17 They have surrounded me as waters all the day, They have gone round against me together,
And to the dust of death thou appointest me, For surrounded me have dogs, A company of evil doers have compassed me, Piercing my hands and my feet.
At ease I have been, and he breaketh me, And he hath laid hold on my neck, And he breaketh me in pieces, And he raiseth me to him for a mark. Go round against me do his archers. He splitteth my reins, and spareth not, He poureth out to the earth my gall.
Deep unto deep is calling At the noise of Thy water-spouts, All Thy breakers and Thy billows passed over me.
To the Overseer. -- `On the Lilies,' by David. Save me, O God, for come have waters unto the soul. I have sunk in deep mire, And there is no standing, I have come into the depths of the waters, And a flood hath overflown me.
All nations have compassed me about, In the name of Jehovah I surely cut them off. They have compassed me about, Yea, they have compassed me about, In the name of Jehovah I surely cut them off. They compassed me about as bees, They have been extinguished as a fire of thorns, In the name of Jehovah I surely cut them off.
Then the waters had overflowed us, The stream passed over our soul,
and those passing by were speaking evil of him, wagging their heads, and saying, `Thou that art throwing down the sanctuary, and in three days building `it', save thyself; if Son thou art of God, come down from the cross.' And in like manner also the chief priests mocking, with the scribes and elders, said, `Others he saved; himself he is not able to save! If he be King of Israel, let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe him; he hath trusted on God, let Him now deliver him, if He wish him, because he said -- Son of God I am;' with the same also the robbers, who were crucified with him, were reproaching him.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Psalms 88
Commentary on Psalms 88 Matthew Henry Commentary
Psalm 88
This psalm is a lamentation, one of the most melancholy of all the psalms; and it does not conclude, as usually the melancholy psalms do, with the least intimation of comfort or joy, but, from first to last, it is mourning and woe. It is not upon a public account that the psalmist here complains (here is no mention of the afflictions of the church), but only upon a personal account, especially trouble of mind, and the grief impressed upon his spirits both by his outward afflictions and by the remembrance of his sins and the fear of God's wrath. It is reckoned among the penitential psalms, and it is well when our fears are thus turned into the right channel, and we take occasion from our worldly grievances to sorrow after a godly sort. In this psalm we have,
Those who are in trouble of mind may sing this psalm feelingly; those that are not ought to sing it thankfully, blessing God that it is not their case.
A song or psalm for the sons of Korah, to the chief musician upon Mahalath Leannoth, Maschil of Heman the Ezrahite.
Psa 88:1-9
It should seem, by the titles of this and the following psalm, that Heman was the penman of the one and Ethan of the other. There were two, of these names, who were sons of Zerah the son of Judah, 1 Chr. 2:4, 6. There were two others famed for wisdom, 1 Ki. 4:31, where, to magnify Solomon's wisdom, he is said to be wiser than Heman and Ethan. Whether the Heman and Ethan who were Levites and precentors in the songs of Zion were the same we are not sure, nor which of these, nor whether any of these, were the penmen of these psalms. There was a Heman that was one of the chief singers, who is called the king's seer, or prophet, in the words of God (1 Chr. 25:5); it is probable that this also was a seer, and yet could see no comfort for himself, an instructor and comforter of others, and yet himself putting comfort away from him. The very first words of the psalm are the only words of comfort and support in all the psalm. There is nothing about him but clouds and darkness; but, before he begins his complaint, he calls God the God of his salvation, which intimates both that he looked for salvation, bad as things were, and that he looked up to God for the salvation and depended upon him to be the author of it. Now here we have the psalmist,
Psa 88:10-18
In these verses,