SORROW-Psalm 38

Old Testament, Psalms, Sermons

Questions on Psalm 38. An Unrelenting Undertow of Sorrow. “I am bowed down and brought very low; all day long I go about mourning“ (Ps 38:6). “I am feeble and utterly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart“ (Ps 38:8). “For I am about to fall, and my pain is ever with me” (Ps 38:17).

* What is Psalm 38?

  • It is a lament psalm, as David laments his suffering-physical and emotional-which he attributes to his sin. A psalm of lament addresses God: a complaint, a request, and usually an expression of trust.
  • It is also one of 7 designated penitential [deep sorrow, regret] psalms along with Psalm 6, 32, 51, 102, 130 and 143. It expresses David’s guilt over his sin and begs for relief. These psalms take the form of laments because their subject is lamenting over sin and the problems that arise for the sinner. The author sees that his own sins have contributed to the problems that he is facing (e.g. illness, enemies, punishment, etc.)

An unending unrelenting undertow of sorrow, sadness and suffering. In Psalm 38, David feels the overwhelming burden of his sin and God’s displeasure, causing the Lord to pierce him and to come down hard on him (Ps 38:1-2). He feels intense misery, like a cursed sin-bearer (Ps 38:3), and quite aware of two things: the evil of his own sinq, and God’s great displeasure of it. He knows he’s guilty (Ps 38:4) and foolish (Ps 38:5) resulting in great unbearable anguish (Ps 38:5-8). He uses the imagery of illness (Ps 38:7), weakened bones (Ps 38:3), overwhelming burdens (Ps 38:4), rotting flesh (Ps 38:5), crippling ailments (Ps 38:10), mourning (Ps 38:6), fear (Ps 38:19), helplessness (Ps 38:16-17), and loss of strength (Ps 38:8) with no control. He freely admits his sin and his remorse (Ps 38:18). He asks God to stop because he can’t take it much more (Ps 38:7-8). David knows he doesn’t deserve God’s mercy, but he asks for God to save him anyway (Ps 38:21-22).

  1. The Psalm opens with a prayer (Ps 38:1-2);
  2. continues in a long complaint (Ps 38:3-8);
  3. pauses to dart an eye to Heaven (Ps 38:9);
  4. proceeds with a second tale of sorrow (Ps 38:10-14);
  5. interjects another word of hopeful address to God (Ps 38:15);
  6. a third time pours out a flood of griefs (Ps 38:16-20);
  7. then closes as it opened, with renewed petitioning (Ps 38:21-22).
The evidence of sin’s effects is all around David: his body is failing; his mind is troubled; his spirit is in turmoil. And in addition to this internal misery, he’s also afflicted from without. “Enemies” set traps and lie in wait, and his friends and neighbors shun him. All this the psalmist sees as God’s punishment.
  • A1. Plea for forbearance in a time of wrath (Ps 38:1-2)
    • B1. Extremity of need: sin and sickness (Ps 38:3-8)
  • A2. Openness to God: nothing hidden (Ps 38:9)
    • B2. Reactions: inwardly (Ps 38:10), socially (Ps 38:11-12), personally (Ps 38:13-14)
  • A3. Profession: confident hope (Ps 38:15)
    • B3. Confession of sin in the crisis (Ps 38:16-20)
  • A4. A plea for God not to forsake but to help (Ps 38:21-22)
The God who Deals Harshly with Your Sin is also the God who Saves You. “Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger [fury, exasperation] or discipline [chasten, chastise] me in your wrath [rage]” (Ps 38:1, 21-22).
When You are Overcome by Your Sin and Guilt: “My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear” (Ps 38:4).
References:
  1. Tim Keller. The Songs of Jesus. 2015.
  2. Alec Motyer. Psalms by the Day. A New Devotional Translation. 2016.
  3. Robert Altar. The Hebrew Bible. A Translation with Commentary. 2019.
  4. Derek Kidner. Psalms 1-72, 1973. Psalms 73-150, 1975.
  5. Affliction, Adversity, Anxiety and Anguish is Good for Me.

 

NIV

Robert Altar

Alec Motyer

 

A psalm of David. A petition.

A David psalm, to call to mind.

A psalm of David’s; To bring to remembrance.

1

Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath.

Lord, do not rebuke me in Your fury nor chastise me in Your wrath.

Yahweh, do not, in your exasperation, discipline me, nor in your rage, chasten me.

2

Your arrows have pierced me, and your hand has come down on me.

For your arrows have come down upon me, and upon me has come down Your hand.

For your arrows are dropped down onto me, and your hand comes down on me.

3

Because of your wrath there is no health in my body; there is no soundness in my bones because of my sin.

There is no whole place in my flesh through your rage, no soundness in my limbs through my offense.

There is no soundness in my flesh, on account of your indignation; there is no peace in my bones on account of my sin.

4

My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear.

For my crimes have welled over my head, like a heavy burden too heavy for me.

Because my iniquities have reached over my head, like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.

5

My wounds fester and are loathsome because of my sinful folly.

My sores make a stench, have festered through my folly.

My wounds stink with decay on account of my silliness.

6

I am bowed down and brought very low ; all day long I go about mourning.

I am twisted, I am all bent. All day long I go about gloomy.

I am bent right down exceedingly. I have walked around, mourning, all the day,

7

My back is filled with searing pain; there is no health in my body.

For my innards are filled with burning and there is no whole place in my flesh.

for my muscles are full of inflammation and there is no wholeness in my flesh.

8

I am feeble and utterly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart.

I grow numb and am utterly crushed.  I roar from my heart’s churning.

I am numb and crushed exceedingly; I have roared because of the groaning of my heart.

9

All my longings lie open before you, Lord;
my sighing is not hidden from you.

O Master, before You is all my desire and my sighs are not hidden from You.

Sovereign One, in front of you is all my desire, and from you my moaning has not been hidden.

10

My heart pounds, my strength fails me; even the light has gone from my eyes.

My heart spins around, my strength forsakes me, and the light of my eyes, too, is gone from me.

My heart palpitates; my strength has left me; and the light of my eyes—they too are not with me.

11

My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds; my neighbors stay far away.    

My friends and companions stand off from my plight and my kinsmen stand far away.

Those who love me, and my friends stand away from my plague, and my nearest relatives stand at a distance.

12

Those who want to kill me set their traps, those who would harm me talk of my ruin; all day long they scheme and lie.

They lay snares, who seek my life and want my harm. They speak lies, deceit utter all day long.

And those who are seeking my life set snares, and those who are seeking my evil speak of destruction, and they muse about deceitful things all the day.

13

I am like the deaf, who cannot hear,
like the mute, who cannot speak;

But like the deaf I do not hear, and like the mute whose mouth will not open.

And as for me, like a deaf man I do not hear, and like a dumb person who does not open his mouth.

14

I have become like one who does not hear, whose mouth can offer no reply.

And I become like a man who does not hear and has no rebuke in his mouth.

And I have become like a man who is not hearing, and in whose mouth there are no rebukes.

15

Lord, I wait for you;
you will answer, Lord my God.

For in You, O Lord, I have hoped. You will answer, O Master, my God.

Because in you, Yahweh, I have set my hope. You yourself will answer, O Sovereign One, my God.

16

For I said, “Do not let them gloat or exalt themselves over me when my feet slip.”

For I thought, “Lest they rejoice over me, when my foot slips, vaunt over me.”

Because I said—Lest they rejoice over me, act grandly against me when my foot slips!

17

For I am about to fall, and my pain is ever with me.

For I am ripe for stumbling  and my pain is before me always.

For I am ready to trip up, and my pain is before me continually.

18

I confess my iniquity;
    I am troubled by my sin.

For my crime I shall tell,

      I dread my offense.

For I will declare my iniquity; I am anxious about my sin.

19

Many have become my enemies without cause; those who hate me without reason are numerous.

And my wanton enemies grow many, my unprovoked foes abound.

And my enemies are alive! They are mighty! And those who hate me on false grounds are many.

20

Those who repay my good with evil lodge accusations against me, though I seek only to do what is good.

And those who pay back good with evil thwart me for pursuing good.

And those who are paying me back evil for good are my opponents, in return for my pursuit of good.

21

Lord, do not forsake me;
do not be far from me, my God.

Do not forsake me, Lord. My God, do not stay far from me.

Do not leave me, Yahweh! My God, do not be distant from me!

22

Come quickly to help me,
   my Lord and my Savior.

Hasten to my help, O Master of my rescue.

Oh, hurry to my help! O Sovereign One, my salvation!

Psalms with imprecatory elements are Psalm 12, 35, 58, 59, 69, 70, 109, 137, 140.

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