Psalms 88:11

11 Can those in the grave declare your unfailing love? Can they proclaim 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 blinded by my tears. Each day I beg for your help, O LORD ; I lift my hands to you for mercy.
10 Are your wonderful deeds of any use to the dead? Do the dead rise up and praise you? Interlude
11 Can those in the grave declare your unfailing love? Can they proclaim your faithfulness in the place of destruction?
12 Can the darkness speak of your wonderful deeds? Can anyone in the land of forgetfulness talk about your righteousness?
13 O LORD, I cry out to you. I will keep on pleading day by day.

Footnotes 1

Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.