Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Read a Psalm: Psalm 88

New International Version 1984

Psalm 88
A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah. For the director of music. According to mahalath leannoth.a A maskilb of Heman the Ezrahite.
1Lord, the God who saves me,
day and night I cry out before you.
2May my prayer come before you;
turn your ear to my cry.
3For my soul is full of trouble
and my life draws near the grave.c
4I am counted among those who go down to the pit;
I am like a man without strength.
5I am set apart with the dead,
like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom you remember no more,
who are cut off from your care.
6You have put me in the lowest pit,
in the darkest depths.
7Your wrath lies heavily upon me;
you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.       Selah
8You have taken from me my closest friends
and have made me repulsive to them.
I am confined and cannot escape;
9my eyes are dim with grief.
I call to you, O Lord, every day;
I spread out my hands to you.
10Do you show your wonders to the dead?
Do those who are dead rise up and praise you?       Selah
11Is your love declared in the grave,
your faithfulness in Destructiond?
12Are your wonders known in the place of darkness,
or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?
13But I cry to you for help, O Lord;
in the morning my prayer comes before you.
14Why, O Lord, do you reject me
and hide your face from me?
15From my youth I have been afflicted and close to death;
I have suffered your terrors and am in despair.
16Your wrath has swept over me;
your terrors have destroyed me.
17All day long they surround me like a flood;
they have completely engulfed me.
18You have taken my companions and loved ones from me;
the darkness is my closest friend.

Footnotes:
a 1 Title: Possibly a tune, “The Suffering of Affliction”
b 1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
c 3 Hebrew Sheol
d 11 Hebrew Abaddon



Outline/Stanza:
  1 - 9  Cry to the God of Salvation
10 - 12 The dead and the deported doesn't praise God
13 - 18 Cry for God's favor

Main Point: God's Salvation is His choice; God is the only salvation

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