When Sin Overwhelms


Psalm 38
A Psalm of David, for the memorial offering.
1O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath!
2For your arrows have sunk into me, and your hand has come down on me.
3There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin.
4For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.
5My wounds stink and fester because of my foolishness,
6I am utterly bowed down and prostrate; all the day I go about mourning.
7For my sides are filled with burning, and there is no soundness in my flesh.
8I am feeble and crushed; I groan because of the tumult of my heart.
9O Lord, all my longing is before you; my sighing is not hidden from you.
10My heart throbs; my strength fails me, and the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me.
11My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague, and my nearest kin stand far off.
12Those who seek my life lay their snares; those who seek my hurt speak of ruin and meditate treachery all day long.
13But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear, like a mute man who does not open his mouth.
14I have become like a man who does not hear, and in whose mouth are no rebukes.
15But for you, O Lord, do I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.
16For I said, “Only let them not rejoice over me, who boast against me when my foot slips!”
17For I am ready to fall, and my pain is ever before me.
18I confess my iniquity; I am sorry for my sin.
19But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty, and many are those who hate me wrongfully.
20Those who render me evil for good accuse me because I follow after good.
21Do not forsake me, O Lord! O my God, be not far from me!
22Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation!

We’ve all been there; flat on our back with a serious sickness or disease. And the natural response is to look heavenward and ask God “what have I done to deserve this?” What also lurks in the back of our minds is the sin in our lives and we know that maybe we do indeed deserve whatever we get. This psalm addresses those very real (but perhaps not accurate) feelings. In this individual lament the psalmist calls on the Lord for healing from a crippling disease. He is overwhelmed with guilt, abandonment, and a desire for renewed fellowship with God. He suffers with a sickness from which he has not yet recovered. All the while he experiences the hand of God’s discipline and waits for the Lord to respond to his need. Because of the themes of sin, guilt, judgment, and hope in God’s salvation, Psalm 38 has been used as a penitential psalm.

While it is easy for our minds to go in the direction of “I’m being punished for my sin” when we experience a hardship like disease, we have to take the whole of Scripture in the view. Sickness is a result of sin in the world. But for those of us standing on this side of the death and resurrection of Jesus, sickness is not a punishment. Jesus has been punished for our sin and God is no longer in the punishment business for those who name Jesus as their Lord and Savior. What there is room for in our lives is confession and repentance. Those times of physical distress are amazing opportunities to look heavenward and acquiesce to discipline (which is not the same as punishment) of God. Perhaps that illness is a chance for some self-examination and the question “What shall I learn here, Father?” That too can be a painful process!

David, the author of this penitential prayer, ends in strength.

21Do not forsake me, O Lord! O my God, be not far from me! 22Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation!

He recognizes that he still belongs to God and looks to God for the salvation that only He can bring. With God, there is always hope. When the power of our sin overwhelms, this is a fantastic psalm to meditate upon, allowing God to bring His forgiveness and His instruction.

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