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Psalms 88:6

King James Version (KJV)
Albert Barnes
Notes on the Whole Bible

Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit - That is, I am as if I were thus laid; the deep grave seems now to lie so certainly before me, that it may be spoken of as if it were already my abode. The words rendered “lowest pit” mean literally the pit under, or beneath. The reference is to the sepulchre, as in Psalm 88:4.

In darkness - The dark grave; the realms of the dead. See the notes at Job 10:21-22.

In the deeps - The caverns; the deep places of the earth or the sea. All these expressions are designed to convey the idea that he was near the grave; that there was no hope for him; that he must die. Perhaps also there is connected with this the idea of trouble, of anguish, of sorrow; of that mental darkness of which the grave was an image, and into which he was plunged by the prospect of death. The whole scene was a sad one, and he was overwhelmed with grief, and saw only the prospect of continued sorrow and gloom. Even a good man may be made afraid - may have his mind made sad and sorrowful - by the prospect of dying. See Isaiah 38. Death is naturally gloomy; and when the light of religion does not shine upon the soul, and its comforts do not fill the heart, it is but natural that the mind should be full of gloom.

Matthew Henry
Concise Bible Commentary
The first words of the psalmist are the only words of comfort and support in this psalm. Thus greatly may good men be afflicted, and such dismal thoughts may they have about their afflictions, and such dark conclusion may they make about their end, through the power of melancholy and the weakness of faith. He complained most of God's displeasure. Even the children of God's love may sometimes think themselves children of wrath and no outward trouble can be so hard upon them as that. Probably the psalmist described his own case, yet he leads to Christ. Thus are we called to look unto Jesus, wounded and bruised for our iniquities. But the wrath of God poured the greatest bitterness into his cup. This weighed him down into darkness and the deep.
Ellen G. White
This Day With God, 182.4

If the Majesty of heaven could do so much to evidence His love for man, what ought not men to be willing to do for each other, to help one another up out of the pit of darkness and suffering?—The Review and Herald, June 22, 1886. TDG 182.4

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