Psalm 88:3 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 88:1-9

It should seem, by the titles of this and the following psalm, that Heman was the penman of the one and Ethan of the other. There were two, of these names, who were sons of Zerah the son of Judah, 1 Chron. 2:4, 6. There were two others famed for wisdom, 1 Kgs. 4:31; where, to magnify Solomon's wisdom, he is said to be wiser than Heman and Ethan. Whether the Heman and Ethan who were Levites and precentors in the songs of Zion were the same we are not sure, nor which of these, nor whether any of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 88:3

For my soul is full of troubles ,.... Or "satiated or glutted" F5 שבעה "saturata", Pagninus, Montanus, Musculus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius; "satiata", Tigurine version. with them, as a stomach full of meat that can receive no more, to which the allusion is; having been fed with the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, so that he had his fill of trouble: every man is full of trouble, of one kind or another, Job 14:1 especially the saint, who besides his... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 88:3

Verse 3 3For my soul is filled with troubles. These words contain the excuse which the prophet pleads for the excess of his grief. They imply that his continued crying did not proceed from softness or effeminacy of spirit, but that from a due consideration of his condition, it would be found that the immense accumulation of miseries with which he was oppressed was such as might justly extort from him these lamentations. Nor does he speak of one kind of calamity only; but of calamities so heaped... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 88:1-18

Metrically, the psalm is almost without divisions—"a slow, unbroken wail," expressive of "the monotony of woe." read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 88:1-18

The saddest psalm in the Psalter. For in well nigh all others, though there may be darkness of soul, a very night of darkness, yet we see the light arise; though we see "weeping endure for the night," yet we see also that "joy cometh in the morning." But in this psalm we do not see such coming of joy. The believer who wrote it was one who was called to "walk in darkness, and bad no light." But he is holding on; he prays, and perseveres in prayer; he recognizes the hand of God in his... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 88:1-18

Light in the darkness. This is the darkest, saddest psalm of all the Psalms. I. A PICTURE OF THE MOST DESPAIRING MISERY . Scarcely possible to think that such unalleviated misery ever existed. 1 . Utter physical and mental weakness and prostration. (Verse 6.) As good as dead. 2 . Utterly forsaken of all his friends. (Verses 8, 18.) And God had put them from him. 3 . Cast off from God, by reason of is wrath. (Verses 7, 14, 15, 16.) He is abandoned utterly... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 88:3

For my soul is full of troubles (see Job 10:15 ). And my life draweth nigh unto the grave; literally, unto Sheol— the place of departed spirits (comp. Job 10:21 , Job 10:22 ). read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 88:3

A soul full of troubles. These plaints are such as could only be uttered by a diseased man—diseased in body or diseased in mind. The man felt "satiated with evils." Hezekiah, suffering from his carbuncle, or Job, as he "scraped himself with his potsherd," might be expected to read life as drearily and despondingly as the psalmist did. "The psalm accumulates images to describe the pressure of trial upon the frailty of human nature." Look at some of the troubles. I. THE BREVITY OF ... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 88:3

For my soul is full of troubles - I am full of trouble. The word rendered as “full” means properly to satiate as with food; that is, when as much had been taken as could be. So he says here, that this trouble was as great as he could bear; he could sustain no more. He had reached the utmost point of endurance; he had no power to bear anymore.And my life draweth nigh unto the grave - Hebrew, to Sheol. Compare the notes at Isaiah 14:9; notes at Job 10:21-22. It may mean here either the grave, or... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Psalms 88:1-4

Psalms 88:1-4. O Lord God of my salvation Who hast so often saved me in former distresses; I have cried day and night before thee Thus God’s own elect are said, by Christ, to cry to him, Luke 18:7; and thus ought men always to pray and not to faint. Let my prayer come before thee To be accepted of thee. For my soul is full of troubles Troubles of mind, from a sense of God’s wrath and departure from him, as appears Psalms 88:14-16. I am counted with them that go down into the pit I... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 88:1-9

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 88:3

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 88:3

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 88:1-18

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 88:1-18

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 88:1-18

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 88:3

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 88:3

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 88:3

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Psalms 88:1-4

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