Psalms 88:2
in Psalms 88May my prayer come before You; incline Your ear to my cry.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Let my prayer enter into thy presence; Incline thine ear unto my cry.
KJV
Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry;
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This verse in Psalms 88
Commentary
10 notes on this verse"Let my prayer come in before thee." "Into thy hands, Father, I commend my spirit." "Let my prayer come in before thee. Incline thine ear to my petition." Where are the anthropomorphites, who suppose that God has bodily members? "Incline thine ear, O God." It is the voice of the Son to the Father, speaking in our person. "Incline thine ear." It is a mark of great weakness, if, when He wishes to hear, He needs to incline His ear, so as to hear more closely.
This site's exposition
God of my salvation
on Psalms 88:1-2
The psalm opens by calling God the God of my salvation, and the next words are a cry day and night. The verb in verse 1 is tsa'aq, to shriek. Verse 2 asks that the prayer come before God and that His ear bend down to the cry.
This site's exposition
May my prayer come before You
Albert Barnes heard a man who feels something blocking the way, as if God kept his prayer out. Adam Clarke read it the same way, a weak prayer asking for a clear passage to the throne. Augustine took incline Your ear as God's compassionate listening.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"O let my prayer enter into Your presence, incline Your ear unto my calling" [Psalm 88:2]. For even our Lord prayed, not in the form of God, but in the form of a servant; for in this He also suffered. He prayed both in prosperous times, that is, by "day," and in calamity, which I imagine is meant by "night." The entrance of prayer into God's presence is its acceptance: the inclination of His ear is His compassionate listening to it: for God has not such bodily members as we have. The passage is however, as usual, a repetition.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Let my prayer come before thee,.... Not before men, as hypocrites desire, but before the Lord; let it not be shut out, but be admitted; and let it come with acceptance, as it does when it ascends before God, out of the hands of the angel before the throne, perfumed with the much incense of his mediation, Rev 8:3, incline thine ear unto my cry; hearken to it, receive it, and give an answer to it; Christ's prayers were attended with strong crying, and were always received and heard, Heb 5:7.
He was a man of sorrows, and therefore some make him, in this psalm, a type of Christ, whose complaints on the cross, and sometimes before, were much to the same purport with this psalm.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Let my prayer come before thee. Admit it to an audience; let it speak with thee. Though it be my prayer, and therefore very imperfect, yet deny it not thy gracious consideration. Incline thine ear unto my cry. It is not music save to the ear of mercy, yet be not vexed with its discord, though it be but a cry, for it is the most natural expression of my soul's anguish. When my heart speaks, let thine ear hear.
Let my prayer come before thee. Admit it to an audience; let it speak with thee. Though it be my prayer, and therefore very imperfect, yet deny it not thy gracious consideration. Incline thine ear unto my cry. It is not music save to the ear of mercy, yet be not vexed with its discord, though it be but a cry, for it is the most natural expression of my soul's anguish. When my heart speaks, let thine ear hear. There may be obstacles which impede the upward flight of our prayers—let us entreat the Lord to remove them; and as there may also be offences which prevent the Lord from giving favourable regard to our requests—let us implore him to put these out of the way. He who has prayed day and night cannot bear to lose all his labour. Only those who are indifferent in prayer will be indifferent about the issue of prayer.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Let my prayer come before thee - It is weak and helpless, though fervent and sincere: take all hinderances out of its way, and let it have a free passage to thy throne. One of the finest thoughts in the Iliad of Homer concerns prayer; I shall transcribe a principal part of this incomparable passage - incomparable when we consider its origin: - Και γαρ τε Λιται εισι Διος κουραι μεγαλοιο, Χωλαι τε, ῥυσσαι τε, παραβλωπες τ’ οφθαλμω· Αἱ ῥα τε και μετοπισθ’ Ατης αλεγουσι κιουσαι· Ἡ δ’ Ατη σθεναρη τε και αρτιπος· οὑνεκα πασας Πολλον ὑπεκπροθεει, φθανει δε τε πασαν επ’ αιαν, Βλαπτους’ ανθρωπους· αἱ δ’ εξακεονται ποισσω· Ὁς μεν τ’ αιδεσεται κουρας Διος, ασσον ιουσας, Τονδε μεγ’ ωνησαν, και τ’ εκλυον ευξαμενοιο. Ὁς δε κ’ ανῃνηται, και τε στερεως αποειπῃ, Λισσονται δ’ αρα ταιγε Δια Κρονιωνα κιουσαι, Τῳ Ατην ἁμ’ ἑπεσθαι, ἱνα βλαφθεις αποτιση. Αλλ’, Αχιλευ, πορε και συ Διος κουρησιν ἑπεσθαι Τιμην, ῃτ’ αλλων περ επιγναμπτει φρενας εσθλων. Iliad., 9:498-510. Prayers are Jove’s daughters; wrinkled, lame, slant-eyed, Which, though far distant, yet with constant pace Follow offense. Offence, robust of limb, And treading firm the ground, outstrips them all, And over all the earth, before them runs Hurtful to man: they, following, heal the hurt. Received respectfully when they approach, They yield us aid, and listen when we pray. But if we slight, and with obdurate heart Resist them, to Saturnian Jove they cry. Against, us supplicating, that offense May cleave to us for vengeance of the wrong. Thou, therefore, O Achilles! honor yield To Jove’s own daughters, vanquished as the brave Have ofttimes been, by honor paid to thee. Cowper. On this allegory the translator makes the following remarks: “Wrinkled, because the countenance of a man, driven to prayer by a consciousness of guilt, is sorrowful and dejected. […]
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Let my prayer come before thee - As if there were something which hindered it, or which had obstructed the way to the throne of grace; as if God repelled it from him, and turned away his ear, and would not hear. Incline thine ear unto my cry - See the notes at Psa 5:1.
The words behind it
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| תָּב֣וֹא | tavo' | may it come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| לְ֭פָנֶיךָ | lefaneikha | <to> before you | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| תְּפִלָּתִ֑י | tefilati | prayer my | H8605 → | 72 times |
| הַטֵּֽה־ | hateh- | incline | H5186 → | 214 times |
| אָ֝זְנְךָ֗ | ʾazenekha | ear your | H241 → | 187 times |
| לְרִנָּתִֽי׃ | lerinati | to cry of entreaty my | H7440 → | 33 times |
תָּב֣וֹאmay it come
tavo'H935 →2568 times
לְ֭פָנֶיךָ<to> before you
lefaneikhaH6440 →2123 times
תְּפִלָּתִ֑יprayer my
tefilatiH8605 →72 times
הַטֵּֽה־incline
hateh-H5186 →214 times
אָ֝זְנְךָ֗ear your
ʾazenekhaH241 →187 times
לְרִנָּתִֽי׃to cry of entreaty my
lerinatiH7440 →33 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
Psalms 79:11May the groans of the captives reach You; by the strength of Your arm preserve those condemned to death.
it leads to
- Psalms 102:20
to hear a prisoner’s groaning, to release those condemned to death,
- Isaiah 42:7
to open the eyes of the blind, to bring prisoners out of the dungeon and those sitting in darkness out from the prison house.
- Psalms 146:6–7
the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. He remains faithful forever.
- Isaiah 33:2
O LORD, be gracious to us! We wait for You. Be our strength every morning and our salvation in time of trouble.
- Exodus 2:23–24
After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned and cried out under their burden of slavery, and their cry for deliverance from bondage ascended to God.
- Psalms 102:20
Through
Psalms 31:2Incline Your ear to me; come quickly to my rescue. Be my rock of refuge, the stronghold of my deliverance.
it leads to
- Psalms 71:2–3
In Your justice, rescue and deliver me; incline Your ear and save me.
- Psalms 71:2–3
Through
Lamentations 3:8Even when I cry out and plead for help, He shuts out my prayer.
it leads to
- Job 30:20
I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer; when I stand up, You merely look at me.
- Psalms 22:2
I cry out by day, O my God, but You do not answer, and by night, but I have no rest.
- Job 30:20
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
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About Psalms
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; 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; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; 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.