Psalms 38

Psalms 38:1

Psalm 38: Sorrow for SinWe might think that this Psalm describes the suffering of the Savior were it not for the references to “my sin” (v. 3), “my iniquities” (v. 4), “my foolishness” (v. 5) and “my plague” (v. 11). It might be valid to apply much of the rest of the language to the Lord Jesus as He suffered at the hands of God and of man, but the basic interpretation certainly belongs to David at a time in his life when intense physical and mental distress were admittedly connected to some sin he had committed. 38:1-4 First David thinks of his sufferings as the rebuke of an angry God and the chastening of His hot displeasure, and he asks the LORD to lift the siege. The arrows of the Almighty have found their mark in the psalmist’s mind and body, and God’s hand has come down with crushing pressure upon him. As a result of divine wrath his whole body is sick. The illness has seeped into his very bonesand all because of his sin. There is no excusing his iniquitieshe is thoroughly convicted of them. Like gigantic waves, they have dashed over him. Like an enormous weight, they have broken his strength. 38:5-8 Foul and festering wounds have broken out over his body, and he has no doubt why this has happened. He is doubled over in pain, laid low with weaknessa living specter of grief. His body is racked with a high fever, and there is no part of his anatomy that has escaped. He has no more fight left in him. Thoroughly whipped, he can do nothing but groan to express how he feels. 38:9-11 It is some comfort to David to realize that the Lord knows the anguish of his heart and the emotions he feels but cannot express. But still his heart is palpitating wildly, his strength rapidly draining away, and all sparkle vanishing from his eyes. His loved ones and his friends avoid him as if he were a leper, and even his relatives are reluctant to visit him. 38:12-14 Nor have his would-be assassins given up their plots, threats, and villainy. But David is deaf to all their threats and remains silent as far as defense, self-vindication, or rebukes are concerned. 38:15-17 Yet no matter how dark the present situation is, he is not without hope. He still has the confidence that God will answer him. He asks that his adversaries might not have the pleasure of celebrating his complete calamity. But right now he is continually racked with pain and near the limit of human endurance. 38:18 With refreshing candor and brokenness and with no attempt to gloss over his sin, David confesses his iniquity and says “I’m sorry!” Any man who sincerely takes this position before God will never be denied forgiveness. The Lord has gone on record to state that He will grant mercy to the one who confesses and forsakes his sin (Pro_28:13). If this were not so, all men would be hopelessly doomed. 38:19, 20 David’s thoughts go back to his enemies once more. Though he is weak and sickly, they are vigorous and strong. He then acknowledges the justice of God’s chastenings but protests that his adversaries have no valid cause for their malice. He has been kind to them but gets only hatred in return. At the bottom of their hostility is the fact that David is a follower of God and of good. 38:21, 22 So he appeals to God not to forsake him, but to stay close by and to hurry to his rescueto truly be the psalmist’s Savior-God!