Your wrath weighs heavily upon me; all Your waves have submerged me. Selah
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
God's wrath is the very hell of hell, crushing beyond conception; when it weighs on the conscience, a man tastes torment that only the damned can match. His waves break over us like the hungry teeth of death, yet even this is not the worst He could unleash, He holds back waves that would sweep us into the abyss where hope is banished forever.
AI summary
Before he utters a single complaint, he calls God the God of his salvation, the only words of comfort in all this psalm of clouds and darkness. This tells us he looked for salvation despite everything, and that he looked to God alone as its author. A man of prayer even in affliction, he had cried out earnestly, stretching his hands toward the Lord as one straining to catch hold of mercy itself.
AI summary
Commenting on Psalm 88:1-9