5 Among the dead -- free, As pierced ones lying in the grave, Whom Thou hast not remembered any more, Yea, they by Thy hand have been cut off.
By restraint and by judgment he hath been taken, And of his generation who doth meditate, That he hath been cut off from the land of the living? By the transgression of My people he is plagued,
And I -- I have said in my haste, `I have been cut off from before Thine eyes,' But Thou hast heard the voice of my supplications, In my crying unto Thee.
And it cometh to pass, in God's destroying the cities of the circuit, that God remembereth Abraham, and sendeth Lot out of the midst of the overthrow in the overthrowing of the cities in which Lot dwelt.
That God would please -- and bruise me, Loose His hand and cut me off!
I have been forgotten as dead out of mind, I have been as a perishing vessel.
Over me hath Thy wrath passed, Thy terrors have cut me off,
Sheol beneath hath been troubled at thee, To meet thy coming in, It is waking up for thee Rephaim, All chiefs ones of earth, It hath raised up from their thrones All kings of nations. All of them answer and say unto thee, Even thou hast become weak like us! Unto us thou hast become like! Brought down to Sheol hath been thine excellency, The noise of thy psaltery, Under thee spread out hath been the worm, Yea, covering thee is the worm. How hast thou fallen from the heavens, O shining one, son of the dawn! Thou hast been cut down to earth, O weakener of nations.
`I -- I said in the cutting off of my days, I go in to the gates of Sheol, I have numbered the remnant of mine years. I said, I do not see Jah -- Jah! In the land of the living, I do not behold man any more, With the inhabitants of the world. My sojourning hath departed, And been removed from me as a shepherd's tent, I have drawn together, as a weaver, my life, By weakness it cutteth me off, From day unto night Thou dost end me.
`Son of man, Wail for the multitude of Egypt, And cause it to go down, It -- and the daughters of honourable nations, Unto the earth -- the lower parts, With those going down to the pit. Than whom hast thou been more pleasant? Go down, and be laid with the uncircumcised. In the midst of the pierced of the sword they fall, `To' the sword she hath been given, They drew her out, and all her multitude. Speak to him do the gods of the mighty out of the midst of sheol, With his helpers -- they have gone down, They have lain with the uncircumcised, The pierced of the sword. There `is' Asshur, and all her assembly, Round about him `are' his graves, All of them `are' wounded, who are falling by sword, Whose graves are appointed in the sides of the pit, And her assembly is round about her grave, All of them wounded, falling by sword, Because they gave terror in the land of the living. There `is' Elam, and all her multitude, Round about `is' her grave, All of them wounded, who are falling by sword, Who have gone down uncircumcised unto the earth -- the lower parts, Because they gave their terror in the land of the living, And they bear their shame with those going down to the pit. In the midst of the wounded they have appointed a bed for her with all her multitude, Round about him `are' her graves, All of them uncircumcised, pierced of the sword, For their terror was given in the land of the living, And they bear their shame with those going down to the pit, In the midst of the pierced he hath been put. There `is' Meshech, Tubal, and all her multitude, Round about him `are' her graves, All of them uncircumcised, pierced of the sword, For they gave their terror in the land of the living, And they lie not with the mighty, Who are falling of the uncircumcised, Who have gone down to sheol with their weapons of war, And they put their swords under their heads, And their iniquities are on their bones, For the terror of the mighty `is' in the land of the living. And thou, in the midst of the uncircumcised art broken, And dost lie with the pierced of the sword. There `is' Edom, her kings, and all her princes, Who have been given up in their might, With the pierced of the sword, They with the uncircumcised do lie, And with those going down to the pit. There `are' princes of the north, All of them, and every Zidonian, Who have gone down with the pierced in their terror, Of their might they are ashamed, And they lie uncircumcised with the pierced of the sword, And they bear their shame with those going down to the pit. Then doth Pharaoh see, And he hath been comforted for all his multitude, The pierced of the sword -- Pharaoh and all his force, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah. For I have given his terror in the land of the living, And he hath been laid down in the midst of the uncircumcised, With the pierced of the sword -- Pharaoh, and all his multitude, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah!'
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Psalms 88
Commentary on Psalms 88 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
PSALM 88
Ps 88:1-18. Upon Mahalath—either an instrument, as a lute, to be used as an accompaniment (Leannoth, "for singing") or, as others think, an enigmatic title (see on Ps 5:1, Ps 22:1, and Ps 45:1, titles), denoting the subject—that is, "sickness or disease, for humbling," the idea of spiritual maladies being often represented by disease (compare Ps 6:5, 6; 22:14, 15, &c.). On the other terms, see on Ps 42:1 and Ps 32:1. Heman and Ethan (see on Ps 89:1, title) were David's singers (1Ch 6:18, 33; 15:17), of the family of Kohath. If the persons alluded to (1Ki 4:31; 1Ch 2:6), they were probably adopted into the tribe of Judah. Though called a song, which usually implies joy (Ps 83:1), both the style and matter of the Psalm are very despondent; yet the appeals to God evince faith, and we may suppose that the word "song" might be extended to such compositions.
1, 2. Compare on the terms used, Ps 22:2; 31:2.
3. grave—literally, "hell" (Ps 16:10), death in wide sense.
4. go … pit—of destruction (Ps 28:1).
as a man—literally, "a stout man," whose strength is utterly gone.
5. Free … dead—Cut off from God's care, as are the slain, who, falling under His wrath, are left, no longer sustained by His hand.
6. Similar figures for distress in Ps 63:9; 69:3.
7. Compare Ps 38:2, on first, and Ps 42:7, on last clause.
8. Both cut off from sympathy and made hateful to friends (Ps 31:11).
9. Mine eye mourneth—literally, "decays," or fails, denoting exhaustion (Ps 6:7; 31:9).
I … called—(Ps 86:5, 7).
stretched out—for help (Ps 44:20).
10. shall the dead—the remains of ghosts.
arise—literally, "rise up," that is, as dead persons.
11, 12. amplify the foregoing, the whole purport (as Ps 6:5) being to contrast death and life as seasons for praising God.
13. prevent—meet—that is, he will diligently come before God for help (Ps 18:41).
14. On the terms (Ps 27:9; 74:1; 77:7).
15. from … youth up—all my life.
16, 17. the extremes of anguish and despair are depicted.
18. into darkness—Better omit "into"—"mine acquaintances (are) darkness," the gloom of death, &c. (Job 17:13, 14).