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Texts -- Psalms 88:1-16 (NET)

Context
Psalm 88
88:1 A song , a psalm written by the Korahites ; for the music director ; according to the machalath-leannoth style ; a well-written song by Heman the Ezrachite . O Lord God who delivers me! By day I cry out and at night I pray before you. 88:2 Listen to my prayer ! Pay attention to my cry for help! 88:3 For my life is filled with troubles and I am ready to enter Sheol . 88:4 They treat me like those who descend into the grave . I am like a helpless man , 88:5 adrift among the dead , like corpses lying in the grave , whom you remember no more , and who are cut off from your power . 88:6 You place me in the lowest regions of the pit , in the dark places , in the watery depths . 88:7 Your anger bears down on me, and you overwhelm me with all your waves . (Selah ) 88:8 You cause those who know me to keep their distance ; you make me an appalling sight to them. I am trapped and cannot get free . 88:9 My eyes grow weak because of oppression . I call out to you, O Lord , all day long; I spread out my hands in prayer to you. 88:10 Do you accomplish amazing things for the dead ? Do the departed spirits rise up and give you thanks ? (Selah ) 88:11 Is your loyal love proclaimed in the grave , or your faithfulness in the place of the dead ? 88:12 Are your amazing deeds experienced in the dark region, or your deliverance in the land of oblivion ? 88:13 As for me, I cry out to you, O Lord ; in the morning my prayer confronts you. 88:14 O Lord , why do you reject me , and pay no attention to me? 88:15 I am oppressed and have been on the verge of death since my youth . I have been subjected to your horrors and am numb with pain . 88:16 Your anger overwhelms me; your terrors destroy me.

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  • [Psa 88:1] Lord, The God Of My Salvation
  • [Psa 88:9] Father, I Stretch My Hands To Thee
  • [Psa 88:10] Shall Man, O God Of Light And Life

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Sermon Illustrations

1 Peter 3:18-20

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • Some commentators have seen Hannah's prayer as a non-essential song of praise included in the text for sentimental reasons, but this magnificent prayer provides the key to interpreting the rest of 1 and 2 Samuel. In this pray...
  • "Chapter 26 is one of the grandest recitals in the whole book. It is excelled only by the Lord's speeches, as is fitting. It sounds well in Job's mouth, and ends the dialogue, like the first movement of a symphony, with great...
  • The texts of the individual psalms do not usually indicate who wrote them.1However some of the titles of the individual psalms do contain information about the writers.2This is the only really reliable information we have as ...
  • I. Book 1: chs. 1-41II. Book 2: chs. 42-72III. Book 3: chs. 73-89IV. Book 4: chs. 90-106V. Book 5: chs. 107-150...
  • In this psalm David urged those who sin against the Lord to seek His pardon with the encouragement that He is gracious with the penitent. He will, however, chasten the unrepentant.Students of this penitential psalm have often...
  • A man or men named Asaph wrote 17 of the psalms in this book (Pss. 73-83). Other writers were the sons of Korah (Pss. 84-85, 87), David (Ps. 86), Heman (Ps. 88), and Ethan (Ps. 89). Asaph, Heman, and Ethan were musicians from...
  • 88:1-2 These verses are an introduction to what follows. The psalmist announced that he prayed unceasingly to the God from whom he hoped to receive deliverance. He pleaded with God to entertain his request and act upon it by ...
  • For the third time Heman cried out to God for help (cf. vv. 1-2, 13). He asked for an explanation for his suffering (v. 14). Then he described his sufferings further (vv. 15-18). Still he kept turning to God in prayer waiting...
  • 89:38-45 Next Ethan recounted what God had permitted to overtake David. He was now weak and defeated rather than being strong and successful. God had apparently cut David off and gone back on His promises. The fall of Jerusal...
  • Allen, Ronald B. "Evidence from Psalm 89."In A Case for Premillennialism: A New Consensus, pp. 55-77. Edited by Donald K. Campbell and Jeffrey L. Townsend. Chicago: Moody Press, 1992._____. Lord of Song. Portland: Multnomah P...
  • Verses 2-7 are full of figures of speech that picture old age and death.7912:2-3 Solomon likened the evil days first to an approaching rainstorm (v. 2) that is fearful and uncertain (cf. 11:7-8). The Hebrews regarded any decl...
  • 3:1 Jeremiah claimed to have seen much affliction because Yahweh had struck Jerusalem in His anger (cf. Job 9:34; 21:9; Ps. 89:32; Isa. 10:5)."The two preceding poems ended with sorrowful complaint. This third poem begins wit...
  • The following section of the lament falls into two parts marked by Jeremiah's use of the plural (vv. 41-47) and singular personal pronouns (vv. 48-66). In the first part he called on the Judahites to confess their sins to God...
  • The following prayer is mainly thanksgiving for deliverance from drowning. It is not thanksgiving for deliverance from the fish. Jonah prayed it while he was in the fish. Evidently he concluded after some time in the fish's s...
  • "The opening verses of Nahum form a prologue dominated by the revelation of God's eternal power and divine nature in creation (cf. Rom 1:20). As in Romans 1:18-32, this revelation is characterized preeminently by God's justic...
  • Habakkuk's prayer is hymnic in form, like many of the psalms (cf. Ps. 16; 30; 45; 88; 102; 142), and it apparently stood apart from the rest of the book at one time, as this title verse suggests. "Shigionoth"may be the title ...
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