PSALM 88

Prayer for Help in Despondency

Psalm 88:1 O LORD, my God, I call for help  by day; I cry out in the night before you.

Psalm 88:2 Let my prayer come before you, incline your ear to my cry!

Psalm 88:3 For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol.

Psalm 88:4 I am reckoned among those who go down to the Pit; I am a man who has no strength,

Psalm 88:5 like one forsaken among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, like those whom you remember no more, for they are cut off from your hand.

Psalm 88:6 You have put me in the depths of the Pit, in the regions dark and deep.

Psalm 88:7 Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and you overwhelm me with all your waves.

Psalm 88:8 You have caused my companions to shun me; you have made me a thing of horror to them. I am shut in so that I cannot escape;

Psalm 88:9 my eye grows dim through sorrow. Every day I call upon you, O LORD; I spread out my hands to you.

Psalm 88:10 Do you work wonders for the dead? Do the shades rise up to praise you?

Psalm 88:11 Is your mercy declared in the grave, or your faithfulness in Abad'don?

Psalm 88:12 Are your wonders known in the darkness, or your saving help in the land of forgetfulness?

Psalm 88:13 But I, O LORD, cry to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you.

Psalm 88:14 O LORD, why do you cast me off? Why do you hide your face from me?

Psalm 88:15 Afflicted and close to death from my youth, I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.

Psalm 88:16 Your wrath has swept over me; your dread assaults destroy me.

Psalm 88:17 They surround me like a flood all day long; they close in upon me together.

Psalm 88:18 You have caused loved one and friend to shun me; my companions are in darkness.