Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead— The Psalmist in this, and the following verses, exaggerates his own distress, and the seeming impossibility of relief, by representing himself as a dead man, and his state of misery and affliction as a state of death: nor can the words be taken in the literal sense, except they be referred to Him to whom God did indeed declare his loving-kindness in the grave, and his faithfulness in death. We need not observe to the scriptural reader, that strong figures of this kind are extremely common in the Hebrew poets.
Related Commentaries of Psalms 88:10
Psalms 88:10-13
10 Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise thee? Selah.
11 Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? or thy faithfulness in destruction?
12 Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
13 But unto thee have I cried, O LORD; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent thee.