 88:10 RWilt thou shew wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise thee? Selah.
Psalms 88:11 Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? or thy faithfulness Rin destruction?
Psalms 88:12 Shall thy wonders be known in the Rdark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
Psalms 88:13 But unto thee have I cried, O LORD; Rand in the morning shall my prayer prevent thee.
Psalms 88:14 RLORD, why castest thou off my soul? why hidest thou thy face from me?
Psalms 88:15 I am Rafflicted and ready to die from my youth up: while I suffer thy terrors I am distracted.
Psalms 88:16 Thy Rfierce wrath goeth over me; thy terrors have cut me off.
Psalms 88:17 They came round about me Tdaily like water; they compassed me about together.
Psalms 88:18 RLover and friend hast thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance into darkness.
📚 Study This Chapter
📖 What We’re Reading
Psalms 88:1–7 — Prayer from deep trouble
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
The speaker addresses the God of his salvation while feeling close to the grave, weak, and overwhelmed. Darkness, the pit, and waves describe severe anguish. The psalm preserves this cry as prayer; it does not require suffering people to conceal distress before speaking to God.
Key Truth: Deep distress can be spoken honestly to God.
Check What You Remember
1. What title is given God in the opening? (Psalms 88:1)
Find it in Psalms 88:1 (KJV).
2. Of what is the soul full? (Psalms 88:3)
Find it in Psalms 88:3 (KJV).
3. What covers the speaker in verse 7? (Psalms 88:7)
Find it in Psalms 88:7 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Psalms 88:8–12 — Isolation and unanswered questions
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
The speaker feels separated from acquaintances and stretches out his hands in daily prayer. Questions about wonders, praise, and faithfulness in the grave intensify his plea for help while alive. These are the distressed speaker’s questions within a lament, not a complete account of life after death.
Key Truth: Bring isolation and hard questions into prayer.
Check What You Remember
1. Who has been put far from the speaker? (Psalms 88:8)
Find it in Psalms 88:8 (KJV).
2. What has the speaker stretched out toward God? (Psalms 88:9)
Find it in Psalms 88:9 (KJV).
3. What is asked about being declared in the grave? (Psalms 88:11)
Find it in Psalms 88:11 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Psalms 88:13–18 — A lament without an easy ending
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Morning prayer continues even while the speaker asks why God hides his face. The psalm ends with friends far away and darkness rather than a quick resolution. Its place in Scripture affirms that continuing to cry to God can be faithful even when relief has not yet come.
Key Truth: Keep bringing suffering to God when resolution is delayed.
Check What You Remember
1. When will the speaker’s prayer come before God in verse 13? (Psalms 88:13)
Find it in Psalms 88:13 (KJV).
2. What does the speaker ask why God hides? (Psalms 88:14)
Find it in Psalms 88:14 (KJV).
3. Who is named with lover in the final verse? (Psalms 88:18)
Find it in Psalms 88:18 (KJV).
Related Scripture (KJV)
Psalms 22:1 — Another biblical lament asks why God appears far away.
This related passage is selected for its connection with this chapter. It is separate from the chapter text.
Reflect and Apply
Which honest words in this lament could help you pray or listen compassionately to someone who is suffering?
Advanced Questions and Answers
Study this chapter’s wording, patterns, contrasts, and meaning in greater depth.
1. How does naming God as salvation coexist with deep anguish?
2. How do pit and waves express felt pressure?
3. How does isolation coexist with continuing prayer?
4. Why are questions about the grave part of the plea?
5. How does the ending differ from an immediate resolution?
Notes
Write what you want to remember, questions to explore, or Scriptures to look up later. Your saved notes are private to your account.
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