Psalms 38:1

The Bible says in Psalms 38:1-5, “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.” These verses are about the chastisement of God. It says in Hebrews 12:6, “For whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth, and scoureth every son whom he receiveth.” That is one of the reasons to quickly judge yourself and confess your sins to the Lord Jesus. If you do not, He has His ways of getting your attention. God is not trying to punish you, but He is trying to teach you so that you can improve your life and be more holy and be a better follower of Jesus. If you are a true Christian, you will not be happy as long as there is unconfessed sin in your life. David said that when he was in that condition that there was “no soundness” in his flesh, no “rest” in his bones, and they were “an heavy burden.” There is no heavier burden than guilt. Jesus can lift that burden if you turn to Him. In verse five David spoke of his “foolishness.” It is foolish to continue with guilt when you can confess your sin and find full and complete forgiveness from the Lord Jesus.

David continues talking about the consequences of sinning and being out of fellowship with the Lord. The Bible says in Psalms 38:6-10, “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.” This is obviously a description of someone who is suffering a great deal and is about as miserable as a person can be. Christians are supposed to be happy. Yes, but our happiness comes from the Lord. If a believer is not righty related to Jesus, that Christian will be miserable until he or she confesses their sins and gets right with God.

The Bible says in Psalms 38:11, “My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore; and my kinsmen stand afar off.” When you are out of fellowship with God, there is no help from people. Only God can help you in that situation. Something else is indicated by this verse: people cannot understand you nor know what is happening to you the way that God can. The Lord knows and understands.

The Bible says in Psalms 38:12-14, “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.” The Lord is our protector. He keeps the wicked from getting to us. So, if we are not rightly related to the Lord Jesus, we become vulnerable to the attacks of the wicked. God will use the wicked to chastise us. That is why David said in verse sixteen, “For I said, Hear me, lest otherwise they should rejoice over me: when my foot slippeth, they magnify themselves against me.” David knew that unless he turned to the Lord, his enemies would have a free shot at him.

David said in Psalms 38:15, “For in thee, O LORD, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord my God.” If you are ready to turn to the Lord, you can be sure of this: He is there ready to hear you.

David says in Psalms 38:17-18, “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.” God’s chastising hand was heavy upon David. When David finally did turn to the Lord, he confessed his sins, and he had genuine sorrow for his sins. Confession is more than just naming the sins or listing the sins that you have committed, but it involves real sorrow that you failed the Lord. Of course, once you do have this type of repentance, God always forgives. Too bad that more people do not make the decision that David made to turn back to the Lord.

Once again David tells us in Psalms 38:19-20 something that the Lord used to convince David that he needed the Lord. David wrote, “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.” Look at the advantages possessed by the enemies of a believer: the enemies have a lot of energy and strength. They are motivated by hatred. They make false accusations, and they are experts at making those accusations stick. Even though we do good things, they hate us the more because of that goodness. We just cannot win. Except for one thing: God is all powerful, and Jesus can do anything. He can change all the evil that the wicked are doing, and He can turn it into good in some cases and stop it from taking effect in others. And so David does the right thing in Psalms 38:21-22: David turns to the Lord for help. David writes, “Forsake me not, O LORD: O my God, be not far from me.[22] Make haste to help me, o LORD my salvation.”

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