Psalms 88:14
in Psalms 88Why, O LORD, do You reject me? Why do You hide Your face from me?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Jehovah, why castest thou off my soul? Why hidest thou thy face from me?
KJV
Lord, why castest thou off my soul? why hidest thou thy face from me?
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This verse in Psalms 88
Commentary
10 notes on this verse"Why, O Lord, dost thou repel my prayer," that this cup should not pass from me?
This site's exposition
in the morning my prayer
on Psalms 88:13-14
After the questions the psalm turns back to address, and the prayer is there in the morning. Verse 14 asks why twice: why God rejects him, and why God hides His face. Neither question is answered in this psalm.
This site's exposition
do You reject me
Augustine set this cry beside the opening of Psalm 22. Matthew Henry heard the wonder of an old servant rejected by the Master he had resolved never to leave. Charles Spurgeon held that believers may put such questions to the Lord, and ought to.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
But that those prayers, the blessings of which surpass all words, may be more fervent and more constant, the gift that shall last unto eternity is deferred, while transitory evils are allowed to thicken. And so it follows: "Lord, why have You cast off my prayer?" [Psalm 88:14], which may be compared with another Psalm: "My God, My God, look upon me; why have You forsaken me?" The reason is made matter of question, not as if the wisdom of God were blamed as doing so without a cause; and so here. "Lord, why have You cast off my prayer?" But if this cause be attended to carefully, it will be found indicated above; for it is with the view that the prayers of the Saints are, as it were, repelled by the delay of so great a blessing, and by the adversity they encounter in the troubles of life, that the flame, thus fanned, may burst into a brighter blaze.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): " Lord, why castest thou off my soul? What is it that provokes thee to treat me as one abandoned? Show me wherefore thou contendest with me. " He speaks it with wonder that God should cast off an old servant, should cast off one that was resolved not to cast him off: "No wonder men cast me off; but, Lord, why dost thou, whose gifts and callings are without repentance?
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
Lord, why castest thou off my soul?....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Lord, why castest thou oft my soul? Hast thou not aforetime chosen me, wilt thou now reject me? Shall thine elect ones become thy reprobates? Dost thou, like changeable men, give a writing of divorcement to those whom thy love has espoused? Can thy beloveds become thy cast offs? Why hidest thou thy face from me? Wilt thou not so much as look upon me? Canst thou not afford me a solitary smile? Why this severity to one who has in brighter days basked in the light of thy favour?
Lord, why castest thou oft my soul? Hast thou not aforetime chosen me, wilt thou now reject me? Shall thine elect ones become thy reprobates? Dost thou, like changeable men, give a writing of divorcement to those whom thy love has espoused? Can thy beloveds become thy cast offs? Why hidest thou thy face from me? Wilt thou not so much as look upon me? Canst thou not afford me a solitary smile? Why this severity to one who has in brighter days basked in the light of thy favour? We may put these questions to the Lord, nay, we ought to do so. It is not undue familiarity, but holy boldness. It may help us to remove the evil which provokes the Lord to jealousy, if we seriously beg him to shew us wherefore he contends with us. He cannot act towards us in other than a right and gracious manner, therefore for every stroke of his rod there is a sufficient reason in the judgment of his loving heart; let us try to learn that reason and profit by it.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Why castest thou off my soul? - Instead of my soul, several of the ancient Versions have my prayer. Why dost thou refuse to hear me, and thus abandon me to death?
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Lord, why castest thou off my soul? - Why dost thou forsake or abandon me? Why is it that thou dost not interpose, since thou hast all power, and since thou art a God of mercy? Why dost thou not deliver me from my troubles? How often are good people constrained to ask this question! How often does this language express exactly what is passing in their minds! How difficult, too, it is to answer the question, and to see why that God who has all power, and who is infinitely benevolent, does not interpose to deliver his people in affliction! The answer to this question cannot be fully given in this world; there will be an answer furnished doubtless in the future life. Why hidest thou thy face from me? - Why dost thou not lift up the light of thy countenance upon me, and show me thy favor? God seemed to turn away from him. He seemed unwilling even to look upon the sufferer. He permitted him to bear his sorrows, unpitied and alone.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לָמָ֣ה | lamah | <to> why? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| יְ֭הוָה | yahweh | O Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| תִּזְנַ֣ח | tiznach | do you reject | H2186 → | 20 times |
| נַפְשִׁ֑י | nafshi | self my | H5315 → | 754 times |
| תַּסְתִּ֖יר | tastir | do you hide? | H5641 → | 80 times |
| פָּנֶ֣יךָ | paneikha | face your | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| מִמֶּֽנִּי׃ | mimeni | from me | H4480 → | 1188 times |
לָמָ֣ה<to> why?
lamahH4100 →752 times
יְ֭הוָהO Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
תִּזְנַ֣חdo you reject
tiznachH2186 →20 times
נַפְשִׁ֑יself my
nafshiH5315 →754 times
תַּסְתִּ֖ירdo you hide?
tastirH5641 →80 times
פָּנֶ֣יךָface your
paneikhaH6440 →2123 times
מִמֶּֽנִּי׃from me
mimeniH4480 →1188 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 27:46About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
it leads to
- Psalms 22:1
My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from saving me, so far from my words of groaning?
- Hebrews 5:7
During the days of Jesus’ earthly life, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His…
- Isaiah 53:10
Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush Him and to cause Him to suffer; and when His soul is made a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days,…
- Mark 15:34
At the ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
- Psalms 71:11
saying, “God has forsaken him; pursue him and seize him, for there is no one to rescue him.”
- Psalms 22:1
Through
Psalms 13:1How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?
it leads to
- Job 13:24
Why do You hide Your face and consider me as Your enemy?
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Lamentations 5:20
Why have You forgotten us forever? Why have You forsaken us for so long?
- Job 13:24
Through
Psalms 43:2For You are the God of my refuge. Why have You rejected me? Why must I walk in sorrow because of the enemy’s oppression?
it leads to
- Psalms 42:9
I say to God my Rock, “Why have You forgotten me? Why must I walk in sorrow because of the enemy’s oppression?”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 42:9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
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About Psalms
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 88; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 4; Jerome, Homily 65, on Psalm 87 (Alternate Series); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.