All day long they engulf me like water; they enclose me on every side.
This psalm pours forth grievous lamentations from one nearly at despair, yet even in deep darkness he calls upon God to deliver him, displaying an invincible steadfastness of faith. The occasion remains debated: some hold it the prayer of a leper isolated by the law, others the voice of captive Israel in chains, yet all agree it speaks the language of one whom God has struck down.
AI summary
Commenting on Psalm 88:1-18
They came round about me daily like water. My troubles, and thy chastisement poured in upon me, penetrating everywhere, and drowning all. Such is the permeating and pervading power of spiritual distress, there is no shutting it out; it soaks into the soul like the dew into Gideon's fleece; it sucks the spirit down as the quicksand swallows the ship; it overwhelms it as the deluge submerged the green earth.
He pleads with God: shall the dead praise You? They cannot; the grave is the land of forgetfulness. But hear me now, Lord, for You are good, faithful, and righteous. These attributes must be known in my deliverance, yet if relief is delayed, I shall be dead and past comfort. Hasten, or Your mercy comes too late.
AI summary
Commenting on Psalm 88:10-18