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Psalm Thirty-eight
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO Psalm 38
A Psalm of David, to bring to remembrance. This psalm
was composed by David under some sore affliction, and when in great distress of
mind by reason of sin, perhaps his sin with Bathsheba; and was written as a
memorial of his sense of sin, of his great afflictions, and deliverance from
them; and therefore is said to be "to bring to remembrance", or to
refresh his memory with the said things. Kimchi and Ben Melech think the psalm
was made for the sake of such as are in distress, to put them in mind and teach
them how to pray. The Targum calls the psalm,
"a
good remembrance concerning Israel;'
and
Jarchi says it was to remember the distress of Israel before the Lord, and that
it is said with respect to all Israel; though others think the word
"lehazcir" is the name of a psalm tune; and Aben Ezra was of opinion
that it was the first word of some pleasant poem. The Septuagint version adds,
"concerning
the sabbath,'
as
if it was wrote to put persons in mind of that day; whereas there is nothing in
the whole psalm that has any such tendency.
Psalm 38:1 O
Lord, do not rebuke
me in Your wrath, Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure!
YLT
1A Psalm of David, `To cause
to remember.' Jehovah, in Thy wrath reprove me not, Nor in Thy fury chastise
me.
O Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot
displeasure,.... This and the following clause are the same as in Psalm 6:1, only
instead of wrath there it is anger; See Gill on Psalm 6:1.
Psalm 38:2 2 For Your arrows pierce me
deeply, And Your hand presses me down.
YLT
2For Thine arrows have come
down on me, And Thou lettest down upon me Thy hand.
For thine arrows stick fast in me,.... Meaning either words
with which as a father the Lord rebuked him; and which were sharp and cutting,
entered into him and abode with him, and gave him much pain and uneasiness; and
by which he concluded that his rebukes were in wrath and hot displeasure; such
as those in 2 Samuel 12:11; so
the words of men are compared to arrows, Psalm 57:4 or
outward afflictions, attended with inward trouble of soul; for as judgments are
the arrows of God, such as famine, pestilence, &c. Ezekiel 5:16, Deuteronomy 32:21;
so the chastening dispensations of Providence, under which the people of God
themselves are, are so called, because they oftentimes come swiftly, suddenly,
and at unawares, and are very pungent and distressing; and sometimes stick fast
and continue long, by reason of which they are inwardly wounded, and conceive
of God as sorely displeased with them; see Job 6:4;
and thy hand presseth me sore; the afflicting hand of
God, which lay heavy upon him; and is a mighty hand when laid on such worms as
mortal sinful men are, who cannot bear up under it, unless they have divine
supports; see Job 19:21. This is
by some supposed to be some bodily disease inflicted on him; some have thought
of the leprosy, which was a stroke from the hand of God; but this is not
likely, since he must have been deposed and shut up; the Jews indeed sayF5In
R. Obadiah in loc. that he was a leper six months, and that the divine Presence
was taken from him; a late learned manF6De Laney's Life of King
David, vol. 2. p. 146. thinks it was the smallpox, from the unsoundness of his
flesh, the soreness of the disease, the stench of it, temporary blindness, and
his friends standing aloof from him; though perhaps no other than affliction of
mired for sin, comparable to the disease described, is meant.
Psalm 38:3 3 There is
no soundness in my flesh Because of Your anger, Nor any health in my
bones Because of my sin.
YLT
3Soundness is not in my
flesh, Because of Thine indignation, Peace is not in my bones because of my
sin.
There is no soundness
in my flesh, because of thine anger,.... Such was the nature
of the affliction the psalmist laboured under, and which he took to be an
effect of the anger of God towards him, that the whole frame of nature was
affected with it, and from the crown of the head to, the soles of the feet
there was no health or soundness, as in Isaiah 1:6; where
the same word is used as here; some think the wordF7אין מ־תאם "non superest
amplius ulla forma seu figura hominis", Amama; so Joseph Kimchi. here used
has the signification of man; and that the sense is, that through, the violence
of the distemper he had not so much, as the form of a man, as his antitype in Isaiah 52:14; and
as this led him to a view of his sins, as the cause of his affliction, he was
so far from thinking himself sound and whole, or perfect in a spiritual sense,
that he saw he was all over diseased with sin, and that in his flesh dwelt no
good thing;
neither is there any rest in my bones, because of my sin; or
"peace"F8אין שלום
"non (est) pax", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, Tigurine version,
Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Musculus, Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaelis; so
Ainsworth. there; sin breaks the believer's rest, and disturbs his peace; nor
can he, in a view of it, find any rest in himself, nor in any creature, nor in
any service or duty, only in Jesus Christ, his blood, righteousness, and
sacrifice.
Psalm 38:4 4 For my iniquities have
gone over my head; Like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.
YLT
4For mine iniquities have
passed over my head, As a heavy burden -- too heavy for me.
For mine iniquities are gone over mine head,.... Like an
inundation of waters, as the waves and billows of the sea; for the waters to
come up to the neck or chin shows great danger; but when they go over the head
the case is desperate, and a person is sinking and drowning; compare with this Psalm 69:1; the
simile may denote both the number and weight of sins, and also signifies the
overwhelming distress the psalmist was in, under a view of them;
as an heavy burden, they are too heavy for me; the guilt of
sin upon the conscience, without a view of pardon, lies heavy indeed, and makes
a man a burden to himself, as it did Job, Job 7:20; yea, sin
is not only grieving and afflicting to pardoned ones, and who know they are
pardoned, but it is a burden to them under which they groan; nor is it possible
for any so to bear it as to satisfy and make atonement for it; none but Christ
could ever do this, and he has done it; nor is there any relief for burdened souls,
but by looking to a sin bearing and sin atoning Saviour, and by casting the
burden upon him, who invites them to him for rest.
Psalm 38:5 5 My wounds are foul and
festering Because of my foolishness.
YLT
5Stunk -- become corrupt
have my wounds, Because of my folly.
My wounds stink, and are corrupt,.... Meaning
his sins, which had wounded him, and for which there is no healing but in a
wounded Saviour, and by his stripes we are healed, Isaiah 53:5; where
the same word is used as here; Christ's black and blue stripes and wounds, as
the word signifies, are the healing of ours, both of sins, and of the effects
of them; which, to a sensible sinner, are as nauseous and loathsome as an old
wound that is festered and corrupt;
because of my foolishness: as all sin arises from
foolishness, which is bound in the hearts of men, and from whence it arises, Mark 7:22; perhaps
the psalmist may have respect to his folly with Bathsheba, which had been the
occasion of all the distress that is spoken of both before and afterwards.
Psalm 38:6 6 I am troubled, I am bowed
down greatly; I go mourning all the day long.
YLT
6I have been bent down, I
have been bowed down -- unto excess, All the day I have gone mourning.
I am troubled,.... Discomposed and perplexed in mind; his
thoughts were disturbed and irregular, and in the utmost confusion and
distress: this trouble was not only on account of the affliction that was upon
him, but chiefly because of his sin; and which was increased by the view he had
of the displeasure of God, concluding he was come forth against him in wrath
and fury;
I am bowed down greatly; not in his body, at
least not in that only, as if he was bowed together by his disorder, that he
could not lift himself up; for he is said to walk in the next clause: or rather
he bowed down his head as a bulrush voluntarily, and through sorrow and shame
could not lift it up before the Lord; though it may chiefly design the pressure
of his mind, that his soul was cast down within him, and with all his spiritual
reasonings he could not erect himself; it is the Lord that raiseth up those
that are bowed down in this sense; see Psalm 42:5;
I go mourning all the day long; or "I go
black", or "in black"F9קודר
"atratus", Montanus, Tigurine version, Vatablus, Junius &
Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaelis. ; meaning either that his
skin was black, through the disease upon him, and the trouble that was in him, Job 30:30; or that
he was clothed in black garments, as a token of mourning; as white garments
were of joy and cheerfulness, Ecclesiastes 9:7;
and he was blacker still in his own apprehension, by reason of inward
corruptions and outward transgressions, which appeared in a very black hue,
attended with aggravating circumstances; see Song of Solomon 1:5.
Psalm 38:7 7 For my loins are full of
inflammation, And there is no soundness in my flesh.
YLT
7For my flanks have been
full of drought, And soundness is not in my flesh.
For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease,.... The word
here used has the signification of burningF11R. Joseph Kimchi &
Abendana נקלה "ardore", Pagninus, Vatablus;
"ardens ulcus", Musculus, so some in Vatablus; "tostione",
Piscator; "adustione", Gejerus; so the Targum; "adusto",
Gussetius, Ebr. Comment. p. 742. ; and the Targum renders it, "my loins
are filled with burning"; a burning fever was upon him, or there was an
inflammation in those parts; a hot burning ulcer, which might be nauseous; and
so was true in both senses. Aben Ezra interprets it abominable and vile;
something not fit to be mentioned; and so Kimchi and Ben Melech. The word is
rendered sometimes "lightly esteemed"; as in 1 Samuel 18:23; and
Jarchi thinks it has this sense here; and the meaning is, that he was vile in
his own eyes, and mean in his own esteem. Doubtless the psalmist has reference
to something more than a bodily disease; at least not to that only, but to the
disease of his soul also, sin, which has the nature of a disease; it is an
hereditary one, which is derived from one to another by propagation; it is
universal, and reaches to all men, and to all the parts of the body and powers
of the soul; it is a complication of disorders: it is in its own nature mortal,
and ever incurable but by Christ; and, as here, it is a loathsome one; it is
loathsome to God, and to all sensible sinners: and when the psalmist says his
loins were filled with it, it may signify that it was an internal disorder that
was in him; sin that dwelt in him, a law in his members; and may denote the
aboundings of sin in him, the swarms of corruptions that were in him; as also
the pain it gave him, and the quick sense he had of it;
and there is no soundness in my flesh: which is
repeated, see Psalm 38:3; partly
for confirmation's sake, and partly to show the continued sense of it, as
persons under a disorder are continually making mention of it.
Psalm 38:8 8 I am feeble and severely
broken; I groan because of the turmoil of my heart.
YLT
8I have been feeble and
smitten -- unto excess, I have roared from disquietude of heart.
I am feeble,.... Both in body, natural strength being weakened by the
affliction, and dried up like a potsherd by the heat of the distemper; and in
soul, being weak in the exercise of faith and other graces. The word is used of
Jacob, fainting at and disbelieving the news of his son Joseph being alive, Genesis 45:26;
and sore broken; in his constitution with the disease, and
in his mind with trouble; especially for his sin, and under a sense of the
divine displeasure; his bones were broken by his fall, and his heart broken
with a sense of sin, Psalm 51:8;
I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart: which was
like the raging of the sea, as the wordF12מנהמת
"prae fremitu", Tigurine version, Vatablus, Junius & Tremellius,
Gejerus, so Piscator, Cocceius, Michaelis. rendered disquietness here
signifies; and to which the uneasiness and restlessness of wicked men is
sometimes compared, Isaiah 5:30; and so
great was the disquietude of this good man under affliction, and sense of sin
and wrath, that he had no rest night nor day; and could not forbear crying out,
in a very hideous manner, like the roaring of a lion.
Psalm 38:9 9 Lord, all my desire is
before You; And my sighing is not hidden from You.
YLT
9Lord, before Thee [is] all
my desire, And my sighing from Thee hath not been hid.
Lord, all my desire is before thee,.... To be
delivered from his afflictions, to have a discovery and application of
pardoning grace, and to have communion with his God: the desire of his soul was
unto these things; and it was some satisfaction to him that it was before the
Lord, and known unto him, before whom all things are naked and open;
and my groaning is not hid from thee; under the
weight of his affliction, the burden of his sin, and which he expressed in
prayer to the Lord, and which is often done with groanings which cannot be
uttered: but even these are known and understood by the Lord.
Psalm 38:10 10 My heart pants, my
strength fails me; As for the light of my eyes, it also has gone from me.
YLT
10My heart [is] panting, my
power hath forsaken me, And the light of mine eyes, Even they are not with me.
My heart panteth,.... Or "goes about"F13סחרחר "circuivit", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus.
; runs here and there, and finds no rest; as Aben Ezra interprets the word from
the Targum he cites; though the Targum we have renders it, "my heart
shakes with fear", or dread, as persons in a fever. Jarchi interprets the
word, surrounded with grief; it denotes the panting or palpitation of the
heart, through sorrow and dread, and the failing of it, even as at death;
my strength faileth me, or "forsakes
me"F14עזבני "dereliquit
me", Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; so Musculus,
Cocceius. ; bodily strength and spiritual strength; the strength of faith,
hope, and confidence;
as for the light of mine eyes, it also is gone from me; which is
often the case of persons under bodily disorders, their eyes grow dim, and
sight fails them; and this might be true in a spiritual sense of the psalmist,
who had lost sight of God as his covenant God; of his interest in his love, in
the blessings of his grace, and in eternal salvation, and was walking in
darkness, and saw no light.
Psalm 38:11 11 My loved ones and my
friends stand aloof from my plague, And my relatives stand afar off.
YLT
11My lovers and my friends
over-against my plague stand. And my neighbours afar off have stood.
My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore,.... As if it
was a plague sore, lest they should be infected with it; or because they could
not bear the stench of his wounds, and the loathsomeness of his disease, or to
see him in his agonies, and hear his roaring and his groans, Psalm 38:2; or as
taking his case to be desperate, as if he was just dying, and no help could be
given him, Psalm 38:10; If it
was the leprosy, as some Jewish writers have affirmed, the word נגע, translated "sore", being used for the plague
of the leprosy, they were obliged by the ceremonial law to keep at a distance
from him: but this rather seems to be voluntary, and to proceed from neglect
and contempt. These "lovers" and "friends" were such for
whom David had had an affection, and had been friendly to, and therefore it was
ungrateful in them to act the part they did; and such who had pretended love
and friendship to him in his health and prosperity, but now had deserted him,
which is a common case; see Job 19:13.
Afflictions try men's friends; and as that is a time when friendly visits are
most wanting and most useful, so it is an aggravation of the affliction, and
makes it the heavier when such are denied;
and my kinsmen stand afar off; that were near to him by
the ties of nature or friendship.
Psalm 38:12 12 Those also who seek my
life lay snares for me; Those who seek my hurt speak of destruction, And
plan deception all the day long.
YLT
12And those seeking my soul
lay a snare, And those seeking my evil Have spoken mischievous things, And they
do deceits meditate all the day.
They also that seek after my life,.... His avowed and
implacable enemies, whom nothing would satisfy but the taking away of his life:
these came too near him; for these, he says,
lay snares for me, as Satan does for the
souls of men, as the Jews did for Christ, and as wicked men do for the saints, Psalm 124:7;
and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things; to the injury
of his character and reputation:
and imagine deceits all the day long; contrive
artful schemes to deceive; see Psalm 35:20.
Psalm 38:13 13 But I, like a deaf man,
do not hear; And I am like a mute who does not open his mouth.
YLT
13And I, as deaf, hear not.
And as a dumb one who openeth not his mouth.
But I, as a deaf man, heard not,.... He acted
the part of a deaf man, and made as if he did not hear the mischievous things
his enemies spoke; as Saul, when the sons of Belial spoke against him and
despised him, 1 Samuel 10:27; and
as our Lord when his enemies accused him, Matthew 27:12;
and I was as a dumb man, that openeth not his mouth; made no reply
to what they said, and did not render railing for railing; in which Christ was
the antitype of him, Isaiah 53:7.
Psalm 38:14 14 Thus I am like a man who
does not hear, And in whose mouth is no response.
YLT
14Yea, I am as a man who
heareth not, And in his mouth are no reproofs.
Thus I was as a man that heareth not,.... Any thing
that is said unto him; he took no more notice of it than if he had never heard
it; but bore all the railings and calumnies of men with calmness and patience;
and in whose mouth are no reproofs; as if he had
nothing to say for himself, in vindication of his character, and to the
refutation of his enemies; as if he had no arguments to make use of, for the
conviction and reproof of his adversaries.
Psalm 38:15 15 For in You, O Lord, I hope; You
will hear, O Lord my God.
YLT
15Because for Thee, O
Jehovah, I have waited, Thou dost answer, O Lord my God.
For in thee, O Lord, do I hope,.... That he would plead
his cause against his accusers and revilers, and who sought his hurt; that he
should be delivered out of their hands, and out of all his afflictions; that he
should be healed of his diseases, both of soul and body, under which he
laboured; and should again enjoy the light of God's countenance, and have the
discoveries of his pardoning grace and mercy; and this was the reason why he
was so calm and quiet amidst the unkindnesses of his friends, and the cruel
usage of his enemies;
thou wilt hear, or "answer",
O Lord my God; in the midst of all his distresses of body
and mind, he had not given up his interest in God, as his God and Father; which
is the great blessing of the covenant of grace, and which ever continues; and
is the great support of believers, under whatsoever they meet with in soul and
body, from friends or foes; this his God the psalmist believed would not only
hear his cries in his sore distress, but hear the reproaches of his enemies,
and answer them in a providential way in his own time, by terrible things in
righteousness to their conviction and confusion; and therefore he himself was
silent.
Psalm 38:16 16 For I said, “Hear me,
lest they rejoice over me, Lest, when my foot slips, they exalt themselves
against me.”
YLT
16When I said, `Lest they
rejoice over me, In the slipping of my foot against me they magnified
themselves.
For I said, hear me,.... This he had
expressed in prayer to God; he had committed his cause to him, and entreated
him that he would hear and answer him; giving this as a reason,
lest otherwise they should rejoice over me; at his
misfortunes and calamities, at the continuance of his trouble and distress,
both of body and mind;
when my foot slippeth; as it sometimes did
through the corruptions of nature, the temptations of Satan, and the snares of
the world; which is more or less the case of all the people of God, who are all
subject to slips and falls, though they shall not finally and totally fall
away;
they magnify themselves against me; that is, his
enemies exulted and triumphed over him: this was what he found by experience;
and therefore makes use of it as an argument with God, that he would hear and
answer and deliver him out of his trouble, and preserve him from falling.
Psalm 38:17 17 For I am ready to
fall, And my sorrow is continually before me.
YLT
17For I am ready to halt, And
my pain [is] before me continually.
For I am ready to halt,.... Meaning either that
there was a proneness in him to sin; see Jeremiah 20:10; or
that he was subject to affliction and adversity, as the same word is rendered
in Psalm 35:15; and
the words are either a reason and argument used with the Lord, to hear and keep
his foot from slipping, that so his enemies might not rejoice over him, and
magnify themselves against him; as they would do should he fall into sin or
into any calamity, both which he was liable to: or they are a reason why he was
so calm and quiet under the ill usage he met with from friends and enemies,
because he was "ready for halting", or "prepared"F15נכון V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Cocceius, Gejerus,
Michaelis. for it; he considered that he was born for trouble and adversity;
that God had appointed him to it, and it was appointed for him, and therefore
he was quiet under it; see Job 5:6; he was
prepared to meet it; he expected it, it being the common lot of God's people;
and therefore when it came upon him it was no strange thing to him. The
Septuagint version, and those that follow that, render the words, "I am
ready for scourges"; and Jerom applies them to Christ, who was ready to
undergo scourges, sufferings, and death itself, for his people;
and my sorrow is continually before me; that is, for
his sin, which was ever before him, stared him in the face, lay heavy on his
conscience, and appeared very terrible and loathsome to him; his sorrow for it
was without intermission, and was a godly sorrow, a sorrow for sin, as
committed against a God of love, grace, and mercy: or he may mean, that his
affliction, which was grievous to him, was continually upon him night and day:
our Lord himself, David's antitype, was a man of sorrows all his days.
Psalm 38:18 18 For I will declare my
iniquity; I will be in anguish over my sin.
YLT
18For mine iniquity I
declare, I am sorry for my sin.
For I will declare mine iniquity,.... Either to men, to
ease his mind, justify God in his proceedings with him, and for their caution
and admonition: or rather to God, against whom he had sinned, and who only
could pardon him; with a view to which he was determined to make a free and
open confession of it before him:
I will be sorry for my sin, or "careful"F16אדאג "solicitus ero", Montanus; so Junius &
Tremellius, Piscator, Gejerus, Michaelis, Ainsworth. about it; that is, how he
committed it for the future: true repentance for sin produces a carefulness to
abstain from all appearance of it; see 2 Corinthians 7:10.
Psalm 38:19 19 But my enemies are
vigorous, and they are strong; And those who hate me wrongfully have
multiplied.
YLT
19And mine enemies [are]
lively, They have been strong, and those hating me without cause, Have been
multiplied.
But mine enemies are lively,.... Or
"living"F17חיים
"viventes", Pagninus, Montanus, Musculus, Junius & Tremellius,
Piscator, Cocceius. or "live"; not in a spiritual sense; for they had
no lively hope, nor living faith, but were dead in trespasses and sins; nor
merely in a natural sense, or corporeally, so David was living himself; but in
great prosperity and worldly happiness, and so were brisk and cheerful, and
lived a merry and pleasent life;
and they are strong; not only hale
and robust in body, but abounded in riches and wealth, which are the strength
of wicked men;
and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied; that is, such
as hated him without a cause, and made lies and falsehoods the reasons of it:
these increased in numbers, or in their outward state and circumstances; see Psalm 73:4.
Psalm 38:20 20 Those also who render evil
for good, They are my adversaries, because I follow what is good.
YLT
20And those paying evil for
good accuse me, Because of my pursuing good.
They also that render evil for good are mine adversaries,.... See Gill
on Psalm 35:12;
because I follow the thing that good is; or
"follow good"; a good God, whom his soul followed hard after, Psalm 63:8; the
good Shepherd of the sheep, who led him into green pastures, whither he followed
him, Psalm 23:1; the
good Spirit of God his guide, whom he walked after, Romans 8:1; good
and holy men of God, whom he took for examples and copied after; and every good
work, which he pursued with eagerness and pleasure; and all this drew upon him
the hatred of his adversaries.
Psalm 38:21 21 Do not forsake me, O Lord; O my God, be
not far from me!
YLT
21Do not forsake me, O
Jehovah, My God, be not far from me,
Forsake me not, O Lord,.... Or continue not to
forsake; for he seems to have been under divine desertion, and might be under
apprehensions that God had utterly forsaken him; which he entreats he would
not, though his friends had forsook him, and his own strength had failed and
left him, Psalm 38:10;
O my God, be not far from me; as to his gracious
presence, and with respect to help and deliverance, otherwise God is not far
from any of his creatures, being omnipresent.
Psalm 38:22 22 Make haste to help me, O
Lord, my salvation!
YLT
22Haste to help me, O Lord,
my salvation!
Make haste and help me,.... Or, "for my
help"; his case required haste, and God does help his people when none
else can, and that right early;
O Lord, my salvation; by which it appears that
his prayer was a prayer of faith; he saw that his salvation was in the Lord,
and in no other; and though he had been and was in such a low condition, both
in soul and body, yet his faith was not lost; that is an abiding grace, and
will continue under the influence of the author and finisher of it, until the end
of it is received, the salvation of the soul. R. MosesF18In Aben
Ezra & R. Joseph Kimchi in R. David Kimchi in loc. thinks the phrase
"make haste" is to be repeated here, and read thus, "make haste,
O Lord, to my salvation".
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》