Psalm 38:1 ¶ «A Psalm of David, to bring to remembrance.» O LORD, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. 2 For thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand presseth me sore. 3 There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin. 4 For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me. 5 My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness. 6 I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long. 7 For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease: and there is no soundness in my flesh. 8 I am feeble and sore broken: I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart. 9 Lord, all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee. 10 My heart panteth, my strength faileth me: as for the light of mine eyes, it also is gone from me. 11 My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore; and my kinsmen stand afar off.
Here is David begging for mercy from the standpoint of every
person who has royally messed up their life and comes to God. His health is
shot because of his sin, his sins are weighing him down, his self-inflicted
wounds are obvious, he is depressed, maybe has a sexually transmitted disease, and
everyone rejects him, even his family. Now, I don’t know how absolutely true
this was of David but it is true of many of God’s children who have sunken into
the pit of alcohol and drugs, immoral behavior, dishonesty, impulsiveness, and
recklessness who have spent their lives like spare change you find in the sofa.
There are those of us who can relate to this prayer. There are those of us who
know people who can relate to this prayer. It’s all fun and games until it’s
not.
Verse 1 is a repeat of a plea made in Psalm 6:1.
Psalm 6:1 ¶ «To the chief
Musician on Neginoth upon Sheminith, A Psalm of David.» O LORD, rebuke me not
in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. 2 Have mercy upon me, O LORD; for I am weak: O
LORD, heal me; for my bones are vexed. 3
My soul is also sore vexed: but thou, O LORD, how long? 4 Return, O LORD, deliver my soul: oh save me
for thy mercies’ sake.
For verse 2 sharp arrows can be words, as in God’s Law that David
has sinned against. See the following verses where words are likened to arrows.
Psalm 57:4 My soul is among
lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men,
whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.
Psalm 64:3 Who whet their
tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter
words:
For verse 4 see;
Psalm 40:12 For innumerable
evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that
I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head: therefore
my heart faileth me.
Verse 5 reminds me of;
Isaiah 1:5 Why should ye be
stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and
the whole heart faint. 6 From the sole
of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and
bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up,
neither mollified with ointment.
For verse 6 here is a comparison;
Psalm 6:6 I am weary with
my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my
tears.
These cross-references should give you an idea of how dire the
situation is that David and anyone else making this prayer is in. Next, David
will express his fear at the personal danger he is in from others as the Psalm
moves from internal agonies to external dangers.
Psalm 38:12 ¶ They also
that seek after my life lay snares for me: and they that seek my hurt
speak mischievous things, and imagine deceits all the day long. 13 But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and I
was as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth. 14 Thus I was as a man that heareth not, and in
whose mouth are no reproofs. 15
For in thee, O LORD, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord my God. 16 For I said, Hear me, lest otherwise
they should rejoice over me: when my foot slippeth, they magnify themselves
against me. 17 For I am ready to
halt, and my sorrow is continually before me. 18 For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be
sorry for my sin. 19 But mine enemies are
lively, and they are strong: and they that hate me wrongfully are
multiplied. 20 They also that render
evil for good are mine adversaries; because I follow the thing that good
is. 21 Forsake me not, O LORD: O
my God, be not far from me. 22 Make
haste to help me, O Lord my salvation.
David complains about the viciousness of his enemies here.
Psalm 25:19 Consider mine
enemies; for they are many; and they hate me with cruel hatred.
As it gets to verse 20 they even render the good that David has
done to them back on him for evil.
Psalm 109:4 For my love
they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer.
In all of this David reminds me of Christ.
Isaiah 53:7 He was
oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as
a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he
openeth not his mouth.
John 15:23 He that hateth
me hateth my Father also. 24 If I had
not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin:
but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father. 25 But this cometh to pass, that the word might
be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.
As Philip taught the Ethiopian eunuch.
Acts 8:26 ¶ And the angel
of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the
way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. 27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of
Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians,
who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to
worship, 28 Was returning, and sitting
in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. 29
Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this
chariot. 30 And Philip ran thither to him,
and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou
readest? 31 And he said, How can I,
except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up
and sit with him. 32 The place of the scripture
which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb
dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: 33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken
away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the
earth. 34 And the eunuch answered
Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself,
or of some other man? 35 Then Philip
opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.
The mention of salvation is verse 22 is temporal salvation not
eternal. In fact, the vast majority of times that the words salvation or saved
are used in the Bible they are not a reference to everlasting life but to delivery
from a danger here on earth. In a Bible study with my son, Micah, we did a
study of those words and found it to be so. What David is concerned about here
is being delivered from his enemies. We, too, can appropriate this prayer for
ourselves, to be delivered from the present consequences of our past sins over
which we are sorry and to be delivered from those who would do us harm for no good
reason.
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