Psalms 88:10

This and the two following verses can hardly be, as some commentators suppose, the prayer to which he refers in Psalms 88:9. The connexion of thought seems to be this. He has prayed that God will shew him His marvellous lovingkindness, but he will soon be beyond the reach of it, for of course from his point of view there can be but one answer to the questions of Psalms 88:10, and that a negative one. In despair he asks;

Wilt thou do wonders for the dead?

Shall the shades arise and praise thee?

To do -wonders" is the prerogative of God (Exodus 15:11; Psalms 77:11; Psalms 77:14): to give thanks to Him for them is the duty of man: but the Psalmist cannot believe that even God will work such a miracle that the dead shall arise and praise Him. Rephâîm, the Heb. word for -shades," denotes the dead as weak and nerveless ghosts. Arisemight mean no more than -stand up," referring to what takes place in the unseen world, but the parallel of Isaiah 26:14 suggests that it is a resurrection of which the poet speaks as inconceivable. Cp. Job 14:12.