December 10
Reading: Psalm 38
A Psalm of David, for the memorial offering.
1 O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger,
nor discipline me in your wrath!
2 For your arrows have sunk into me,
and your hand has come down on me.
3 There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation;
there is no health in my bones because of my sin.
4 For my iniquities have gone over my head;
like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.
5 My wounds stink and fester
because of my foolishness,
6 I am utterly bowed down and prostrate;
all the day I go about mourning.
7 For my sides are filled with burning,
and there is no soundness in my flesh.
8 I am feeble and crushed;
I groan because of the tumult of my heart.
9 O Lord, all my longing is before you;
my sighing is not hidden from you.
10 My heart throbs; my strength fails me,
and the light of my eyes– it also has gone from me.
11 My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague,
and my nearest kin stand far off.
12 Those who seek my life lay their snares;
those who seek my hurt speak of ruin
and meditate treachery all day long.
13 But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear,
like a mute man who does not open his mouth.
14 I have become like a man who does not hear,
and in whose mouth are no rebukes.
15 But for you, O LORD, do I wait;
it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.
16 For I said, “Only let them not rejoice over me,
who boast against me when my foot slips!”
17 For I am ready to fall,
and my pain is ever before me.
18 I confess my iniquity;
I am sorry for my sin.
19 But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty,
and many are those who hate me wrongfully.
20 Those who render me evil for good
accuse me because I follow after good.
21 Do not forsake me, O LORD!
O my God, be not far from me!
22 Make haste to help me,
O Lord, my salvation!
This psalm recalls Psalm 32. It is another psalm of repentance, but this one does not move from misery to confession to joy. This psalm is addressed entirely to the Lord and it is a plea amid misery and confession. We do not move on.
Psalm 38 begins and ends with crying out to God that He will not leave me in the clutches of sin, wrath, and righteous judgment. Implicit throughout this psalm is the understanding that, because of my sin, I deserve the righteous anger of God. But the request is that He would not give me what I deserve, but rather mercy, help, and salvation.
Most of the psalm, however, is spent pondering the dark depths of the effects of my sin in my life. Do you know that sometimes one can move too quickly from conviction of sin to confession to repentance to forgiveness to joy? There are times when it is good for us to ponder the badness of our sin, to consider how the Lord really feels about what I have done.
We learn some deep truths about sin in this psalm. Sin causes God to be angry with us. (vss. 1-2) Sin causes us turmoil (no peace) and a great heaviness of heart. (vss. 3-4) Sin can cause us to feel ill and to become sick. (vss. 5-8, 10) This is the reason for James 5:14-16a;
Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.
Sin can cause us to lose fellowship with believers and cause others to pile on, attacking us. (vss. 11-12) Sin alienates us from God first and then from other people. Sin can cause us to isolate ourselves from others, to sit in speechless misery. (vss. 13-14) Until we confess our sin and get right with God we will be stuck in pain and anxiety. (vss. 17-18) Sometimes depression is a direct result of unconfessed sin… worry, greed, lust, anger, or how we treat someone else.
When I take time to ponder my own sin and its effects, it helps me to resist sin in the future.
Of course, not all suffering is the result of sin. But, if you are miserable, it is wise to ask the question, “Have I sinned? Have I gotten off the path on which God wants me to be?”