Notes on the Book of Psalms, Psalm 88
The lxxxviii. PSALM.
Heman a man extraordinarie wise, exercised with extraordinarie trouble, yea, even all his life long, applies himself to God by a faithful insinuation, pathetical narration of the superlative nature of his afflictions, and humble interrogation, or expostulation touching the long continuance of them in such extremitie upon him; is in hope because God hath stirred him up to pray, that he himself will be moved to hear, and that though he live miserable, yet he shall not die so, concludes as he began with expostulation and narration.
A Psalm made to be both sung played by the Korathites,Psalm lxxviii. A song, or Psalm for the sons of Korah, to the chief musician, upon Mahalath Leannoth, Maschil of Heman the Ezraelite. and committed to him that is most skilful upon the instrument Mahalath Leannoth, to which it is chiefly set for his ordering it, being a Psalm of instruction, an exemplarie pattern how every sincere servant of the Lord is to demean himself towards God by ardent prayer and humble expostulation, when his hand is heavie upon him in the pressure of a troubled spirit, or other grievous adversitie penned by Heman, one of the sons of Zerah, of the posteritie of Judah, famous for his wisdom, 1 Kings 4.31.
1 O Lord God,1O Lord God, of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee. who for all thy heavy hand upon me art my souls Saviour, and I am sure must be my sole deliverer out of this anxietie, and I hope wilt be so, as my grief is extream, so are my complaints pathetical, and my prayers unto thee exceeding ardent, and that without ceasing, as is my misery.
2Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry.2 Let a poor mournfull man have admittance, and his prayer audience with thee the great God; estrange not thy self alwaies, but vouchsafe a gracious condescention to me a poor crying creature in great extremity.
3For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave.3 For the anguishments of my soul are an inseparable burthen, which are heaped brim-full upon it, in so great a measure as the weight of them almost presseth my life and soul out of my body, and I am reduced to the very point of death by them.
4I a… counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength.4 By the troubles of my mind, my body is quite wasted, I am a very skelliton, nothing but skin and bones, as weak as water, no strength left in me, so that by all symptoms, I am by all that see me, given for a dead man, irrecoverable.
5Free among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave whom thou rememberest no more: and they are cut off from thy hand.5 Though I live, yet my soul is as if it were departed, for it administers no comfortable communion to my body, which is as a corps laid out for burying, and I no more to be reckoned amongst the living, but a free-denizon of another society, of that moietie of mankind which are dead; nor do I die as others, by a natural death in the ordinarie way, and by ordinarie means of sickness or old-age, but I languish under a wounded spirit; God as an enraged enemie thrusts mine heart through as it were with a sharp sword, and sends me by a violent death down into the grave, where is ended all that care and providence thou hast over us, whilest we are living; there I shall be as it were laid out of thy sight and forgotten, thy hand of providence which was wont to provide and care for me, then shall be quite quite of me, and I both untimely and violently ravished from it, as they that lose their lives by some ireful judgement, portending thy everlasting displeasure, and disregard as well of their souls as bodies.
6 Thou,6Thou hast …aid me in the lowest pit, in darknes, in the deeps. Lord, hast brought me into such an estate, as I can scare tell how to express it, or find fit tearms to parallel the condition, and dimensions of my miserie; I am as it were shut up under ground, excluded the societie of mankind, in an Abiss void of the suns comfortable light, a very dungeon of darkness; in the bottom of the bottomless sea, with all the waters a top of me: so extream uncomfortable is this my condition, so full of horrour and perturbation of spirit, and so overwhelmed with grief, and withall so remediless.
7 For thou hast afflicted me with such a weight of wrath,7Thy wrath lieth hard upon me: and thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves. Selah. and so loaden me with judgements, that I am even pressed to death; all comforts are gone and life it self is going after, thou as it were hast let in the sea upon my soul, thy terrours and affrightments come so thick, one in the neck of another, that they bear down all before them, no hope nor comfort can stand in their way. My grief is very great.
8 Thou hast made me so uncomfortable a companion,8Thou hast put away mine a…quaintance far from me: thou hast made me an abomination unto them. I am shut up and I cannot come forth. that my old friends and acquaintance seperate from me, they have abandoned all societie, and converse with me, for indeed, I am like no man, nor fit companie for any, being miserably inclaved in this forlorn comfortless condition, whence I cannot extricate my self, nor none for me, but am as without comfort, so without hope and help.
9 I have almost wept my self blind,9Mine eye mourneth by reason of af…ition, Lord, I have called d…lly upon thee, I have stretched our mine hands unto thee. by reason of the long duration and heavie oppression of this mine affliction: Lord, thou knowest with what uncessant prayers and hands lifted up to heaven, I have importuned thy favour, and mitigation of this my terrour.
10Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead, shall the dead arise and praise thee? Selah.10 Lord, how long shall it be before thy merciemercy and truth relieve me, if it be whilest I live, it must not be much longer deferred, if thou hast a purpose to do me good, thou must either do it suddenly before the breath go out of my bodie, which truly is expiring, or else miraculously, when I am quite departed, but that is not likely, it is not thy manner to shew merciemercy to men dead but living, as yet I am, I expect not to be raised out of my grave, to live again, after I am dead, to praise thee on earth, no, therefore I hope to do it ere I die for all this.
11Shall thy loving kindness be declared in the grave, or thy faithfulness in destruction?11 Thy love and faithfulness will certainly be better manifested and fulfill'd in preservation and deliverance, than in death and destruction, and thy people can better magnifie thee for them living, than dead.
12Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness.12 Is it under-ground that thou wilt manifest thy power where none shall see it, and fulfil thy promise in the gravem when we are in an incapacitie for it? where nothing is taken notice of, but thy power, grace, and faithfulness will die, and be buried with us.
13But unto thee have I cried, O Lord; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent thee.13 But, Lord, as I have not deferred my prayers to the grave, so I hope nor wilt thou thine answers, and whilest I live, that the evening of death do not close up mine eyes, and shut my mouth, I will not cease to importune thee, and hope to prevent so sad a farewel, by obtaining merciemercy before I die.
14Lord, why castest thou off my soul, why hidest thou thy face from me?14 Lord, what is the cause of this grievous desertion, and seeming rejection of my soul? why am I thus benighted, thy face over-clouded, no beam of divine favour shining into me, nor no spark of renewing grace glowing in me.
15 Lord,15I am afflicted and readie to die from my youth up: while I su…fer thy terrours I am distracted. thou knowest, I am sure, I for my part remember well, that ever since I could remember, I have scarce had a good day, my trials and troubles have been so grievous, they have brought me I know not how often to deaths door, so tedious and comfortless a life have I led, being almost alwayes exercised, either under the present sence or future expectation and fear of their return to my no small torment and distraction.
16 Lord,16Thy fierce wrath goeth over me: thy terrours have cut me off. it is no small matter that I complain of, thou knowest I have cause, for my burden is greater than I can bear, or any man alive, that had the feeling of it as I have: Thy fierce wrath who can stand under it, and yet I am made to bear it, and to undergo the surges and waves thereof, which are raised like storms and tempests in my soul readie to overwhelm it, my terrours and perplexities of mind are such, that they have cut me off of all comfort in my self, and almost of all hope in thee.
17 They brake in upon me like a fierce torrent,17They came round about me dayly like water: they compassed me about together. dayly they do so, I have seldom any ease or quiet, they fill every crannie of my soul, and so begirt me round, that I can come at no comfort, by no means I can use, with complicate evils on all sides am I besiedged, so that comfort can enter in at no door.
18 Mine intimates avoid me,18Lover and friend hast thou put far from me: and mine acquaintance into darkness. and mine old acquaintance will not now know me, I am as a man dead and buried out of their sight, having no companion but grief and sorrow, not any to make my moan to besides thy self, or that can or will comfort me.