Psalms 38 - Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible

A Psalm of David, to bring to remembrance. Remember, although this is a very sorrowful Psalm, it was written by a man of God. It will show you what a terrible thing sin must be, for even a child of God feels the smart of it very grievously. This is not the language of an unforgiven sinner; it is the cry of a saint who, for a while, has sinned, and is feeling the bitterness of his transgression.

Psalms 38:1. O Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath:

«If thou dost rebuke me, O Lord, do it gently! Be not very angry with me, for I cannot bear it, I shall die under it. O Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath.»

Psalms 38:1. Neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.

«Chasten me, it will do me good; it is needful; it is profitable; but not in thy displeasure, certainly not in thy hot displeasure.» The man of God is more afraid of God's anger than he is of suffering. He does not object to affliction; what he does fear is any degree of the wrath of God in the chastisement.

Psalms 38:2. For thine arrows stick fast in me,

Does God shoot at his own children? Yes, but only that he may kill the sin in them; and he knows how to make his arrows stick, and stick fast, too, in his own dear children. The Lord hates sin with a perfect hatred. Even when sin was laid on Christ, even though it was none of his, yet the Father forsook him. He will not endure sin anywhere; but he hates it most in those whom he loves most: «Thine arrows stick fast in me.»

Psalms 38:2. And thy hand presseth me sore.

As if God's hand pressed heavily upon the soul of David. I remind you again that this was a man of God who thus cried out. If any of you, who are not the children of God, are feeling the heavy hand of the Lord on account of your sin, do not wonder at it. If his own children do not escape the rod, he is not likely to spare you. See into what a terrible condition David came, as he tells us in the third verse.

Psalms 38:3. There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger;

He felt as if his very flesh was decaying, rotting, dissolving, and that there was no soundness in it. When God deals with men in a way of anger, they cannot stand against him any more than the wale can resist the heat of the furnace. Beware, I pray you, that you provoke not God's eternal wrath in hell, for even here it is not to be borne; what will it be when mercy's gate is closed? «There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger.»

Psalms 38:3. Neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin.

His very bones suffered through his sin. He could not rest, he turned over and over in his bed but he could not find a place soft enough to lie upon in peace. Sin will make any man's bones ache when once his conscience is really quickened, and, with David, he will cry, «There is no rest in my bones because of my sin.»

Psalms 38:4. For mine iniquities are gone over mine head:

David was like a man who has sunk seven fathoms deep. Big waves of iniquity rolled over him, and he saw no light, no hope, no way of escape.

Psalms 38:4. As an heavy burden they are too heavy for me.

It is a great mercy when sin is a burden; for, when it becomes too heavy for us to bear, Christ will bear it. A man is in an ill case when he finds no burden in sin, when he thinks he is quite able to bear it himself but he, to whom sin is an insupportable, intolerable load, is already on the road to mercy. See how the psalmist goes on to show that his case is worse still.

Psalms 38:5. My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness.

He got to be so bad that he could not bear himself. His sorrow on account of his folly had made him feel as if he was a corrupt being, like one suffering with a foul cancer, unfitted for the company of his fellows: «My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness.» As I read that verse, it brings up memories of my own state of mind before I found the Saviour. Look at the title of the Psalm: «To bring to remembrance.» That is just what it has done with me; perhaps it is doing the same with some of you.

Psalms 38:6. I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long.

I again remind you that this is a child of God, a man who had enjoyed the light of God's countenance; and yet he was in this sad state. Do not utterly condemn yourselves, do not say that you are not the people of God, because you are troubled in heart; but if you really are not God's people as yet, but only seekers after him, do not wonder if sin greatly grieves and vexes you.

Psalms 38:7-9. For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease: and there is no soundness in my flesh. I am feeble and sore broken: I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart. Lord, all my desire is before thee;

The first beam of comfort comes in here. «Lord, I am almost at death's door, yet thou knowest my desire; I do not love sin, I wish to be a true believer, I desire to be holy. Lord, all my desire is before thee. Thou canst read it as if it were written in a book. I need not speak, for I should only spoil my case with my words; but all my desire is before thee.»

Psalms 38:9. And my groaning is not hid from thee.

«I can hide my groaning in a measure from my fellow-creatures, I try to suppress my moans when anybody is near; but my groaning is not hid from thee.» Thank God, there is not a tear in any eye but God sees it, nor a groan in any heart but God hears it! Make much of this truth, and find sweet consolation in it.

Psalms 38:10. My heart panteth,

That is the best sort of prayer in all the world, when there are no words, but in silence there is a panting and longing after God. We cannot explain what this panting is; but if you have ever seen a hunted stag panting for breath, you have some idea what David meant when he said, «My heart panteth.»

Psalms 38:10. My strength faileth me:

That is good prayer, too. «When I am weak, then am I strong.» When I cannot pray, I do pray. When my strength fails me, then God's strength comes in to help me.

Psalms 38:10-11. As for the sight of mine eyes, it also is gone from me. My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore; and my kinsmen stand afar off.

If you have ever had much trouble, you will find that your friends are rather scarce at such times. Friends are very much like swallows; they twitter about us in the summer, and they build their nests under our eaves; but where are they in the winter? Ah! where are they? You may ask the question, but who can answer it? Sorrow is not a thing which attracts company; men naturally hide themselves from grieving companions. So David says, «My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore; and my kinsmen stand afar off»

Psalms 38:12-13. 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. But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and I was as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth.

It is a fine thing, when you are slandered, not to hear it, and it is a better thing never to reply to it. I have always tried to possess one deaf ear and one blind eye, and I believe that the deaf ear is the better ear, and the blind eye by far the more useful of the two. Do not remember the injury that is done to you, try to forget it, and pass it over. Do not go about the world determined to grasp every red-hot iron that any fool holds out before you. Let it alone. It will be for your own good and for God's glory to be very patient under the slander of the wicked.

Psalms 38:14-15. Thus I was as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs. For in thee, O LORD, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord my God.

So the psalmist, by his example, encourages you to take your troubles to God, and not to handle them yourselves. Spread them before him, and trust in him to deliver you in his own time and way.

Psalms 38:16-21. For I said, Hear me, lest otherwise they should rejoice over me: when my foot slippeth, they magnify themselves against me. For I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continually before me. For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin. But mine enemies are lively, and they are strong; and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied. They also that render evil for good are mine adversaries; because I follow the thing that good is. Forsake me not, O LORD: O my God, be not far from me.

The persecuted psalmist resorts to his God; let us do the same when we also are persecuted for righteousness' sake.

Psalms 38:22. Make haste to help me, O lord my salvation.

David's case is urgent, and his plea is earnest. If we are in a like case, let us also cry, «Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation.»

I am going to read two portions of Scripture. In the first, the 38 th Psalm, we shall hear a suffering servant of Jehovah crying out to his God.

Psalms 38:1. O LORD, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.

«If thou dost rebuke me, do it gently, O my Lord! If thou dost chasten me,

let not thy displeasure wax hot against thy servant.»

Psalms 38:2. For thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand presseth me sore.

God may aim his arrows even at his own children, and he may lay his hand very heavily upon those whom he deeply loves.

Psalms 38:3. There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin.

David was under the afflicting hand of God even with regard to his bodily disease. He could have borne the pain if it had been merely physical; but there was a sense of sin mixed with it which made it sting him in his very soul.

Psalms 38:4-5. For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me. My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness.

David had some painful old sores; I mean, old sins; and they seem to have broken out again and again, and when he wrote this Psalm, he was groaning in his spirit at the remembrance of them. His faith was at a low ebb, and his feelings were of the most bitter and sorrowful kind.

Psalms 38:6. I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long.

Yet he was a true child of God all the while, for this is, according to its title, «A Psalm of David,» concerning whom the Lord said «I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will.» God's flowers do not have sunlight twenty-four hours in the day. They have their night seasons, when it is not only dark, but it may also be heavy with the cold dew, or trying with a sharp frost.

Psalms 38:7-8. For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease: and there is no soundness in my flesh. I am feeble and sore broken: I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart.

That is an expressive word that David uses: «I have roared.» He felt as if his prayers were more like the agonized cries of a wounded beast than the intelligent supplications of a human being, least of all, of a man of God; and, sometimes, when the spirit is greatly bowed down, it cannot express itself in words, but has to be content with groans, and cries, and sobs, and tears.

Psalms 38:9. LORD, all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee.

What a sweet, sweet truth that is! Happy is that man, who in the time of deepest darkness, can still grasp that truth and hold it fast. «Lord, my groaning is not hid from thee! I could only roar out my complaint, or groan it out; but thou couldst hear it just as well as if I had ordered my words aright before thee.»

Psalms 38:10-11. My heart panteth, my strength faileth me: as for the light of mine eyes, it also is gone from me. My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore; and my kinsmen stand afar off.

«Relatives and friends alike all get away from me as far as they can, for they cannot bear to be in such sorrowful company.»

Psalms 38:12-13. 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. But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and I was as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth.

Although David was a tried man, he was, at least at that time, a wise man. God did not leave his servant to act or to speak foolishly; and beloved, when men are unjustly rebuking and reproaching you, there is nothing more wise than to act as if you did not hear them. It is the very acme of wisdom if you can keep quiet, and not answer them, refusing to make any apologies or extenuations or even showing any sign that you have so much as heard what they have said.

Psalms 38:14-15. Thus I was as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs. For in thee, O LORD, do I hope:

What sublime faith there is here! It is easy to have faith in sunshiny weather, to have faith when you have the least need of it. There are plenty of people, who fancy they are believing in God when everything is going well with them. It is one thing to believe when you are lying at anchor in a peaceful harbour, it is quite another matter to believe when you are at sea in a storm. David hoped in God when trouble had come upon him wave upon wave: «For in thee, O Lord, do I hope:»

Psalms 38:15. Thou wilt hear, O LORD my God.

«Even if I do not hear thee, thou wilt hear me and if no man shall hear me, thou wilt hear my prayer, and answer my supplication.»

Psalms 38:16-20. For I said, Hear me, lest otherwise they should rejoice over me: when my foot slippeth, they magnify themselves against me. For I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continually before me. For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin. But mine enemies are lively, and they are strong: and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied. They also that render evil for good are mine adversaries; because I follow the thing that good is.

We need never be afraid of any man's opposition when the reason for his being our adversary is that we «follow the thing that good is,» as our translators quaintly express it.

Psalms 38:21-22. Forsake me not, O Lord: O my God, be not far from me. Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation.

Now we shall see, as we read that wondrous 53 rd chapter of Isaiah not a man of God in trouble, but the Son of God in trouble; and we shall see him also as a deaf man that heareth not, «and as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth.»

This exposition consisted of readings from Psalms 38:1, and Isaiah 53:1.