Psalm 38:1-22

... in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.  Amen.  Through the prayers of our holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us.  Amen.  Glory to You, our God, Glory to You.

O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, You are everywhere and fill all things, Treasury of blessings, and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us (three times).

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it is now, was in the beginning, and ever shall be, world without end.  Amen.

Psalm 38:1-22[1]

[A Psalm] of David, to bring to remembrance.

Lord, rebuke me not in Your fury; nor punish me in Your hot displeasure: for Your arrows stick fast in me, Your hand presses me sore.

 [There is] no soundness in my flesh,[2] because of Your anger.  Nor [is there any] rest in my bones, because of my sin: ⁴ for my iniquities are gone over my head; as a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.  ⁵ My wounds stink [and] are corrupt, because of my foolishness.

I am troubled.  I am bowed down greatly.  I go mourning all the day: ⁷ for my loins are filled with a loathsome [disease].

[There is] no soundness in my flesh.²  I am feeble and sore broken.  I have roared by reason of the restlessness of my heart.

Lord, all my desire [is] before You.  My groaning is not hid from You.  My heart pants, My strength fails me.  As for the light of my eyes, it also is gone from me.  My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore.  My family stands at a distance.  They also that seek after my life lay snares [for me].  Those who seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and imagine deceits all the day: but I, as a deaf [man], heard not.  [I was] as a dumb man [that] opens not his mouth.  Thus I was as a man who hears not, and in whose mouth [are] no replies.

For[3] in You, Lord, I hope.  You will hear, O Lord my God.  For I said, “[Hear me], lest [otherwise] they should rejoice over me.  When my foot slips, they magnify [themselves] against me.”  For I [am] ready to stumble, My sorrow is continually before me.  For I will declare my iniquity.  I will be sorry for my sin.

But my enemies [are] lively, They are strong.  Those who hate me wrongfully are multiplied.  They also that render evil for good are my adversaries: because I follow good.

Forsake me not, Lord.  O my God, be not far from me.  Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation.

__________________

If you have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations in Psalms, please repost or share any of them as you wish.

---

[1] The Psalm of Christ’s trials, and tortures, the Psalm of the Via Dolorosa.  We do not know what sufferings occasioned this Psalm of David.  Maybe it was occasioned by the death of Uzzah (2 Samuel 6:6-11).  Perhaps this was when David was nearly killed by the Philistines (2 Samuel 21:15-17).  Possibly it remembers the time when David ordered a census which was forbidden by the Law (2 Samuel 24).  David was very sensitive to his responsibilities as the prototypical Shepherd of Israel: and one of these failures could have made him violently ill.  Or it could be something else unknown to us: such as the pains of old age (1 Kings 1:1) which are like extreme sickness and death.

Extreme sickness brings back many memories of prior foolishness that may be the cause.  Since all of us have regrets in life, there is no shortage of suspected causes: many real, and some imaginary.  Sickness distorts reason.  Confessed and absolved sins return to haunt.  Regrets for the victims of ones sins are remembered, because one is uncertain that they have recovered, and forgive.

David is cast into a state of mourning, as if he anticipates his own death, or caused the death of another.

David remembers his absolute dependence on God, Who he addresses in humility, Adonai.  He prefigures the silence of the Crucifixion.  His groanings are public.  His eyes cease to see.  His friends and family have deserted Him.  The remaining witnesses are His enemies.  The Jews plot with Pilate to seal the tomb and hide the murder: if the seal fails, they plan to claim that the disciples stole the body (Matthew 27:62-66).  He can no longer hear or speak.  God has spoken His final answer.

David’s thoughts are only that Yahweh will Glorify Himself in victory.

Alas, the wicked are very strong, corrupt, and numerous.  In the end of days, how can it be possible to see victory?  Will there be “faith on the earth” (Luke 18:8)?

The only answer is, “Forsake me not, Lord.  O my God, be not far from me.  Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation.”

[2] Two places, this is an important motif in understanding the Psalm.

[3] We ordinarily treat the word, for, as explanatory.  Here is repeats four times in a row, so we separated it in its own paragraph until further investigation can be made in Hebrew (Aramaic) and Greek.