Psalms 88:11

11 Is your constant love spoken of in the grave or your faithfulness in the place of destruction?

Psalms 88:11 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 88:11

Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave?
&c.] Where he saw himself now going, and where should he be detained, and not raised out of it, the lovingkindness of God to him, as his Son, and as man and Mediator, and to his people in the gift and mission of him to be their Saviour and Redeemer, how would that be declared and made known? now it is, Christ being raised, and his ministers having a commission from him to preach the Gospel, in which the lovingkindness of God is abundantly manifested:

or thy faithfulness in destruction?
the grave, so called from dead bodies being cast into it, and wasted, consumed, and destroyed in it: the meaning may be, that should he be laid in the grave, and there putrefy and rot, and not be raised again, where would be the faithfulness of God to his purposes, to his covenant and promises, to him his Son, and to his people?

Psalms 88:11 In-Context

9 my eyes are weak from suffering. Lord, every day I call to you and lift my hands to you in prayer.
10 Do you perform miracles for the dead? Do they rise up and praise you?
11 Is your constant love spoken of in the grave or your faithfulness in the place of destruction?
12 Are your miracles seen in that place of darkness or your goodness in the land of the forgotten?
13 Lord, I call to you for help; every morning I pray to you.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.