Broken my teeth with gravel stones] i.e. God has forced him to eat bread full of grit. (Proverbs 20:17). He hath covered me with ashes] or, 'He made me cower in the ashes.' Such dreadful thoughts about God are almost without a parallel in the OT.
19-39. Hope of relief through God's mercy.
In this section we reach the highest point of trust to which the mourner attains.