Psalms 38

A Psalm by David, for a memorial.

LORD, don’t rebuke me in your wrath, neither chasten me in your hot displeasure.

For your arrows have pierced me, your hand presses hard on me.

There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation, neither is there any health in my bones because of my sin.

For my iniquities have gone over my head. As a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.

My wounds are loathsome and corrupt because of my foolishness.

I am in pain and bowed down greatly. I go mourning all day long.

For my waist is filled with burning. There is no soundness in my flesh.

I am faint and severely bruised. I have groaned by reason of the anguish of my heart.

Lord, all my desire is before you. My groaning is not hidden from you.

My heart throbs. My strength fails me. As for the light of my eyes, it has also left me.

My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my plague. My kinsmen stand far away.

They also who seek after my life lay snares. Those who seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and meditate deceits all day long.

But I, as a deaf man, don’t hear. I am as a mute man who doesn’t open his mouth.

Yes, I am as a man who doesn’t hear, in whose mouth are no reproofs.

For I hope in you, LORD. You will answer, Lord my God.

For I said, “Don’t let them gloat over me, or exalt themselves over me when my foot slips.”

For I am ready to fall. My pain is continually before me.

For I will declare my iniquity. I will be sorry for my sin.

But my enemies are vigorous and many. Those who hate me without reason are numerous.

They who render evil for good are also adversaries to me, because I follow what is good.

Don’t forsake me, LORD. My God, don’t be far from me.

Hurry to help me, Lord, my salvation.

Chapter overviewAI-generated

Overview.
This psalm is a deeply personal lament in which the psalmist, David, cries out to God under the weight of physical suffering, emotional anguish, and spiritual conviction of sin. The chapter presents a portrait of a man overwhelmed by affliction—his body broken, his relationships fractured, and his enemies emboldened—yet anchored in hope by his trust in God’s mercy and readiness to save.

Flow.

The psalm begins with a plea for mercy, recognizing God’s discipline as a response to sin and expressing the intensity of divine chastening through vivid bodily imagery.
It moves into a detailed description of physical and emotional suffering, rooted in the psalmist’s awareness of moral failure, which has become a crushing burden.
Despite isolation from friends and threats from enemies, the psalmist chooses silence before men, directing all his hope toward God alone.
The prayer reaches its climax in urgent cries for divine help, grounded not in personal merit but in steadfast expectation of God’s salvation.

Connections.
Following chapter 37, which exhorts trust in the Lord and patience amid the apparent success of the wicked, Psalm 38 reveals the inner turmoil of one who is righteous yet severely disciplined. It personalizes the cost of faithfulness and the reality of suffering within a life devoted to God. The raw honesty of this lament prepares the way for Psalm 39, where the psalmist reflects on the brevity and frailty of life, deepening the meditation on human weakness and the need for divine redemption.

What it teaches.
The psalm displays the biblical understanding that God’s discipline is both real and redemptive, and that suffering may be tied not only to general human frailty but to personal sin (WCF 5.5). Yet even in deep distress, the godly are taught to direct their groans to God, whose knowledge of human desire and sorrow is complete (HC LD 10). The confession of sin (v. 18) is paired with hope in God’s answering mercy, showing that repentance and expectation of salvation belong together (Canons of Dort, V.11). It affirms that communion with God is preserved even in seasons of silence before men, as the soul waits upon the Lord (WCF 17.3).

Apply.
When pain isolates and sin weighs heavy, speak to God even when you cannot speak to others.

AI-generated. Not a substitute for Scripture, your pastor, or the confessions.