O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee:
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
O Lord God of my salvation. This is a hopeful title by which to address the Lord, and it has about it the only ray of comfortable light which shines throughout the Psalm. The writer has salvation, he is sure of that, and God is the sole author of it. While a man can see God as his Saviour, it is not altogether midnight with him.
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