Psalms 88:13

But to You, O LORD, I cry for help; in the morning my prayer comes before You.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — The psalmist addresses Yahweh directly, shifting from questioning divine visibility in darkness to active supplication. This utterance follows the rhetorical questions of Psalm 88:12 and precedes the complaint of Psalm 88:14.

The words — שׁוּעַ (shuaʿ) appears as שִׁוּעְתִּי (shiʿti), literally "I cry for help." תְקַדְּמֶךָּ (teqaddemkâ) renders "it comes to meet you," indicating the prayer's immediate arrival before God.

The thread — The practice of morning prayer appears in Psalm 5:3, where a plea is laid before God at daybreak, and in Mark 1:35, where Jesus prays early in the morning. The pattern of crying out and receiving divine response aligns with Psalm 30:2.

Why it lands — The text requires prioritizing daily, unmediated communication with God over delayed or circumstantial appeals. It asks the reader to treat consistent prayer as the necessary first response when divine presence feels hidden.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וַאֲנִ֤י׀va./'a.Niand/ I אֵלֶ֣יךָ'e.Lei./khato/ you יְהוָ֣הYah.wehO Yahweh שִׁוַּ֑עְתִּיshi.Va'.tiI cry for help וּ֝בַבֹּ֗קֶרu./va./Bo.kerand/ in the/ morning תְּֽפִלָּתִ֥יte.fi.la.T/iprayer/ my תְקַדְּמֶֽךָּ׃te.ka.de.Me./kait comes to meet/ you

King James Version

But unto thee have I cried, O Lord; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent thee.

Cross-references

Psalms 5:3 In the morning, O LORD, You hear my voice; at daybreak I lay my plea before You and wait in expectation.
Mark 1:35 Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up and went out to a solitary place to pray.
Psalms 30:2 O LORD my God, I cried to You for help, and You healed me.
Psalms 119:147 I rise before dawn and cry for help; in Your word I have put my hope.