Psalms 88:9-12

2. The sufferer’s prayer 88:9b-12

Even though Heman had prayed for relief and restoration every day, God had not delivered him. He asked for mercy by posing rhetorical questions, all of which expect a negative answer. If the writer died, he could no longer praise the Lord in the land of the living. What he said does not contradict revelation concerning conscious existence after death. It simply reflects Heman’s desire to praise God this side of the grave. [Note: See the discussion of Sheol, the grave, and death in the Psalms in VanGemeren, pp. 569-73.]